Copper Lake

A steamy one-night-stand in the bathroom of a bar in Las Vegas after a world championship win? Yes, please. Meeting him again months later, only to learn he's my newest competition? Not so much. The weight of the legacy I carry is a constant tug in my mind, with the ghosts of the generations before me always whispering for me to push harder, train longer, be better. In the eight seconds I have to ride, everything else falls away, and my sole focus is on doing what I do best. I am Shooter Graham, consecutive three-time world champion bronc rider. No one has ever come close to taking the title since I've had it… until him. Sterling Addams. The new cowboy in town with dark hair, eyes like honey, and a taste for me he likes to pretend he doesn't have. He's green… but he's good. Too good. Suddenly, the already heavy pressure I'm under multiplies tenfold. The need to beat him, the uncontrollable urge to put him in his place, becomes almost an obsession. The question is, how far will I go to prove I'm number one?

I'm a country boy, born and raised. He's new in town and all city. Bronc riding has always been my main focus. The plan was simple: work hard, go pro, and show the world what I was made of. It hasn't been easy, but I did it through dedication and a whole lot of determination. My dreams came true, my life more than fulfilled… Or so I thought. I never knew how much I ached for more until I stopped to help a stranger on the side of a one-lane road one chilly fall afternoon. He couldn't be more different than me, with his messy curls and the chipped black polish. But from the moment he fumbled over his words, flustered and tense, sitting in the driver's seat of his broken-down ride, I knew I wanted to know more. Know everything. This all-consuming need to get to know him, to get close to him, is new. He's only in town for a short while, Copper Lake merely a temporary stop. Getting close to him is foolish… But there's no way I can stop it. Not when he makes me feel things I've never felt before. What happens when he goes back to the city, and I'm left in the dust, watching his tail lights disappear down the dirt road?

There are some things you just don't do… Don't lie. Don't steal. Don't break the law. And absolutely do not, under any circumstance, sleep with your best friend's son. I've always prided myself on being a good man. I am a doctor after all. I consider myself to be a by-the-book man. A man with strong morals and a clear conscience. That is until a night out of town with too many drinks finds me naked and sweaty with the one person I shouldn't be rolling around in the sheets with… Colt Bishop. Professional bull rider. Son of my very best friend. And now, my most sordid memory. A memory that, despite my very best efforts, refuses to leave my mind. After my father retires, I decide to move back to Copper Lake and take over the family practice. Avoiding Colt and every erotic memory that follows becomes impossible. He's flirty. Shameless. Suggestive. He's also half my age. Keeping my distance and keeping my clothes on should be easy… So why does it feel like anything but?

Word to the wise: Getting hot and heavy one night with the broody, hot rancher in town is rarely a good idea-Especially when said rancher is your ex-husband. Conrad Strauss is the owner of Grazing Acres Ranch, home to some of the sharpest bucking bulls around. As Copper Lake's only veterinarian in our small town, I have to see him more than I'd like. It hasn't always been easy, but it's become manageable. Until, of course, the night my need for him burned too hot to ignore. The night I let my walls down and allowed myself to soak in his comfort and strong arms once more. If that wasn't bad enough, now his Nana is coming to visit, and she doesn't know we're divorced. Conrad Strauss is many things, but a beggar he is not. So when he asks-no, pleads with-me to pretend we're still married while she's here, I lose all rational thoughts and tell him yes. But this means temporarily moving back into the house where we shared so many memories. It means sleeping in our bed again. It means having his eyes on me like they never left. It means pretending I'm in love with him… when I don't think it's pretending at all. It's just a few weeks, though… How bad could it be?

Rule number one: Don't fall for my brother-in-law. It should be easy, right? Wrong. When I moved in with my sister over summer break, I had no intention of returning to college in the fall. A work trip for her meant a lot of time alone for me with her husband. Boone Stanton. World famous bull rider and way, way off limits. A few late-night deep conversations between the two of us, only the midnight sky our witness, and suddenly, I can't look away. Can't keep my mind off of him. It's in the way he works around the yard, sweaty and shirtless. The way his eyes soften and he leans into his playful side around his daughter. And it's in the way he makes me feel seen. The way he's slowly chipping away at my exterior without even realizing it. Then one night, I see something I shouldn't. Something that makes my mouth water and my heart race. Except when he catches me, instead of stopping and reprimanding me, he… keeps going. Now, I have the opportunity of a lifetime, but it means going on the road with him. It means living in even closer quarters than before. It also means doubling down on keeping my hands to myself and my gaze away from his dark, observing eyes. But I'm only human, and it's only a matter of time before I crack. Before I give in and do something I can't take back. Something that could cost me everything.