A Cowboy's Heart

A Cowboy's Heart
Brenda Minton

Willow Michaels is through letting other people run her life.She's ready to stand on her own. Be independent. Run a business. Raise bucking bulls! And no matter what former rodeo star Clint Cameron thinks, Willow knows she's up for the job. Clint is used to taking care of everyone. His family, friends and especially his twin four-year-old nephews depend on him.Yet his stubborn, beautiful neighbor keeps pushing him away. Willow's scared to trust another man, but now that Clint has given her his heart, he's not about to let her walk away.

She remembered the first time she’d met him, a cowboy in faded jeans.

His smile had put her teenage heart into overdrive. She’d spent the next year wrapped in daydreams of a guy that she’d been afraid to talk to.

In search of her aunt, she finally spotted Janie, standing at the edge of the crowd at the rodeo. Next to her was a man Willow didn’t recognize. This man wore a bent-up cowboy hat. The strong angles of his jaw proved he was no longer a kid.

Willow joined her aunt and Clint Cameron. He took off his hat, revealing sandy blond hair, a five o’clock shadow and a slow, easy grin.

He wasn’t a gangly teen anymore. And her heart still did that funny dance when he smiled at her. As a girl, she hadn’t known what to do with that reaction. Now she carefully tamped it down, because she didn’t need complications to her already complicated life.

BRENDA MINTON

started creating stories to entertain herself during hour-long rides on the school bus. In high school she wrote romance novels to entertain her friends. The dream grew and so did her aspirations to become an author. She started with notebooks, handwritten manuscripts and characters that refused to go away until their stories were told. Eventually she put away the pen and paper and got down to business with the computer. The journey took a few years, with some encouragement and rejection along the way—as well as a lot of stubbornness on her part. In 2006, her dream to write for Steeple Hill Books Love Inspired line came true.

Brenda lives in the rural Ozarks with her husband, three kids and an abundance of cats and dogs. She enjoys a chaotic life that she wouldn’t trade for anything—except, on occasion, a beach house in Texas. You can stop by and visit at her Web site, www.brendaminton.net.

A Cowboy’s Heart

Brenda Minton

The Lord is my strength and my song, He has

become my salvation: He is my God, and I will

praise Him. My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

—Exodus 15:2

To my sister Ellen Benham and my brother-in-law

Gary. This is dedicated to you, for computers,

for weekends away and for friendship.

To Doug and the kids, because they love me,

even during a deadline crunch.

And of course to Melissa Endlich and Janet Benrey.

Without their encouragement and belief in my

stories, I’d still be piling unpublished manuscripts

in the closet.

To faithful and true friends, strong women all,

without whom my phone batteries would always

be charged, and I’d be a blob of insecurity. Thank

you for listening, for reading and for always being

there for me. Steph, Shirlee, Angela, Tonya, Dawn,

Barbara, Betty, Janice, Lori W and Keri.

For my number-one fan, Denise Foster Dickens.

And Josie, for dinner, and for being the most

amazing neighbor ever.

To the girls at the Marionville, MO, library for

support and encouragement.

A deep debt of gratitude to Janet McCoy, for

answering questions and sharing stories.

To all of the women who struggle, hold on

to faith and never give up. Especially to

my new sister-in-Christ, Shirley.

You are strong and beautiful.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven