"Revisit the Lucky Penny ranch, you'll be glad you do!"
Reviewed by Sandra Wurman
Posted June 4, 2016
Romance Contemporary
Life just isn't fair. The guy cheats, dumps his then fiancé
but
all the scandal seems to fall at the jilted woman's feet. So
that woman has two choices. Hide under the covers or beat them
at their own game. Hey -- might as well give them something to
talk about -- while having a good time. HOT COWBOY NIGHTS by Carolyn Brown is about thumbing your nose
at those hurtful gossips. In the name of righteous these
horrible people couldn't be more unfair and Lizzy Logan has
just about had it.
HOW COWBOY NIGHTS is the next installment in the Lucky Penny
Ranch series centered on a group of men who pool their
resources both financial and talent to purchase a ranch that
has definitely seen better days -- and that comes with an
unfortunate history of failure. Hence the fact that the name of
the ranch seems ironic. Lizzy's family is worried about her. After the abrupt breakup
with her fiancé Mitch Lizzy's mother and sister have been
keeping a somewhat close eye on her. Which is why it is funny
that she has been able to have a secret hot sexy fling with
Toby someone well known to them all. Add to the story is that
Lizzy's sister is married to Toby's brother. So needless
to say
the two of them are fated to be thrown together pretty often. But life has a way of throwing curves. Lizzy is beginning to
dream about another chance at love and dare she hope marriage
and family. Toby is a free spirit enjoying his freedom and just
getting used to the idea of settling in at the Lucky Penny
ranch. The arrangement and fling with Lizzy is getting shall we
say awkward. The townsfolk are intent on giving the new guys on the Lucky
Penny ranch a hard time going so far as to encourage shop
owners to avoid doing business with them. But the folks in Dry
Creek have underestimated the tenacity of many of their
neighbors. Cowboys and ranchers aren't the only tough guys.
The
women of Dry Creek aren't going to knuckle under to unfair
pressure from those that aren't anything less than bullies. Toby decides to help Lizzy prove to the town that she has
totally got over her ex by pretending to be dating. The ex is
planning on attending the town's festival and so this
arrangement just has to last until then. Their dating is to be
totally platonic -- no friends with benefits. Now we just have
to see who caves in first. Let the games begin. Carolyn Brown and I share an infinity and love for things
cowboy and country songs as well. HOT COWBOY NIGHTS could have
just as easily been titled Let's Give 'Em Something To Talk
About a classic Bonnie Raitt tune.
SUMMARY
LET'S GIVE 'EM SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT . . . If gossip is the lifeblood of a small town, then Lizzy
Logan
has been its beating heart. After being dumped by her
fiancé
for another woman, she could have decided to crawl under
a
rock. But no, she'd rather really set tongues wagging by
"moving on" with one of the hottest cowboys in Texas, who
happens to live next door at the Lucky Penny Ranch. Those
busybodies don't have to know it's actually all pretend.
And
just because Lizzy has no aim to tame her wild, blue-eyed
neighbor doesn't mean she can't enjoy the ride of her
life. Toby Dawson never was and never will be the settling-down
type. But what harm could there be in agreeing to be
Lizzy's
pretend boyfriend? They'll put on a show for a few weeks
and
be done. Yet the more he gets to know Lizzy-really know
her-the harder it is for him to keep his hands off of her
in
private. Soon this rough-and-ready cowboy is hoping to
heal
Lizzy's bruised heart and turn their fake affair into a
true
romance . . .
ExcerptLizzy’s plan was to sneak inside the house, up the stairs
and into her room. She could already feel the cool water
from the shower, washing away the hot sex still lingering
on her body. Her plan did not work. She hadn’t even kicked her boots off in front of the hall
tree when her sister Allie shot out of the kitchen,
grabbed her by the hand and tugged her into the table,
where the man she’d been in bed with not thirty minutes
ago gave her a sly wink. Oh my God, how could her mother—
standing right there—not notice the sparks bouncing
around the room. She was sure Allie’s husband, Blake,
also at the table, was picking up on something. “Where have you been?” Allie accused. Lizzy braced
herself. Allie never paused for breath when she got
worked up. And sure enough she started talking faster
than some auctioneers that Lizzy had heard. “I’ve called a dozen times and we were ready to start up
a search and rescue party to find you. Mama says you’ve
been puttin’ in too many hours at the store. You’ve got
to get out of this depression, Lizzy. Mitch isn’t worth
it. He’s a sorry son of a bitch, but don’t let him ruin
your life. It’s been over six months since that bastard
left for Mexico. In fact, tomorrow is June first, and I
declare it the day that you are moving forward with your
life.” Allie paused to suck in some air and looked around
at the other three people in the kitchen. “Okay, now that
she’s here, get out the ice cream, Mama, so we can tell
y’all our news.” Lizzy pulled out a kitchen chair and melted into it.
Droplets of water still hung from Toby’s hair. So he’d
had time for a shower before he’d been dragged across the
fence to Lizzy and her mother’s house. If she hadn’t had
to run by her feed store for a late delivery, she might
have already had time to clean up, too. But Fate had not
liked her in a very long time. She tried not to notice
the way those droplets ran down his neck—exactly where
her mouth had been less than an hour earlier. Or that
sexy white scar on his face where a bull gored him—her
fingers itched to touch it again like she’d done so many
times. He gave her a wink, and she could scarcely believe the
heat between them hadn’t set the wallpaper on fire. A
downright miracle. Her mother, Katy, dipped ice cream into five bowls. These
days she was less stressed, now that Granny was in a care
facility in Wichita Falls that specialized in treatment
and care of folks with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Allie, looked like she was about to explode with some
kind of fabulous news. Her husband, Blake O’Donnell, had
one of those smiles on his face that a dose of alum
couldn’t erase. And then there was Blake’s brother, Toby,
leaning against the wall, his rock hard body sending
waves of desire shooting through her body like blasts of
lightning. It wasn’t fair that he could stand there all
calm and collected while butterflies fluttered around in
her stomach. Sweet Jesus! Why did he have to be right
there in the room with her so soon after they’d gotten
all slick with sweat on that twin-sized bed in the back
room of her mama’s convenience store? Allie and Katy carried the ice cream to the table and as
luck would have it, Toby sat beside Lizzy around the
table made for four people. His thigh pressed against
hers and she had trouble concentrating on the ice cream,
the excitement in her sister’s dark brown eyes, her
brother-in-law’s grin or anything else. “We had the ultrasound done yesterday, and it’s a
girl...” Allie reached for Blake’s hand. Katy’s spoon hit the table with a thud. Toby jumped up and hugged his brother across the table. Lizzy felt as if someone sucked all the oxygen from her
lungs and left her to smother to death in a grove of
mesquite trees. It was exactly the vision she’d had for
herself before her fiancé had run off with another woman.
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