The Cowboy’s Reckoning by Jeannie Watt and a Give Away

by

I have a new release coming out tomorrow. The Cowboy’s Reckoning is the third book of my Bad Boys of the Rodeo series  and I’m excited for its journey out into the world.

Imagine what it would be like to spend your life thinking that your father was a cattle thief who passed away in jail, only to discover that he was actually a wealthy businessman who left you a ranch. That’s what happens to Jordan Matthews, the hero of my latest Bad Boys of the Rodeo book, The Cowboy’s Reckoning. Inheriting a ranch out of the blue would be an amazing windfall to most people, but it doesn’t feel that way to Jordan. His surprise father had obviously been aware of his existence and had the means by which to care for him, yet he’d let Jordan go into foster care at the age of four when his mother died. Why? And why leave Jordan the ranch, which is now long-termed leased to Lil and Meg McAllen, sisters who lost their family ranch to bankruptcy?

Rather than get answers to those questions, Jordan wants to get rid of the ranch and go back to life as he knows it. The only thing standing in his way is Lil, who not only refuses to vacate the place, but insists that he uphold his end of the lease and fix what’s broken. And lately a lot of things have been mysteriously broken on Jordan’s new ranch—to the point that he and Lil begin to wonder if someone is purposely sabotaging the place. They also start to wonder if perhaps they can find a middle ground for both the ranch and a future between them.

Here’s an excerpt:

“That’s him!” Meg said, eye widening.

Lil followed her sister’s gaze to see three men standing near the crowded hotel bar. “Who?”

“The guy I saw today while I was riding. The spy.”

Aubrey pushed her glasses down to look over the top. “That’s Jordan Matthews. He’s local and harmless.” She bit the edge of her lip as she canted her head to one side. “I take that back. Not harmless. He’s broken countless hearts, mostly by accident. But he’s cowboy through and through. Not a stalker or anything.”

“Jordan Matthews?” Lil gave Aubrey a stunned look. “That’s the name of my new landlord.”

“No way.” Aubrey gave her head an adamant shake. “I mean … No. Way.”

“Why?”

“Jordan’s dad died in jail years ago. The guy was a cattle thief of all things.”

“Wow,” Lil said softly, studying the dark-haired cowboy.

He was strikingly handsome, with chiseled cheekbones and a pirate-y smile that flashed as he talked to his friends.

“What about his mom?” Meg asked, obviously intrigued by the cattle thief angle.

“She also died,” Aubrey said, “which is why a local rancher adopted Jordan when he was little. He was two years ahead of me in school. His origin story made him double romantic, you know. Being drop-dead gorgeous didn’t hurt either.”

Lil tried to keep from staring, but the guy was an eyeful, with a perfect profile, easy smile, and a lean yet muscular build.

She blew out a breath. “I wasn’t expecting … him.”

“It can’t be him,” Aubrey said.

“So why had he been spying on the property just before I’m supposed to meet with a man named Jordan Matthews?”

A few thoughtful seconds passed before Aubrey conceded, “You’ve got me there.”

Lil looked away just as Jordan casually swung his gaze her way. She was very glad to have seen the man in the wild, because it gave her an indication of what kind of guy he was. Comfortable in his own skin. Quick to smile. He looked like he could charm a cranky grandmother into mending his torn jeans.

“I hope he’s good with a hammer,” Lil murmured. “I have stuff that needs to be done.”

“You do set the bar low,” Aubrey replied as the server approached their table.

She declined another round while Lil continued to low-key study the man who might be her landlord. Jordan’s friend nudged him and a dark gaze suddenly swept her way, catching her mid-stare.

Drat.

Even at a distance, she saw a questioning expression form on his handsome face and felt her cheeks grow warm. Surely a guy like that was used to being stared at, so she didn’t look away. He could make what he liked of it. For all he knew she was staring through him. Then, after a few very long seconds, she casually turned her attention back to Aubrey who was once again discussing why her Jordan Matthews couldn’t be their Jordan Matthews.

Lil was ninety percent sure that he was indeed the owner of the place, and she didn’t care how it had come about. She just wanted the man to honor the language of the lease and repair the things that had started to go wrong on the place.

And to maybe not recognize her as the stalker in the bar.

 

AMAZON      KOBO      BARNES & NOBLE      APPLE BOOKS      GOOGLE PLAY

To celebrate the release of my book I’m giving away a $10 Amazon gift card to a randomly chosen respondent. To qualify, please tell me a time you got a surprise gift. I’ll start–when I was nine years old, my parents surprised me with a beautiful white horse to use for 4-H.

74 thoughts on “The Cowboy’s Reckoning by Jeannie Watt and a Give Away”

  1. It wasn’t a good surprise. When we’d been married almost 20 years my husband gave me kielbasa as a gift (I think it was for my birthday, in February). He was a fan of kielbasa but I never liked it (or most other similar sausages). How can our beloved spouses be so myopically clueless when it comes to what we like?

    Thanks for running the giveaway and “The Cowboy’s Reckoning” looks to be an enjoyable story.

  2. After we moved to Maine, one of my uncle & aunt’s surprised me on my birthday by visiting and bringing me flowers.

  3. When I was dating my now ex-husband, he used to leave me gifts in my car at work.
    Then there was the surprise of me being pregnant the first time. I was told by doctors that getting pregnant would be very difficult for me due to medical stuff. This was the early 1990’s. They were wrong! I have 3 boys (and 2 granddaughters and another grand on the way).

  4. I got a surprise 50th birthday lunch from my husband, son, mom and brother. My mom and brother that lived 300 miles from us secretly conspired with my husband to meet us half way between where we lived and where they lived, at a Cracker Barrel for lunch. I didn’t know until we got there this was the purpose of the trip, I thought we were traveling for a completely different reason. Mom had also brought a homemade pound cake for my birthday.

