Roping the Rancher. Julie Benson
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No Time For Cowboys
Stacey Michaels is trying to get her acting career back on track while looking after her traumatized teenage brother and a demanding mother. She doesn’t have time for romance. And if she did? Well, she’d look to date someone in the business, not some cowboy.
But when her brother begs her for a chance to try the equine therapy program Colt Montgomery offers at his ranch in Colorado, Stacey can’t refuse. Even if she and Colt strike sparks off one another. She knows he sees her as a diva, but why can’t he understand she just wants what’s best for her brother? She’s spent her whole life taking care of others—maybe it’s time to let Colt take care of her.
“We need to talk.”
Colt clasped her upper arm and tried to lead her away. When she attempted to pull out of his grip, he stopped, leaned down and whispered in her ear, “We can do this one of two ways. You can come with me of your own free will, or I can toss you over my shoulder. Which is it gonna be?”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.”
Colt knew he needed to nip the situation with Stacy in the bud right quick. This first therapy session would set the tone for every one to come. With Stacy jitterier than a mama bear with her first cub, they’d never get around to helping Ryan.
Stacy stared at him for a minute with hard determination, and he thought she might defy him. That might not be a bad thing. The thought of getting his hands on those great curves of hers did have a certain appeal and could end up being the bright spot in his day.
“Lead the way,” she conceded at last, leaving him a bit disappointed.
Dear Reader,
In Roping the Rancher Colt Montgomery needed a new purpose once he’d left the military. I knew he felt compelled to make a difference in the world, but I wasn’t sure how he would do this. Then one day a dear friend Jennifer Jacobson and I were chatting about her sons-in-law’s experiences in the military. Somehow we got on the subject of horse therapy programs for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, and I had my answer. Colt would take the ranch his father left him, a place that contained more than its share of painful memories, and turn it into a place of healing that would change people’s lives.
I’m continually amazed how involved the people in my life are in the community, and sure enough, I had a friend, Sue Casteel, who volunteers with a program like the one Colt wanted to start. While writing this book I had the opportunity to visit Equest, a therapeutic horsemanship program in Wylie, Texas, with Sue as my guide. The work these programs do to help not only veterans with PTSD, but people with a multitude of other issues, is incredible. They truly do change lives.
I hope you enjoy Roping the Rancher. Stop by www.juliebenson.net and let me know what you thought of Colt and Stacy’s story. I’d love to hear from you.
Blessings,
Julie
Roping the Rancher
Julie Benson
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An avid daydreamer since childhood, Julie always loved creating stories. After graduating from the University of Texas at Dallas with a degree in sociology, she worked as case manager before having her children: three boys. Many years later she started pursuing a writing career to challenge her mind and save her sanity. Now she writes full-time in Dallas, where she lives with her husband, their sons, two lovable black dogs, two guinea pigs, a turtle and a fish. When she finds a little quiet time, which isn’t often, she enjoys making jewelry and reading a good book.
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For Sue Casteel, the other volunteers and staff at Equest Therapeutic Horsemanship in Wylie, Texas, without whom this book couldn’t have been written. The amazing work you do changes lives for the better.
Contents
Chapter One
“I don’t care how good the therapy is supposed to be. There is no way I’m letting you get on a horse,” Stacy Michaels said to her younger brother when they left his neurologist’s office.
“This isn’t about me. It’s about Dad, isn’t it?”
“Of course it is.” Stacy punched the elevator down button with so much force she chipped her fingernail.
“Dad died filming a movie stunt. This is a therapy program,” Ryan insisted.
Since he’d been only a few months old at the time, he knew nothing about their father’s death other than what he’d been told. While an eleven-year-old Stacy had been in the movie as well and witnessed the entire event. Even now, almost sixteen years later, some nights she still woke drenched in sweat from the nightmares.
The months before her dad’s accident had been the best time in Stacy’s life. She smiled at the memories of working with him on the movie and how she soaked up every drop of attention he poured on her. The image of him beaming when he told everyone within earshot how she was a chip off the old block and that one day she’d be a star flashed in her mind.
Her