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?
Becket Weston, the second brother who also lives and works on the Weston Ranch likes women – plural. He has a reputation as a bad boy, breaking hearts as far as he goes. He loves the ranch and can’t imagine living anywhere else, but his first love isn’t ranching, it’s drawing cartoon-like pictures of dogs and adding text to express his thoughts about life and love and losing someone. These he shares on social media under a pseudonym and to his surprise, his posts go viral.
I came across Iain Welch’s gorgeous sketches of his dogs – do visit his website https://iainwelch.co.uk or his Instagram page @artywelch to see the adorable illustrations he does of the antics of his dogs. His artwork was the inspiration for Becket’s “secret”.
When Ellie Campbell’s grandmother died, she walked away from an abusive relationship and takes the trip she’s always dreamt about. The first place she visits, is Marietta, the small Montana town her grandmother never stopped talking about. She opens a yarn shop, but as she tells everyone, she’s not settling down, she’s only interrupting her journey for a while. When she topples from a rickety ladder and ends up in Becket’s arms, everything changes, though.
I hope you enjoy reading Becket and Ellie’s story as much as I loved writing it.
Thanks for stopping by!
Chapter One
Giddy with excitement, Ellie peered into the box she’d just opened. Ooh, look at all the lovely yarn. She unpacked the gorgeous colors quickly, enjoying the sensation of the different textures. She’d ordered every type of yarn she could think of—from cotton to merino to kid silk and everything in between.
It was Wednesday, the third week of June. If anyone had told her a year ago she’d have her own yarn shop in Marietta, Montana, she would probably have laughed at the ludicrous idea. But here she was, happily unboxing luxurious yarns in every color of the rainbow in her very own shop.
She couldn’t help a shudder every time she remembered that, if she hadn’t left Phoenix, Arizona,—the only place she’d ever called home up until January of this year—she’d be married to Marcus Tate right now and he would probably have moved on from shoving her around to something much worse.
Stamping on his foot the first time he’d thrown her against the fridge, and leaving while he was still cussing, had been the best decision she’d ever made. She was her mother’s daughter, but she was never going to allow anyone to treat her the way her dad had treated her mom. If that meant staying single and being called a spinster for the rest of her life, so be it. At least it would mean she was safe. She didn’t mind being alone. In fact, she preferred her own company. Reading and knitting trumped trying to keep a man happy any day.
Love, that elusive sentiment described in romance novels and rom-com movies, was obviously not for everyone. Maybe it didn’t really exist. Maybe people marry because they think they’re in love, only to find out later it was a fleeting feeling. Anyway, during her one serious relationship, the one with Marcus, she hadn’t experienced any of those slightly off-balance moments she’d read about. No stars had ever exploded when they’d kissed, and the only thing that had ever made her shudder was a spider.
The overriding memory of the time she’d been with Marcus was feeling unsafe, scared and being anxious not to say or do anything that would light his very short fuse.
And that first time he’d lost his temper and had grabbed her throat, she’d known living in fear was not how she wanted to spend her life. Oh, he’d pleaded, but she never wanted to feel like that again. There was a nice ring to the word “spinster,” she’d decided.
When her beloved grandma Eleanor had died a few weeks later, she’d known it was time for a new beginning. Or two. Her first stop was going to be Marietta, Montana, a quaint town her grandmother had never stopped talking about.
She came, she saw and she fell in love. What sealed the idea of staying here for a while was the vacant shop space she’d noticed as she drove down Main Street. Owning her own shop had always been a dream. Because of her grandma, she now had the money to make that dream come true.
As a librarian, her first thought had been to open a bookstore, but Marietta already had a lovely one opposite the vacant store she’d seen. A yarn shop was her next choice. She loved knitting and crocheting. Her journey wasn’t at an end; staying in Marietta was just a temporary interruption. There was still time to do all the other things she’d been dreaming about. Maybe she could open a bookshop in the next town she drove through, when she took to the road again.
This was also the perfect time to get a cat. Or two. No respectable spinster could be without a cat, if everything she’d seen on the matter was true. Although she loved dogs. Always had. Her grandmother, who had raised her from the age of five, hadn’t had the energy for one, though. She’d always prevaricated when Ellie had pleaded for a pet.
