SHE’S RIDING SOLO
As one of the heirs to the River Ranch fortune, Mia Ford is practically Texas royalty. But that doesn’t mean she’s some pampered princess. She can saddle up and ride a horse as well as any man, even a hard-working cowboy like Sam Mendes. For years, she’s harbored a crush on the strong, silent horseman. But how can she make a move when she’s his boss?
HE’S TAKING THE REINS
Sam Mendes is through with love—or so he thought. Still recovering from a breakup, he’s doing everything in his power to resist Mia Ford. It’s bad enough she’s the kind of beauty who drives men wild with desire. It’s even worse she’s got him so worked up, aching to kiss her lips, when he’s supposed to be working her ranch. Is this lovestruck cowboy willing to risk losing his job—and breaking his heart—to win the girl of his dreams?
There are books that start slow and finish strong, and there are those titles that start stronger than they finish. Unfortunately, this title was one of the latter for me.
When you initially meet Mia and Sam, the sparks of dislike fly between them, but it is written well enough that it is clear there is something interesting about each of them and getting to know the characters, while they get to know one another, was a lot of fun.
They had wonderful chemistry, and they had a great respect for one another, which made the growing relationship feel really authentic. I liked the development, the plotting and the pacing of the story a lot.
I also liked most of the ending. To say exactly the part that bothered me is a spoiler, but there was a little thing at the end that I didn't think was authentic to the characters nor was it a way that a person would act in real life. Unfortunately, they were both guilty of different actions that pulled me out of the story...in the same scene.
So, a book that I really enjoyed up to that point became one that I was slightly disappointed with when all was said and done.
I do recommend this title, and I did enjoy it overall.
Mia disappeared and he talked to the horses, wandering down
the line to look at all of them. He’d only seen her ride the one, her favorite
mare, but he had a feeling she was full of surprises, and her horses all looked
impressive. When she didn’t reappear, Sam went looking for her, wondering what
the hell was taking so long.
“Hey, do you need a hand back there?” he called out. He
squinted in the half-light, dark compared to the full sun glare outside when he
ducked through the doorway and into the tack room.
“Oh, shit, sorry, just give me a sec.”
He stopped. Sam stood in the middle of the small room,
saddles and bridles covering every inch of wall space, and Mia pressed into one
corner, her tears impossible to hide. “Hey,” Sam murmured, striding over to her.
Hell, he hadn’t expected her to be crying. He’d thought she might need a hand
carrying some gear out, but . . . he didn’t know what to do.
“I’m fine, please,” she said, holding one hand up to her
face, the other stretched out in front of her as if trying to push him away
before he was even close.
“You’re not okay,” he said, knowing how gruff he sounded but
unable to help it. “Come here.”
She shook her head. “Please, I’m fine,” she managed, voice
cracking.
“Your mom, huh?” he asked, knowing that there was no way in
hell he’d managed to say anything to upset her this much. She was still
grieving, he could see that from a mile off.
She nodded, dropping one hand, the other still covering her
face. “Yeah,” she whispered. “It’s just I haven’t talked about her for a long
time. She’s been gone twelve years so I shouldn’t be reacting like this.”
“Come here,” Sam said, not taking no for an answer this time
as he opened his arms and pulled her in.
He held her, tight, letting her cry. She sobbed once,
loudly, a noise that made his heart lurch for her, feeling her pain, before she
went silent and relaxed in his arms. It had been almost a year since he’d held
a woman like this; comforted a woman and held her and felt something for her.
He stiffened. Only that woman had played him, ripped his heart out when he’d
have done anything for her. Anything.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’d tell you it’ll get easier, but I
doubt it will.”
He didn’t sugarcoat things, even this type of thing, but he
did feel for her. She’d tried to talk about her mom all nonchalant to him,
laughing about her beautiful stables, when in reality it had torn her in half
and left her crying all on her own. She’d lost her mom and her best friend as
well; no wonder she’d been prickly when he’d tried to muscle in and take over
with the one thing she did have— her horses.
Mia pushed back and he wished she hadn’t. He’d liked the
warmth of her against him, the tickle of her long hair catching in his stubble
as he’d inhaled her shampoo or whatever it was on her that smelled so damn
delicious.
“Sorry,” she murmured, her hands to his chest as she stepped
back. “I don’t ever let anyone see me cry.”
He believed it. She didn’t strike him as the type to let
anyone see her vulnerabilities.
Sam glanced down at her, at her hands against his chest, at
the way she was looking up at him, her eyes wide. Her mouth parted,
tear-stained cheeks making her look so vulnerable that it tugged at something
inside of him he’d thought was long buried.
“You’ve got nothing
to apologize for,” he muttered, slowly raising a hand and brushing his thumb
gently across her cheeks to blur the tears away.
Mia stayed still, her palms still planted against him, head
tilted. He looked at her mouth, fought the urge to rub his thumb across her
soft pink lips. Instead he dropped his hand, skimming past her long blonde hair
on the way past. Sam bent a little, eyes on her mouth, imagining what her lips
would taste like. He wanted to kiss her so damn bad, wanted to push her up
against the wall behind her and kiss the hell out of her. But he didn’t.
He’d sworn off women for a reason, and sexy or not, he
wasn’t about to take advantage of his boss up against a wall. Even crying she
was beautiful, but he wasn’t going there. He couldn’t go there.
Dammit!
Her eyes were dancing, her lips were parted, her hands were
slowly dropping away from his chest. But instead of closing the distance
between them, instead of hungrily tasting her lips against his, he took her
hands, stepping back and squeezing them.
“You take all the time you need,” he said instead, hearing
the husky note of his own voice. “I’ll be out here.”
He walked out, ducking back through the door and out into
the bright sunlight again. Goddamn it!
What the hell had he just done? He’d always prided himself on being able to
keep his shit together, and he’d let himself get way too close to Mia.
As a child, Soraya Lane dreamed of becoming an author. Fast
forward more than a few years, and Soraya is now living her dream! Soraya
describes being an author as "the best career in the world", and she
hopes to be writing romance for many years to come.
Soraya loves spending her days thinking up characters for books, and her home is a constant source of inspiration. She lives with her own real life hero and two sons on a small farm in New Zealand, surrounded by animals and with an office overlooking a field where their horses graze. She is the author of The Devil Wears Spurs, Cowboy Take Me Away, and I Knew You Were Trouble.
About the Author
As a child, Soraya Lane dreamed of becoming an author. Fast
forward more than a few years, and Soraya is now living her dream! Soraya
describes being an author as "the best career in the world", and she
hopes to be writing romance for many years to come.Soraya loves spending her days thinking up characters for books, and her home is a constant source of inspiration. She lives with her own real life hero and two sons on a small farm in New Zealand, surrounded by animals and with an office overlooking a field where their horses graze. She is the author of The Devil Wears Spurs, Cowboy Take Me Away, and I Knew You Were Trouble.
Connect With Soraya Lane
Copyright © 2018 by Soraya Lane and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Press.
Rachel Gibson began her fiction career at age sixteen, when she ran her car into the side of a hill, retrieved the bumper, and drove to a parking lot, where she strategically scattered the car’s broken glass all about. She told her parents she’d been the victim of a hit-and-run and they believed her. She’s been making up stories ever since, although she gets paid better for them nowadays.