  5. Good morning! Best wishes on your new book! The best surprise was my mother calling me on my birthday saying she got flowers from my husband. The card read”Thank you. My greatest gift came from you on this day 30 years ago.”

    Many blessings to you Jeannie!

  7. Double surprise – My teacher coworkers came in my room with gifts for my birthday. We were all surprised because they were a month EARLY! We had the best laugh! They knew I didn’t like surprises and birthday gifts, so that year was a surprise for all of us! Every year I think about that day.

  8. When I was 15 I got a surprise birthday party, which I wasn’t expecting since that year I remember it being hard financially. but my grandmother also got me a puppy that year, so overall a great way to ring in my 15th birthday.

  9. My surprise gift was a puppy when I was about 12. My Dad asked me to go get his laundry and I really didn’t want to, but I did. And there was a puppy in the laundry room. He really didn’t want laundry at all. That was my best surprise.

  10. hubs surprised me on Christmas Day 1982 with 2 Honda 3 wheelers – it was 60+ degrees (very warm for Indiana) so we spent the day 3 wheeling all over the property!

  12. Happy Book Release! Enjoyed the excerpt.

    A couple of weeks ago, a friend gave me a book-themed tote and note pad, just because.

  13. I got a surprise gift from my landlords for Christmas one year. They are lovely people and good to me, but this was beyond special. They gave me a a 40″ Flat screen TV one year for Christmas. I was just so overwhelmed I cried. It was the same year I lost my mom, so I was pretty emotional to begin with that Christmas.

  15. I would have the best surprise gift that I have is my husband. We have been married for 37 years. He gives of himself daily to be my full time caregiver. Thank you so much for the opportunity. God bless you.

  16. Several years ago my oldest brother bought me a necklace with my initial on it. It’s still one of my favorite pieces. 🙂

  18. That book sounds amazing! My mom got me several small items from a yard sale for my 16th birthday. It was a surprise because we were quite poor and I hadn’t received birthday gifts for several years.

  22. Very practical but still a well loved and very used surprise gift – a new sewing machine from my parents shortly before I married several decades ago.

    Always enjoy your posts with book updates and thoughtful questions!

  25. For our 50th wedding anniversary our children gave us a gift of a week at the beach. We were very surprised.

  27. Great set up and excerpt!

    Surprise gift? My first car–Dad surprised me with formerly owned (4 times!) 1969 GTO with a slapstick his & her transmission. I loved that car, even though it wasn’t a convertible… (needed wheels to commute to college)

  28. My husband surprised me with an early birthday gift a few years ago…..tickets to a Baxter Black show in the very small community of Hooper, Wa. What a fun day which also included music by Wylie and the Wild West. It was actually a fund raiser for the LaCrosse community.

    This book looks really good.

  29. A surprise gift… when I came home from the hospital last year, my sister left a bunch of gifts on my bed… a cute body pillow, a matching blanket, and more. I was so delighted finding these items! So sweet!

  30. My daughter has surprised me several times when she bought me a dress. The last one she surprised me with was two weeks ago. She got herself one so we have matching dresses.

  31. A surprise gift I received was from my Grandmother. I didn’t go to college right out of high school. I went to work and bought a car. Fortunately, I had people in my life encouraging me to go back to school/college. My grandmother was one of those people she surprised me by paying off my car so I could quit my job and go to school. This gift also encouraged my parents to help pay for my school. I went to college to be a teacher and this is my 34th year to teach. I know her gift was what helped me accomplish more than I ever thought possible.

  32. Congratulations. This sounds like such a wonderful book. When our two kiddos were 1 and almost 3, my husband took them both to the store and got me a birthday present. (brave man – these two kiddos loved to be in stores) LOL Anyway, he gave me his gift to me when we woke up. Later the two kiddos gave me a huge box. Oh my what could it be? I opened it up and started to cry. I had wanted a bread machine for years and here it was. Our son (our oldest) started to cry because he thought I didn’t like the gift. And our 1 year old not really understanding, started to cry also. By this time, I am crying and laughing. And my husband is trying to help the kiddos understand that my tears were happy tears. Well they were not understanding this, so I picked up the machine and my husband picked up the two children and we went into the kitchen and made our first loaf of bread. Yes my husband had made sure I had all fresh ingredients for making a loaf right away. The Lord was speaking to him about all of this. For years afterwards, all four of us had many laughs about that day. And many adventurous times in the kitchen. Our dog would steal a whole loaf of bread if I was not careful. LOL

  33. Hubby surprised me for Christmas several years ago with my first Kindle. It opened up a whole new world of reading.

  34. Let me start a surprise gift I will never forget was given to me when I was in Elementary School and the gift was from Mom and Dad and my Grandparents and when my 2 younger sisters and I came home from Elementary School mom was standing at the door waiting for myself and my sisters with suitcases already packed and she surprised me and my sisters got to go with a surprise trip with family to Niagara Falls fast forward a few years when I was an adult my Dad one December got me a Snow Shovel…A Snow Shovel for my Birthday which is exactly 7 days before Christmas so those are my surprise gifts I’ve gotten.

  37. Hi Jeannie – My surprise gift was a new bicycle when I was 7 yrs. old. I had been asking my parents for one & they finally got me one. Your book sounds like a good one will have to add it to my TBR list.

  38. This will likely bee way too late, but for some reason my comment isn’t here. We are on the road and I have found that posts do not always make it. My gift was a roundabout thing. I had wanted to go to New Orleans but my husband didn’t. I asked several times with no luck. Sooo, for his birthday I gave him a trip – a non-refundable week in New Orleans over his birthday. We both had a great time. We have been back twice and he wants to go back again. The second trip was a birthday gift for me.

Comments are closed.

Petticoats & Pistols