THE COWBOY TAKES A BRIDE – Lori Wilde
Avon
ISBN: 978-0-06-204775-5
April 2012
Contemporary Romance

Jubilee, Texas – Present Day

After learning of the passing of her estranged father, out of work wedding planner Mariah Callahan decides to leave Chicago and check out what he has left her. She arrives to find a nearly naked cowboy asleep in a gold plated horse trough. Oh. My. Mariah learns that his name is Joe Daniels and… oops …that she is on the wrong ranch. Her daddy just bought a small piece of Joe's land, but he willed it to her. The rundown cabin isn't exactly what Mariah was used to back in Chicago , but with no job and no place to go, it's going to suffice. Being neighbors with the sexy Joe isn't going to be easy. How can Mariah resist the charming cowboy knowing that while he might be good in bed, his heart belongs to his late wife?

Joe left the rodeo business behind and became a fulltime horse cutter after the sudden death of his wife. Mariah's father, Dutch Callahan, was his best friend. Joe thinks that Mariah was heartless in ignoring Dutch all these years and should just sell her inheritance to him. However, he does help get her settled in, despite her objections. The more they're around each other, the harder it becomes to deny the attraction between them. Besides, Mariah is a distraction he doesn't need because of an upcoming futurity he's training for.

Welcome to Jubilee, Texas , the cutting horse capital of the United States . Everyone lives, breathes and works horses in town and Mariah, raised mostly in big cities, feels out of place. But everyone is nice to her and makes her feel welcome, despite the fact that she's made it clear she is not staying long.  After losing her wedding planning job, Mariah found it hard to find a new one, so temporarily dropping anchor in Jubilee seems the best course of action. But each time she comes into contact with Joe, her heart goes pitter patter. He is so damned handsome—and nice to boot. He hasn't gotten over his wife's death, and no way does Mariah plan to play second fiddle to a dead woman.

In THE COWBOY TAKES A BRIDE, Mariah needs a job and finally lands one at the local bar, where she gets to meet more cowboys than she's ever seen in her life. Of course, Joe has to hang out at the bar and they form a wobbly friendship. Their chemistry burns hotter than a wildfire as they dance around the idea of whether having sex will be a good thing or create more problems. Meanwhile, Mariah sees a need for a wedding planner in Jubilee (Hey, even cowboys get married.) and Joe helps her out. But is setting up a business—and roots—a good thing when Mariah isn't entirely sure she wants to stay in town?

A fun, rollicking read, THE COWBOY TAKES A BRIDE is the first tale in a new Texas series by Lori Wilde. If you like sexy cowboys, sassy women, and a small town filled to the brim with testosterone, you'll love this story. Add in a horse named Miracle who somehow helps bring Mariah and Joe together, well, you know you're going to enjoy this tale.

Patti Fischer