In today’s technological world, there was a cure for just about anything, she’d discovered—even one’s craving for a pet. Social media was filled with entertaining pictures of cute dogs and kittens and any kind of animal you could think of. Scrolling through these kinda filled that blank that had been left after her beloved grandmother was gone, and made Ellie dream of having her own home one day.
The picture that came to mind every time she thought of owning her own home was the same one she’d dreamed about as a little girl on those days her father’s anger had seemed to fill every corner of their house. She’d dreamed of a white house with a big porch and bright blue shutters where she, her dogs and her cats could sit, enjoying the quiet.
She wasn’t really into social media, but she’d started an Instagram page for her shop. People seem to like her posts about yarn, as well as the knitting and crochet patterns she posted each day. And on the days she shared the magic of Marietta, she usually had even more comments.
It was while scrolling through Instagram that she’d recently discovered another page filled with cartoon-like sketches of the antics of three dogs—a Labrador and two Golden Retrievers—that always made her smile. The page belonged to ET Beck. There was no profile photo, so she didn’t know whether it was a man or a woman, but she eagerly scrolled to that particular page whenever she needed a fix of cuteness.
Ellie loved the drawings, but it was the expression on the faces of the dogs and the words accompanying the sketches that stopped her scrolling every time. And okay, yes, she’d read about the psychology of all the cute pictures of babies and animals on social media, but so what if it made her feel protective, caring and affectionate—all good feelings, right?
She sighed. But before this spinster could get her cat, she first needed to find a place to live. Her own safe place where she wouldn’t have to be afraid or worried.
Since she’d arrived in Marietta in early February, she’d been staying with Annie and Craig O’Sullivan in their beautiful B&B. Annie’s scrumptious breakfasts were probably the reason that, before now, the idea of moving hadn’t really been that tempting. But it was time to get her own place. She’d spoken to Annie and had already contacted the town’s Realtor. Hopefully he’d have something for her to rent sometime this week. It was time to finally get her own cat.
Her mind racing, she smiled. She even knew where to look for a pet. Four weeks ago, Laura Anderson—the first friend she’d made in Marietta—had married the love of her life, Hayden Weston, one of three seriously gorgeous cowboys who owned the Weston Ranch outside town.
From what Ellie had gathered from Laura, Cooper Weston, the youngest brother, had a kind of animal shelter on the ranch. Maybe he would have a stray she could buy from him.
Frowning, she arranged the yarn into colors. Her only concern in contacting him was the possibility of running into Becket Weston, the second brother. She’d only caught a glimpse of him at Laura and Hayden’s wedding, but it hadn’t been difficult to see why there were so many stories flying around town about that particular Weston brother.
He was a flirt, flashing his baby blues and killer smile at every woman he laid his eyes on. And yes, he’d tried that smile on her as well, but long before she’d seen him at the wedding she’d heard enough stories about the string of broken hearts he’d left behind him to know he was trouble with a capital T.
Okay, granted, like his brothers he was drop-dead gorgeous. Square jaw, wide shoulders, slim hips and a twinkle in his blue eyes that seemed to get him any woman he wanted. She could appreciate an attractive man like any other woman, but he was so not the type of man for her. Not that she was looking, mind you.
Irritated, she combed through her hair. There she was, thinking of Becket Weston again. Even when she was thinking of reasons why she shouldn’t be thinking about him, she did!
Her new life was about making sure she was safe and secure; being reckless was not in her plans and Becket Weston had recklessness written all over him.
Focus, Ellie, focus. She had new yarn to display. The problem was, though, she didn’t have enough space for everything. Glancing up at the big cupboards she’d had installed right after she moved in, she had an idea.
It was summer and most of her customers were knitting with cotton. If she put away the winter yarn until later, she’d have more than enough space to display the new colors.
Chewing her lip, she stared at the top of the cupboard. On days like this, she wished for longer legs, but at five feet one inch she needed a ladder for most things she had to do in her shop. She could ask one of her neighbors on Main Street to help her, but it was lunchtime; everyone was either eating or serving lunch.
Well, the stepladder she’d bought online right after she’d moved in would have to do. It was a tad rickety, but so far she’d managed just fine.
Chuckling to himself, Becket left the pharmacy. When he’d turned around after paying for his purchase, he’d noticed Aurelia Hill. She was new in town, working at the hardware store, and had already built a reputation as the new town gossip. He bet she was probably on the phone right now, telling everyone about the box of you-know-what bad boy Becket Weston had just bought. Speculation as to which lady he was buying them for would give them enough to talk about until closing time.
He’d parked in front of the bookstore on the opposite side of Main Street. The bookshop stocked the brand of paper he liked to use for the cartoon illustrations he made of the antics of his dogs. The other art supplies he needed, like watercolors, oils and acrylics, he bought from a shop in Bozeman, the closest city to Marietta. It was much easier to make the twenty-seven-minute drive to another city than have to explain to anyone here why a cowboy was buying art supplies.
Harper, his beloved Labrador, was in the back seat of his truck. She was older than his two Golden Retrievers, Jack and Sadie, and didn’t like to be left at home. The moment she saw him, her tail wagged. Here was at least one girl who was always happy to see him.
He had a date this Friday night for the first time in a long while. He liked women and loved spending time with the opposite sex. Even though he made it clear right from the start he wasn’t interested in anything long term, women always seemed to want more. When they started dropping phrases like ‘taking the next step’ into the conversation, or stopped to admire rings in the jeweler’s store window he knew it was time to move on.
Before his new sister-in-law, Laura, had fallen for his brother, Hayden, Becket had taken her to dinner at the Graff Hotel. The previous woman he’d dated had shown up in tears, causing a very uncomfortable scene. That was when Laura had told him in no uncertain terms what she thought of the way he treated women. He’d taken a long hard look at himself after that and had steered clear of women for a while. After that particularly unpleasant experience it hadn’t been any hardship to keep his distance from women.
Fact was, he couldn’t ever get serious about a relationship. How could he have a happy ending, when Walker would never get the chance? Because Becket had been too wrapped up in his own little world and wasn’t paying attention at the time, one of his brothers was lying six feet under the ground. It was what it was.
When a new nurse in town, Roxy, had asked him on a date last weekend, he’d accepted, making sure she knew he wasn’t interested in anything long term.
As he turned his head to check the traffic, a motion in the shop next to the pharmacy caught his attention. A woman with curly blonde hair cascading down her back was standing on a stepladder, her hands stretched out in front of her as she was trying to put something on top of a cupboard. A very unsteady stepladder, from what he could see.
He recognized her immediately. It was Ellie, Laura’s very sexy curvy friend. She’d attended Laura and Hayden’s wedding four weeks ago, but had slipped away before he could introduce himself. She wasn’t the type of woman he usually dated, his mother had said when Ellie had been discussed during a lunch. Well, he didn’t have to like her to know she was in trouble. Even from here, it was obvious the ladder was going to keel over at any moment.
His feet were moving before he even thought about what he was doing.
With two steps he was inside the shop. Dropping the bag in his hands on the nearest counter, he charged forward.
The ladder groaned and tilted.
“Oh!” she cried and the next moment she came tumbling down. With another step forward he was just in time to catch her in his arms.
Shocked blue eyes looked up at him. Then the strangest thing happened. For a split second, he could swear the earth stopped turning, long enough for him to become acutely aware of the soft womanly curves he was holding in his arms.
For the life of him, he couldn’t look away. With one glance he took in everything about her—skin like petals under his fingers, silky curls brushing against his hand, generous breasts pressing against his arms, the pulse fluttering in her neck, the shudder that went through her. Or was it through him?
“Put me down!” she demanded and wriggled to get down.
“Steady now, sweetheart,” he got out as he slowly put her down.
Strangely lightheaded from the notes of flowers and citrus that still clung to him, he steadied himself against the counter. Forcing himself to look away, he glanced down. She’d kicked off her shoes and was in bare feet. Her toenails were painted a soft pink. Desire like he’d never experienced before hit him forcefully in the gut.
“Don’t call me sweetheart,” she huffed. “Thank you, but I had the situation under control.”
He should be flirting, joking with her, but gone was all his usual suave bantering. Like an idiot, he could only stare. She was still talking, but he didn’t hear a thing. Her lips … they were made for kissing. And the line of her neck …
“… please leave?” Her words finally penetrated his befuddled mind. “This is yours …” she said as she picked up the package he’d bought at the pharmacist.
As she tossed the packet in his direction, the box of condoms slipped out, fell to the ground and several condoms fell out.
They both crouched down at the same time. She had the box in her hand while he was picking up the few packages that had fallen out. “Skin-on-skin feeling for enhanced sensation and pleasure,” she read out loud before she realized what she was holding in her hands. Blushing a fiery red, she dropped the package like it was a hot potato and got up quickly.
Quickly putting everything back in the paper bag, he stood up. “I …” He had to clear his throat. “I was just trying to help.”
Turning her back on him, she moved closer to the door. “I know all about you, Becket Weston. I’m not falling for those baby blues.”
Well, he hadn’t ever been one to step away from a challenge. Finally regaining his equilibrium, he pushed the package into the pocket of his jeans and sauntered closer to where she was waiting for him to leave, back straight. “Baby blues?”
Whipping around, her mouth opened, ready to cut him down to size again, but then she froze. She’d obviously not realized how close he was standing to her. Backing up a few steps, he saw it—the clear outline of her nipples straining against the soft material of the dress she was wearing; the top button had slipped open, giving him a glimpse of the swell of a milk-white breast and midnight-blue lace. Another wave of desire punched him in the gut—he wasn’t the only one to react.
“Sure about that?” he chuckled as he lowered his head. He’d merely meant to tease her; actually kissing her hadn’t even entered his mind. Until he caught the whiff of her scent again. Within seconds his blood heated to way beyond boiling point and rushed loudly through his bloodstream.
Steady, steady. Taking a deep breath, he grinned, forcing himself to play his usual role. “Wanna kiss and make out?” he teased, trying to clear his befuddled mind.
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.
The night Influencer Rose Dalton gets dumped live on social media—when she and her millions of followers were expecting a marriage proposal—is the night Rose drives away from her life in Seattle. She’s hurt and angry, mostly at herself for becoming someone she hardly recognizes. She’s also at fault when she almost drives off the road near a town called Marietta, earning a scolding from a cowboy with the most amazing blue eyes she’s ever seen.Cooper Weston is known as the horse whisperer. He prefers animals to people and loves working with skittish and abused horses on his family’s vast ranch. Women love him, and he enjoys them, but he’s yet to meet one who’s interested in anything besides fashion, social media, and taking pictures of everything.
Then he lays eyes on the wounded, secretive Rose and he wonders if he can trust her with his past, and Rose isn’t sure she’s brave enough to hand over her bruised heart to the quiet sexy cowboy.
Willow Weston, a well-known artist, is working on an upcoming exhibition in Seattle when her brother Hayden puts Hunter Grant in charge of managing The Weston Ranch.She’s seen the big cowboy with the killer smile around town but so far has managed to ignore the instant tug at her heart when he’s around. But now he’s living on their ranch and is constantly getting in her way, even intruding when she’s swimming naked in her favorite private hot spring.
Like her grandmother, Willow is fey as her mother calls it. She knows when something is wrong and she experiences the feelings of those she loves. She’s made peace with the fact that she’ll never have a family or even consider marriage, but when she and Hunter ended up being fake-engaged, things get complicated. Apart from the fact that she doesn’t want the responsibility of one more person’s feelings to consider, Hunter has made it clear he’s only on the Weston Ranch temporarily. There’s a family ranch waiting for him in Colorado.
There’s no way they can be together forever, is there?
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 story I will enjoy reading.
ReplyDeleteI hope you do!
DeleteThanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI would enjoy reading this one. Sounds really good.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a really cute story!
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds wonderful. Love the genre.
ReplyDelete