Her Cowboy Crush: Western Romance

By Ava Catori

He's not the man she remembers.

Her best friend's brother is all grown up. His boyish charm has been replaced with a wall of muscle and a wicked, mischievous smile. He's all man. When sparks fly, Amanda's loyalty is tested. She's there to support her newly widowed best friend, but all she can think about is the sexy cowboy.

The air sizzles between them.

Like a bee to honey, Alex is drawn to Amanda with an urgency he's never known. Desperate to resist the magnetic attraction, he tries to stay focused on the task at hand—helping his newly widowed sister. But avoiding the obvious is getting harder, as the air sizzles between them. Can Amanda and Alex resist temptation, or will fate step in and make a final decision for them?

Note: this book was previously titled "A Lonely Heart"

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ava Catori Books
• Release date: Mar 19, 2014
• ISBN: 9781497714465

Book preview

Chapter 1

MEGAN’S VOICE CRACKED. I never expected this.

Amanda gasped, then clasped a hand over her mouth. Shock squeezed her like a belt cinched too tightly. Her stomach buckled in response. How was it possible? There was only one thing left to say. I’m on my way.

The shock riveted her like a lightning bolt. There was no way to anticipate the phone call. No way to know that Megan’s life would turn upside down. It was too soon. Her husband was too young. Things like this weren’t supposed to happen. Not to them.

She’d book a flight and get there as fast as she could. It meant going back to Wyoming, a place she hadn’t been in quite a while, but it was time to go home. Megan was her oldest and dearest friend. She’d do whatever she could to help ease the pain. Even if it was just being there, offering a shoulder, reminding her to eat, taking care of phone calls. Whatever it took, she’d handle it. Megan already had enough to deal with.

Growing up in Winston, Wyoming, she was part of a trio. They were always together, always sharing experiences and memories. Three friends, like sisters. Amanda. Megan. And Heather. Three peas in a pod. The best friends she could have ever asked for.

College and life pulled them in differing directions as they matured, though they always stayed in touch. They counted on one another for emotional support, and straight-shooting answers to questions others were too polite to comment on.

Amanda ended up in Pennsylvania. She landed a job just outside of Philadelphia in the suburbs. Megan got married and stayed in Wyoming, while Heather took on a corporate career in California.

Thank you. Megan croaked, barely able to speak.

You’re not alone, Amanda whispered. It was the only salvation she could offer from so far away. It’s going to be okay.

She knew the words wouldn’t bring Megan’s husband back. The shock was too hard to bear.

THE SOMBER MOOD OF the funeral hung over them like a slow-moving storm. Wayne had been taken too soon. Nobody saw it coming, but freak accidents rarely give warnings. When the tree cracked and fell in the storm... It all happened so fast.

He’d gone to calm the horses. They were rustling more than usual when the violent storm rolled through. Lightning thrashed, wicked and wanton. Thunder rocked the sky. The vibration hit him low in the chest.

A bolt of lightning shot out of the sky and splintered a massive tree. The trunk crackled loudly as it shattered apart. A giant portion crashed to the ground. There was nothing Megan could do. By the time the medics got to the scene, Wayne was gone. The trauma of the blunt force had been too much. Tragically, his life was over. 

Amanda sat beside Megan and offered a shoulder. She’d do whatever she could to help her friend work through her grief and pain. There were so many details to handle. When she was at her most vulnerable, the details rolled in like a fast-moving fog. Amanda would tackle what she could so Megan had time to grieve.

Megan. Heather. Amanda.

When the girls were small, they first met at local stables. They’d been there for riding lessons. Most of the little girls in the area ended up going to the same place, Sunny Stables. The stables were no longer around after the owners retired, though they were left with memories and a friendship that would last forever. The owners cashed in. They sold the ranch to a developer and headed to warmer weather.  

At Sunny Stables, they took lessons on the weekends. Through the years, they stuck with the stables and taught the younger generation coming through to ride.

Amanda and Megan grew up in the area, and Heather had found her way there after a move. The three of them became inseparable.  As they grew, they spent their teenage years working at the stables. During high school, they were bonded tightly during their impressionable years. It wasn’t until college that each went her own way.

Amanda thought back over the years. She could still remember the way it smelled. The straw and hay, cleaning the horse stalls, and the fields of fresh flowers as they rode on the dusty trails which traversed alongside meadows. She closed her eyes and pictured the barn and her favorite horses.

So much had changed.

It was hard to believe that Wayne was gone.

Megan and Wayne were good together. They’d fallen in love quickly, and Megan said she knew immediately Wayne was the one for her. Amanda could still remember their wedding like it was yesterday. The way they laughed as they tried to shove wedding cake in the other’s face. Their first dance, and the smile on Wayne’s face as Megan walked down the aisle toward him. Had that much time really passed? Eight years—gone in the blink of an eye. 

At twenty-two, Megan was a young bride. The other girls had gone onto careers. While Amanda and Heather left the area, Megan was content to stay. The newlywed couple bought a small farm and lived off the land, selling some of their offerings at a farmer’s market in town, but mostly they’d become self-sufficient.

They loved relying on one another and taking care of themselves. There was talk of children, but Megan had a hard time getting pregnant. After enough time had passed, they just stopped trying. She’d grown sad and frustrated. At one point they discussed adoption, but she hadn’t been ready.

Losing Wayne so early wasn’t in her plans. Her entire life was in shambles. Everything she thought her future would be had come to a screeching halt. No family, no children, and maybe no farm if she didn’t find a way to survive financially.

Megan’s parents moved to a small community a few towns over and settled into a different home. They simplified their life and were in early retirement. It was no more than an hour’s drive, but they’d worked hard and invested wisely.

Other than Wayne, the only other one she had local was her brother, Alex. He’d come to lend a hand while Megan got back on her feet.

When Alex showed up, Amanda was stunned. She almost didn’t recognize him. The last time she’d seen him he was seventeen and a cocky teenager. He was full of himself at his sister’s wedding, thinking he was ‘all that’ and a loaf of bread.

At twenty-five, he’d filled out nicely and the chip had fallen from his shoulder. He was a ranch hand at a local place but would throw himself into Megan’s farm for the time being.

His folks had hoped he’d go on to bigger things, but he liked working outside with his hands. They worried there wasn’t enough