The Cowboy Meets His Match

By: Margaret Brownley

Publication Date: 5/28/2019

Synopsis

His first mistake was marrying her.

His second was falling in love.

Chase McKnight will do anything to secure his family’s ranch—but marriage to a complete stranger? That’s a hard pill to swallow. Yet the will is clear: Chase needs a wife by his side if he wants to keep his home, so he meets his veiled lady at the courthouse steps and reluctantly says “I do”.

Too bad he married the wrong bride.

When Boston runaway Emily Fields agreed to marry a Texas stranger to escape her family’s scandal, she wasn’t prepared to get hitched to the wrong cowboy! Stuck in a secret compromise, she has one year to learn the ways of the ranch and convince Chase’s family they’re happily married. But when the lie becomes true, the past catches up to them and they must save the love they never expected…

Amazon * B&N * iBooks * IndieBound * BAM

Haywire Brides Series

Cowboy Charm School (Book 1) – Read my review here

The Cowboy Meets His Match (Book 2)

What People Are Saying About Margaret Brownley

“A great story by a wonderful author.” —DEBBIE MACOMBER, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, for Left at the Altar

“Delightful, humorous…packed with engaging characters, loads of action, several mysteries — all enough sizzle to satisfy her fans.”—RT Book Reviews for A Match Made in Texas

“A sweet, touching love story.”—Kirkus Reviews for Left at the Altar

“Lively and warm. A welcome addition to a sparse yet popular subgenre.”—Booklist for Left at the Altar

Review

Emily was not having a good day when she ended up at the courthouse to get married and is caught up in the craziness of a stampede through the small town and finds herself married to the wrong man!  Needless to say, no one was extremely happy about the turn of events.  But sometimes, fate has other things in mind for you than what you had planned and perhaps everything will be ok after all.

Emily and Chase are a couple to love.  They found themselves in predicaments that they could never have imagined and coming together, even by accident, solved their immediate problems.  They still had issues to work out which they do over the course of months.  It is interesting how quickly Emily takes to dressing like a rancher’s wife with split skirts and cowboy boots.  Emily also has to find her place on the ranch and she manages to make inroads with the ranch hands and a precocious little girl named Ginny.

I enjoyed the love story and the tension between Chase and his brother Royce.  It added just enough friction to the story.  I was a little surprised to find out who was stealing the cattle but it made sense once it was laid out for the reader.  I was also glad to see that the situation didn’t always run smoothly for Chase and Emily.  It added more depth to the story and their unconventional marriage.

I was happy to make the journey back to Haywire and can’t wait to see what happens next in this sleepy little Texas town.  We give this 5 paws up.

Excerpt

Watching Emily stagger away like a drunken cowhand, Chase kicked himself mentally. Now he’d done it.

All he’d wanted to do was keep a safe distance from her emotionally. It was the only way he could keep from thinking things he had no business thinking. Things like how she’d looked in that blasted towel.

But he’d gone too far, and now it appeared he had pushed her away completely.

He hated thinking that he’d taken out the resentment toward his father on her. She wasn’t to blame for any of this and was as much a victim of circumstances as he was.

Feeling lower than low, he watched her cross the yard for a moment before chasing after her. She might not admit it, but it was clear by the way she limped that she was hurting.

Emily stopped when he caught up to her. “Now what?” she demanded, eyes flashing.

“I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

If she was surprised by his interest in her welfare, it didn’t show. “I’m fine!” she snapped. “No thanks to you.”

Yep, she was hurting all right. He could see the strain in her eyes. She also looked like she’d been through the wringer. She straightened her hat, but not much could be done for the abundance of yellow hair that had sprung free from its bun. The intriguing smudge on her cheek, however, called for a man’s touch. His touch.

When he reached a finger to her smooth, silky skin to rub the spot away, her startled blue eyes met his. “Sorry,” he said, pulling his hand away. “You had somethin’ on your face.”

Her hand flew to her cheek, and her already heated face turned another shade darker.

“It’s gone now,” he said.

Her mouth formed a perfect circle, and she lowered her hand to her side.

He felt bad for giving her a hard time. Lack of sleep had made him start the day out of sorts, and his encounter with Cassie Decker hadn’t helped. Poor woman. She had counted on their marriage for her children’s sakes.

His failure in keeping his promise to Cassie had made him more determined to do right by Emily. Or at least to see to her safety. He’d let one woman down; he sure in blazes didn’t want to fail another.

Horses were dangerous. The land was dangerous. But a part of him knew there was more. A lot more. As long as they were at each other’s throats, he could control his thoughts. Or at least keep from dwelling on such things as Emily’s gold-tipped eyelashes. Or the little indentation on her cheek when she smiled. Or even the way her eyes flashed during their many confrontations.

Looking away, he reminded himself how unsuited she was for ranch life. How unequipped she was to deal with the harsh land. She was much more suited to the city.

“Tomorrow, we’ll go a little easier with your lesson,” he said, hoping to make amends for his bad behavior.

She lifted her chin, her face dark with anger. “There won’t be any more lessons.”

“Come on,” he said gently. “You don’t mean that. Look at you. You’re fine.” More than fine…

“No thanks to you!”

Surprised by the vehemence in her voice, he stepped back “Me? What did I do?”

Her blazing blue eyes met his. “You put me through hell, that’s what!”

“By teachin’ you the proper handlin’ of a hoss?”

“By making me obey your every command like a helpless imbecile!”

He drew in his breath. He’d been rough on her, but he never meant to make her feel bad. “You have to admit your knowledge of hosses leaves much to be desired.” Taking her silence to mean she agreed, he added, “Tomorrow, same time, same place.”

She shot visual daggers at him. “If you expect to have your way with me a second time, you better think again.” With that, she stormed away.

Her words struck a chord that was better left untouched. Still, he couldn’t hold back the words that popped into his head. “Trust me,” he called after. “If I wanted to have my way with you, it wouldn’t be on a hoss!”

***

Excerpted from The Cowboy Meets His Match by Margaret Brownley. © 2019 by Margaret Brownley. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author MARGARET BROWNLEY has penned more than forty-five novels and novellas. She’s a two-time Romance Writers of American RITA^® finalist and has written for a TV soap. She is also a recipient of the Romantic Times Pioneer Award.

Her story, A Pony Express Christmas, will appear this fall in the Old West Christmas Brides collection, and book two of her Haywire Brides series will be published May 2019.  Not bad for someone who flunked eighth-grade English.  Just don’t ask her to diagram a sentence.

◆  Website  ◆  Facebook  ◆  Twitter  ◆

◆  Amazon Author Page  ◆   Goodreads  ◆

Giveaway

5 Copies of Cowboy Charm School

a Rafflecopter giveaway