Rough Ride

By Carol Lynne

For rancher, Ezra James, life is pretty simple. He wakes before dawn and spends his day working with the cattle he loves. For twenty years, the EZ Does It ranch has been enough to drown out his loneliness and guilt. To the world, he appears impervious to everything. The only chink in his armour - the man who owns the clothing store in town.

Palmer 'Wyn' Wynfield caught Ezra's eye the first time the rancher stepped foot in the store. Though Ezra knew his large size intimidated others, his little self-confidence was shattered when Palmer backed away in apparent fear. In a moment of self-preservation, he referred to Wyn as Mr. Fancy Pants. That was six years ago, and he's never been forgiven.

An early morning phone call changes all that. Though the line is scratchy, Ezra definitely hears the words he's been waiting to hear for years. "I need you."

Reader Advisory: This book is best read in sequence as part of a series

See the book trailer for this story here

• Language: English
• Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing
• Release date: Apr 28, 2008
• ISBN: 9781906590130

Carol Lynne

An avid reader for years, one day Carol Lynne decided to write her own brand of erotic romance. While writing her first novel, Branded by Gold, Carol fell in love with the M/M genre. Carol juggles between being a full-time mother and a full-time writer. With well over one hundred releases, one thing is certain, Carol loves to keep busy writing sexy cowboys, shifters, bodyguards, vampires and everything in between. Although series books are her passion, Carol enjoys penning the occasional stand-alone title. As founder and President of GRL Retreat, Inc., Carol helps organize the annual GayRomLit Retreat. Now in its sixth year, GayRomLit is an annual retreat that brings together the people who create and celebrate LGBT romance for a one-of-a-kind, must-attend gathering of dynamic, informal, and diverse fun.

Reviews for Rough Ride

[jshillingford_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"Rough Ride" was actually the first Cattle Valley story I read before I knew there was a series. It's actually fouth, and though it does stand alone, I recommend reading the others to get more impact. But, it was so good I went looking for more after reading it. Our hero is Palmer "Wyn" Wynfield. In the first novella of the series, we learn Wyn was the victim of partner abuse. He's always had a soft spot for Ezra James, though a misunderstanding the first time they met has kept them apart. Now Wyn is back in his old town after his father's death - and some people in town are giving him a hard time. He calls Ezra for help. What I liked about this story was that though Wyn needed help, he isn't helpless. He owns his own store and has friends he cares about. While working out what to do with his father's ranch, the two men work out what went wrong between them. When they return to Cattle Valley, Wyn has to confront the problems of Ezra's jealous friend. This story is fairly straightforward, but still a solid romance with some hot love scenes.