Riley Hayes, the playboy of the Hayes family, is a young man who seems to have it all: money, a career he loves, and his pick of beautiful women. His father, CEO of HayesOil, passes control of the corporation to his two sons, but a stipulation is attached to Riley's portion. Concerned about Riley's lack of maturity, his father requires that Riley 'marry and stay married for one year to someone he loves'.
Angered by the requirement, Riley seeks a means of bypassing his father's stipulation. Blackmailing Jack Campbell into marrying him "for love" suits Riley's purpose. There is no mention in his father's documents that the marriage had to be with a woman, and Jack Campbell is the son of Riley Senior's arch rival. Win win.
Riley marries Jack, and abruptly his entire world is turned inside out. Riley hadn't counted on the fact that Jack Campbell, quiet and unassuming rancher, is a force of nature in his own right.
This is a story of murder, deceit, the struggle for power, lust and love, the sprawling life of a rancher, and the whirlwind existence of a playboy. But under and through it all, as Riley learns over the months, this is a tale about family and everything that that word means.
Jericho "J.T." Tucker wants nothing to do with Coventry, Texas's new dressmaker. He's all too familiar with her kind—shallow women more devoted to fashion than true beauty. Yet, except for her well-tailored clothing, this seamstress is not at all what he expected.
Hannah Richards is confounded by the man who runs the livery. The unsmiling fellow riles her with his arrogant assumptions and gruff manner while at the same time stirring her heart with unexpected acts of kindness. Which side of Jericho Tucker reflects the real man?
When Hannah decides to help Jericho's sister catch a beau—leading to uproarious consequences for the whole town—will Jericho and Hannah find a way to bridge the gap between them?
Ridin' the edge of lust is fun until someone falls in love. Goody-two boots AJ Foster has waited her entire life for her dream cowboy Cord McKay to see her as more than the neighbor girl in pigtails. Now that she's old enough to stake her claim on him, she's pulling out all the sexual stops and riding hell-bent for leather straight for his libido.
Divorced rancher Cord has sworn off all women until innocent AJ suggests he teach her how to ride bareback—and she realizes she doesn't mean horses or bulls. Between his responsibilities running his massive ranch, missing his young son, and dealing with the sexual shenanigans of his brother and cousins, Cord is more than willing to take AJ up on her offer. On a trial basis.
The fun and games tie them both up in knots. AJ isn't willing to settle for less than the whole shootin' match with her western knight. But for Cord, even though the sexy cowgirl sets his blood ablaze, he's determined to resist her efforts to lasso his battered heart. Sweet, determined AJ has the power to heal or heel the gruff cowboy—unless Cord's pride keeps him from admitting their relationship is more than a simple roll in the hay.
Annie Proulx has crafted some of the most original and brilliant short stories in contemporary literature, and for many, "Brokeback Mountain" stands as her masterpiece.
Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist, two ranch hands, come together while working as a sheepherder and camp tender one summer on a range above the tree line. At first, sharing an isolated tent, the attraction is casual, inevitable, but something deeper catches them that summer.
Both men work hard, marry, and have kids because that's what cowboys do. But over the course of many years and frequent separations, this relationship becomes the most important thing in their lives, and they do anything they can to preserve it.
In gorgeous and haunting prose, Proulx explores the difficult, dangerous affair between two cowboys that survives everything but the world's violent intolerance.
Mackenzie's Mountain - Mackenzie's Mission
Wolf MacKenzie: The loner had a way with horses and a deep mistrust for outsiders. Until one woman dared venture onto Mackenzie's mountain, determined to tame the rugged half-breed.
Joe "Breed" Mackenzie: Like his father before him, he was as wild as the wind...and not about to settle down. Yet one equally stubborn blonde—bent on reversing Mackenzie's mission—would stop at nothing to make Joe her own.