Widowed rancher Hayden Weston knows what it means to be responsible for his siblings, his eight-year-old son, and the running of the huge family cattle ranch. Some even call him a stern and grumpy taskmaster and they’re not exactly wrong. So when Hayden discovers his son reading a storybook instead of doing chores, he calls on Luke’s teacher to talk about priorities.School teacher Laura Anderson is new to Marietta, Montana, and has never—until now—been reprimanded for encouraging a child to read. It doesn’t help that sweet Luke’s father is the handsome cowboy with the amber eyes that she met in Grey’s Saloon, or that she’s wildly attracted to him.
Sparks keep flying as their paths keep crossing, but Hayden is determined not to give in to his incomprehensible need to have, hold, and protect Laura from any type of harm. He’s the one who’ll hurt her if he lets her stray too close. He’s not ready to admit his feelings or commit to sharing his life with her.
Even if love comes tumbling in.
What inspired you to write this book?
Tule Publishing has created a fictional town in Montana called Marietta. I’ve written a previous series, The Millers of Marietta set in this unique town at the foot of Copper Mountain. For the next series, I wanted to try my hand at exploring life of a ranch near Marietta and so I’ve created the Westons of Montana. Marietta has its own history, quirky characters and well-known settings – I love writing stories with this setting.
What can we expect from you in the future?
There are three more stories in this series, all releasing in 2025. And I’m thinking of another cowboy series.
Where did you come up with the names in the story?
I use Pinterest to get names for characters. For me, it’s one of the most important things about writing a story. All the names shouldn’t for instance, begin with the same letter – I’ve done that a few times and only realized afterwards how difficult it can be for a reader to keep the characters straight!
I’ve struggled a few times with a story only to realize the heroine is not, in fact a Louise, but an Emma. Or he’s not a Clint, but a Chase. Also names of dogs, cats and horses are quite a challenge!
I’ve also made the mistake in the past to pick any random name for a secondary character only to have that character insist on his or her own story and then I’m stuck with the name.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I love doing research on ranching and was fascinated by the different ideas ranchers have about grazing. Articles I’ve read goes back to the way the very first ranchers used what is called “open range” where they grazed large plots of unsettled lands, continually moving their herds to fresher pastures. The open range management of livestock has been popularized by Western literature and modern cinema. This of course changed in time. Today many ranchers practice a deferred grazing rotation system where they utilize a number of pastures for a rest-rotation grazing system. Instead of completely resting a pasture for a whole year, some ranchers graze all of them, but whatever pasture was grazed first one year is grazed last the next year. This sort of rotation gives each pasture about seventeen continuous months of rest. With more pastures in the rotation, cattle are in each pasture for a shorter amount of time and therefore not continually hounding the grass as it is trying to grow.
As a romance author, I have many of these seemingly “useless information” ideas. ☺
Tell us about your main characters- what makes them tick?
In A family with the cowboy, we meet Hayden Weston, the oldest Weston brother. He still blames himself for the death of his brother Walker. Five years ago, he was driving the car that ended up in the river when he’d swerved out for an elk crossing the road. His siblings were all in the car. Everyone got out, except for Walker.
He has a son, Luke who is 8 and who attends Marietta Elementary School. His wife died four years earlier of cancer and he’s not interested in ever having another relationship.
He catches Luke reading a book behind the barn instead of doing his chores, something that has been happening a lot lately and storms to town to confront the teacher.
The teacher is not however, the same one who taught him way back but a gorgeous blonde, the same one he’d seen the previous Friday in town.
Laura Anderson is from Missoula. When she and a few friends visited Yellowstone National Park the previous year, she immediately fell in love with the quaint town and got a job at the local school. Her previous relationship has fizzled out after three years, her best friend has gotten married and moved to Los Angeles, her dad died, there was nothing keeping her in Missoula any longer.
Laura cares about nature and the earth and has a soft spot for anyone suffering, especially women and children, so when Hayden Weston storms into her classroom demanding to know why she is forcing his son to read, she ignores the tug at her heart the sight of the ridiculously attractive cowboy in her classroom door causes and goes into defensive mode.
What is your favorite part of this book and why?
My favorite part in any book is the “meet cute” moment, when the two main characters have “a moment” when they feel sparks or maybe just a tug, but some kind of connection. Hayden sees Laura when she’s with a colleague in a local bar. She’s the first woman in a long time who catches his attention. When he discovers she not passing through town, though as he’d hoped, but staying, he walks away. His life is way too complicated to even think of a relationship. But then he discovers she is his son’s new teacher.
Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?
The characters are usually imaginary and I take time to develop each character before I start writing. The older I get the more human behavior interests me – why are we the way we are? What happened in the past that has brought us to this place? What are our “childhood wounds”? Some wounds never heal and impact the rest of our lives. In A family with the cowboy, all three siblings feel guilty because they live but their brother has died. How they come to terms with the grief and the guilt is part of each of their journeys.
Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?
I try to take charge. I usually have an idea how they should develop, but they sometimes interfere or refuse to do what I had in mind. It’s frustrating, but after about seventy or so books, I’ve learned to follow their lead. They know exactly what they want, all I have to do is sit down and write their story.
Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.
If you like smalltown romances, happy endings, cowboys and animals, lots of kissing and a love scene or two, this book is for you. Oh, and a single, grouchy dad, completely out of his depth trying to raise a son.
Grabbing her coat again, she rushed to the door, and while looking down at the buttons of her coat, she flung it open, already moving toward her car. But instead of moving forward, she was abruptly stopped by an unmoving object. She reached out to steady herself and her hands landed on a warm body. Familiar earthy tones of man and musk penetrated her befuddled brain.
Before she could figure out what had happened, big hands closed around her upper arms.
“What the hell?” the same voice rumbled.
Still stunned, she looked up, and up, not wanting to see what she already knew she would see. It was the cowboy from the previous Friday night.
A frown appeared between his eyes as recognition slowly dawned on him.
Eventually, she registered her hands were still spread out over his muscled upper body. Quickly dropping them, she stepped back. “May I help you?” she asked, trying not to look as flustered as she was feeling.
Still frowning, he looked up at the number above the door. “You…you were in Grey’s Saloon last Friday night?”
Nodding briefly, she lifted her chin. “May I help you?”
she asked again.
“Isn’t this Mrs. Denton’s classroom?”
“Mrs. Denton retired at the end of January. I’m the new second-grade teacher.”
His mouth opened and closed a few times. “Why the hell didn’t I know that?”
“Is there a reason you should know?”
“Hell, yes!” he said through clenched teeth. “My son is in this class.”
“Your son?”
“Luke. Luke Weston.”
Ah. Finally, many things made sense. “Well, Mr. Weston, if you or your wife had taken the time to read the letters I sent you last week, you would know that, one”—she ticked on her fingers—“your son has a new teacher, and, two, I would like to make an appointment to see both of you to talk about Luke.”
He frowned. “Why?”
“I would prefer it if your wife…”
“My wife, Miss Whoever-you-are, is dead. If you want to talk about Luke, you talk to me.”
It was her turn to open and close her mouth a few times. Inhaling deeply, she put out a hand. “I’m sorry, Mr. Weston. I’m Laura Anderson and I’m your son’s new teacher. Do you have a few minutes?”
He ignored her hand. “No, I don’t have a few minutes. I have a ranch to run. I’m here to tell you not to give Luke more books to read. He’s neglected his chores, something he’s never done before. I caught him in the barn yesterday afternoon, reading a damn book!”
The way the big man was carrying on, you’d think his son was committing a federal crime. No wonder poor Luke looked so unhappy.
“You should be pleased about that, not mad.”
“I’m not…” he bellowed before he caught himself. Rubbing his face, he turned on his heel. “I don’t have time for this.”
“Mr. Weston,” she called out. “We really should talk.”
He stopped and glared at her over his shoulder. “You wanna talk to me? You come and see me.” And off he stomped.
Cowboy Becket Weston likes women, plural, and has a reputation for breaking hearts. His bad-boy behavior masks a deeper need to atone for past mistakes. His side-hustle—using a pseudonym and posting comic drawings of ranch life on social media—lets him explore life, love, and grief without being exposed. He even has a following! But no amount of introspection can explain his fascination with Eleanor Campbell—Main Street, Marietta’s newest shopkeeper. She’s definitely not his type, so why does she keep turning up in his drawings?Ellie Campbell isn’t one for staying long in any one place, but when she inherits money from her grandmother and decides to open a yarn store in small-town Marietta, it feels like she’s putting down roots. She’s not looking for a relationship after one too many hard knocks, literally, but Becket Weston gets under her skin like no other, igniting passion that’s impossible to ignore.
He’s a bad boy playboy and everyone knows it, but there’s something about him that just doesn’t add up. Does Ellie have the courage to stick around and find a way into his heart?
I have been reading love stories for as long as I can remember and when I ‘met’ the classic authors like Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Henry James The Brontë sisters, etc. during my Honours studies, I was hooked for life. I married my college boyfriend and soul mate and after 47 years, 3 interesting and wonderful children and 4 beautiful grandchildren, he still makes me weak in the knees. We are fortunate to live in the picturesque little seaside village of Betty's Bay, South Africa with the ocean a block away and a beautiful mountain right behind us. And although life so far has not always been an easy ride, it has always been an exciting and interesting one! I like the heroines in my stories to be beautiful, feisty, independent and headstrong. And the heroes must be strong but possess a generous amount of sensitivity. They are of course, also gorgeous! My stories typically incorporate the family background of the characters to better understand where they come from and who they are when we meet them in the story.
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Sounds like a great story.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really good story.
ReplyDeleteThank so much for sharing!
ReplyDelete