Lone
Star Leathernecks
As You Were, Cowboy
Wrangling a leatherneck takes skill . . . and patience.
Subject: Mateo Lopez, USMC retired
Current
Status: Medical discharge, recovering
Mission: Rebuild his life following medical discharge from the Marines after
suffering a spinal injury. Care for and train his beloved horses once again.
Obstacle: Claire Windsor. The London-born trainer comes to the ranch, keen on
beginning a training program designed to turn its horses into therapy animals.
The last thing Mateo wants is a change in routine or a beautiful, talented
woman with a sexy accent telling him what to do. But avoiding her may prove
impossible, especially when she stands between him and the work he loves.
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Series
Reading Order:
Semper Fi Cowboy
As You Were, Cowboy
Excerpt
of As You Were Cowboy by Heather Long:
Anger
filled Mateo Lopez like hot shrapnel bursting with every word the gorgeous
blonde issued in her cultured British accent. White-hot lances of pain radiated
along his spine. All he’d done was move a few damn bales of hay, and it had
left him sweating and gasping for breath. Accepting his limitations and giving
in to weakness were not in his wheelhouse, although he’d elected to make the
walk to his truck for the prescription the doctor insisted he fill. If he could
avoid taking the pain pills he would. Now her.
“I
beg your pardon,” she said, and he could practically feel the stiffness of her
tone, as though a riding crop were delivering a fresh welt of pain across his
back. “Mr. Wilks?”
“I’m
not Tanner,” Mateo admitted. As grating as her pronouncement had been, his
mother would tear a strip off his hide if he didn’t dispel the
misunderstanding. “I’m Mateo Lopez, ranch manager.” Technically, he was the
assistant ranch manager to his father. They split the ranch tasks between them.
“I handle the trainers as well.”
He
was the trainer.
The
horses were his.
This
. . . woman was not going to just walk in and take over like she owned the
place.
“Please
accept my apologies, Mr. Lopez. I thought you were Mr. Wilks.” Unease left her
manner stilted, and a tiny frown line appeared between her cornflower-blue
eyes, which gleamed with intensity even in the barn’s shade. Sugar nickered
again and stomped her feet, disturbed by their nearness and likely offended by
the lack of attention. The filly was lovely, and a diva in her awareness of it.
With
a light cough to clear her throat, she recaptured his attention and continued,
“If you could point me in Tanner’s direction, then I’ll excuse myself.”
“I
have no problems excusing you, but the ranch is private property and, as I
already stated, I oversee all the horses here. We don’t need a new trainer.” It
went against the grain on every level. A spasm worked its way along his spine,
and he gritted his teeth. Yes, Tanner had mentioned the potential plan—keyword potential. He hadn’t mentioned actually
hiring anyone. Mateo attributed it to keeping the Colonel focused on his
recovery. That was why, right?
“Mr.
Lopez, I’m not sure what I’ve done to offend you, but my contract is with Mr. Wilks.” The stress of the word contract couldn’t be missed, nor could
the way her chin lifted and her shoulders went back. Even her nose seemed a
little higher, as though she physically held herself back from fighting with
him.
“Lady,
I don’t know what you think is going to happen, but no trainers touch these
horses without my approval.” The horses were everything to him. There was no
way Tanner was going to usurp his work to bring a Brit.
“I
know exactly what is going to happen. I left a very lucrative and successful
training program in Stafford to travel several thousand miles to make a dream
come true. I apologize if I’ve offended you, but until Mr. Wilks decides to buy
out my contract, I’m not going anywhere.” Stubborn defiance flashed in those
willful eyes. Red flushed her cream complexion, which drew his attention to the
scatter of freckles across her nose and upper cheeks. They contrasted against
her sharp look, and he couldn’t look away.
“What
you left or didn’t leave is not my concern,” he said through his teeth. The
spasm in his back was continuing to lash at his spine like blazing hot barbed
wire. The need to collapse weighed on him, but he refused to give in. Not when
he faced an opponent in better physical condition than he. Even if she was
overdressed for the heat. To give in to weakness in front of her would be to concede
that he couldn’t do his job.
Despite
the rigidity of her posture, she couldn’t disguise the concern flickering in
her eyes. The last thing he wanted was her sympathy. Not when she stood there
with clenched fists. “I’ll leave you to whatever it is you’re doing and seek
Tanner out myself.”
Though
she turned on her heel and began walking away, Mateo couldn’t just let Claire
leave.
“You
have no business wandering around the ranch by yourself.” Not dressed like she
was—she’d get heatstroke. “The ranch covers several hundred acres, and that
doesn’t include the outer pastures.”
Halting,
she still held her hands clenched tight as she turned to face him. “Mr. Lopez,
was it?”
A
shiver of humor evaded the pain storming his system. There was something about
the way she framed his name in her perfectly sensible, clipped accent. Melodic
and insulting all at once.
“You
can call me Mateo.” He managed a smile, though it required him to clench his
teeth.
“I’d
prefer to keep the address formal in order to stay professional.” The brilliant
blue of her eyes turned positively frosty. “That being said, Mr. Lopez, I spoke
to a Maria. She directed me to the house, and I chose to stop at the barn on my
way there. My mistake. I won’t continue to trouble you.”
The
fingers of agony digging into his spine began to twist, and Mateo braced a hand
against the door to the stall. White-knuckling, he managed to stay on his feet.
A man appeared in the entry to the barn, backlit by the late-day sun, the hat
on his head giving away his identity.
“Miss
Windsor,” Tanner called as he strode down the aisle. “Maria told me you were
here. Was on the way to the house when I saw the car outside.”
Shit.
Mateo wanted to curse. Bad enough the foreigner was here. His best friend
confirming her story, though—that made it all the worse.
About Heather:
USA Today bestselling author, Heather Long, likes
long walks in the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who
aren’t douche bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines tangled in
romance as hot as Texas summertime.
From paranormal historical westerns to contemporary
military romance, Heather might switch genres, but one thing is true in all of
her stories—her characters drive the books. When she’s not wrangling her
menagerie of animals, she devotes her time to family and friends she considers
family.
She believes if you like your heroes so real you
could lick the grit off their chest, and your heroines so likable, you’re sure
you’ve been friends with women just like them, you’ll enjoy her worlds as much
as she does.
Heather is best known for her 18-book paranormal
romance series Wolves of Willow Bend, which begins:
Prequel: Wolf at Law
1: Wolf Bite
2: Caged Wolf
3: Wolf Claim
3.5: Wolf Next Door
4: Rogue Wolf
5: Bayou Wolf
6: Untamed Wolf
Heather's other fantasy romance series include the
paranormal westerns Fevered Hearts starting with Marshal of Hel Dorado, Black
Hill Wolves which start with What a Wolf Wants, Witches of Mane Street,
Mongrels, and the forthcoming Bravo Team WOLF series.
Her contemporary romance series include: Always a
Marine, Going Royal, Elite Warriors, The Love Thieves, beginning with Catch Me
and Lone Star Leathernecks, beginning with Semper Fi Cowboy.
Heather is well-represented in fantasy with her
superhero series Boomers, a sci-fi western called Space Cowboy Survival Guide,
an urban fantasy series called the Chance Monroe Adventures, and a stand-alone
ghost novel titled Haunt Me.
Contact
Details:
Website: http://www.heatherlong.net
