Spotlight & Giveaway: Colorado Cowboy by Sara Richardson

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Sara Richardson to HJ!

Hi Sara and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Colorado Cowboy!

Please share your favorite scene from Colorado Cowboy:

There are so many intense Dev and Charity moments in Colorado Cowboy. Both Dev and Charity are trying to help her nephew, who is struggling in so many ways, and they are dealing with their own issues while they slowly open up to one another. Maybe that’s why my favorite scene comes near the end of the story. It shows a playful interaction between the two of them, but also has a lot of depth. In the scene below, Dev has been wondering where he stands with Charity given what has happened with her nephew, and I love how he finally gets his answer.
 
I also loved that his mom makes an appearance. Finding a place to fit is such a big part of Charity’s story, and in this scene, Maureen Jenkins treats Charity and her nephew like family. The interaction is fun and light at first, but after his mom leaves, the scene is a culmination of all the sexual tension that has been pulling at Dev and Charity throughout the story, and they simply can’t resist each other any longer.

Dev added a splash of olive oil to the pan, swirling it a few times like he’d seen Alton Brown do on television. For once he was glad his mom was obsessed with the Food Network—and mainly Alton Brown. He’s a tall drink of iced tea, she’d always say while they watched. Not his taste, but he’d picked up a few pointers food-wise, so it hadn’t been a complete waste of time.
Dev placed two steaks on the sizzling puddle of butter and oil.
A pitter-pattering knock that sounded a lot like his—
“Dev? I’ve brought you a rum cake,” his mom called through the door. “Hot right out of the oven.”
Yep. Right on time. He opened the door, already smirking. “Why would you do that?” The question wasn’t necessary. He’d mentioned earlier that Charity might be stopping by tonight.
“A rum cake can’t hurt your chances with her.” His mom swept past him and set it on the kitchen counter.
He got a look at the dessert over her shoulder. “No, but it could upstage the dinner I’m working on.” Could? More like it most definitely would.
“Well, since you mentioned dinner, I’d better take a look.” His mom bustled over to the stove top and gave the steaks her critical eye. “Not bad. But we should add a little more thyme.” She plucked a few of the leaves off the stem he had sitting next to the stove and sprinkled them in like magic fairy dust. “Otherwise, it smells divine. She’s going to love—”
“Hello?” The door creaked open. In her haste to micromanage his dinner, his mom must’ve forgotten to close it all the way.
“Hey—”
“Charity!” Mrs. Subtle wasted no time upstaging his greeting. She hurried over and gave Charity a hug. “How’s Bodie? Is he all right? I can’t believe all he’s been through. Poor boy. You tell him I’ll bake another batch of chocolate chip cookies next time he comes over here, okay?”
“Will do.” Charity gave Dev a quick smile before focusing on his mom. “And he’s okay. We’ve officially decided he’s going to stay with me. I’ll be his legal guardian.”
“Oh, how wonderful!” The news prompted yet another hug.
“We should have a party to officially welcome him to town,” his mom insisted as though someone had just assigned her to be the social director. “We’d be happy to host it here. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“That sounds perfect.” Charity suddenly inhaled and looked around. “Is something burning?”
Shit, the steaks. Dev flailed back to the kitchen and flipped them. A little charred but not too overdone.
“Dev made you dinner,” his mom informed her. “And I brought over a rum cake for dessert. It’s an old family recipe that my grandmother used to make.”
“And it’s delicious.” Dev rushed back to them before his mom launched into the half-hour story about how they’d thought the recipe was lost in a house fire. “So…Mom…thanks for the cake. Charity and I have a lot to talk about. Hope you have a good night.” Any other day he’d let her talk to Charity as much as she wanted, but he and Charity had an unfinished conversation lingering between them from a few days ago on her porch. She was right. Bodie would always come first in her life. Especially now when he was grieving. And Dev wasn’t sure where that left him and Charity. He couldn’t stand in the way of Bodie’s healing, but he wasn’t ready to give up and disappear from their lives either.
Thankfully, his mother only smiled. “Oh, yes. I’m going, I’m going. You have a good night too.” She chuckled at herself. “What am I saying? Of course you’ll have a good night.” She scurried past Charity. “I’ll get back to you about that party soon.”
“I’ll look forward to it, Mrs. Jenkins. Thanks for the cake.”
“MaryElla. You call me MaryElla.” She left in haste, and finally—finally—they were alone. Dev took a minute to simply look at Charity. She looked good. Nothing fancy, just darker jeans than usual and a simple white button-down shirt unbuttoned low enough to make his eyes linger there. The sight heated him right up. His gaze drifted to the duffel hanging off her shoulder. That was one big purse. “What’s with the bag?”
Charity sashayed past him, shooting him a hot glance over her shoulder. “It’s my overnight bag.” She set it on the couch.
Hmmm. That sounded interesting. And promising. “What do you keep in there?”
“There are a few things I think you might like.”
It took everything in him not to run over there and look for himself. But they did have something to discuss. “So I take it Bodie was okay with you coming to see me? Because I don’t want to cause any problems between you two.” He’d wait, if that’s what Bodie needed. It might kill him, but he’d wait.
“He said he knows what happened isn’t your fault and he’s fine with us hanging out.” Charity’s smile held relief. “He’s thankful for what you did for his mom, but in typical teenage boy fashion, he doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it. So don’t expect a hug or anything.”
“I won’t expect one from him.” But he wouldn’t mind one from her right about now.
“So what’re you making?” She walked over to him and stopped just out of reach.
Shit, the steaks. She made it too easy to forget things. He went back to the stove and pulled the skillet off, setting it on a hot pad on the counter. “Pan-seared rib eye with herb butter.”
“Mmmm.” She came up behind him, draping her arms over his shoulders. “It smells good.”
“So do you.” He turned so he could pull her against him. “You smell like cherries.” And something subtly sweet. Something he wanted to taste.
“It’s my shower gel.” She raised her eyebrows. “I packed it in my bag.”
He had no idea why someone would need gel in the shower, but hell, he was down with trying it out. “Maybe we should shower before dinner.” The image of her wet, naked body against his completely hijacked his focus.
“No way,” she teased. “I’m starving and that steak smells amazing.”
“I’m starving too,” he murmured, pressing his lips against her neck. “But not for steak.” She’d aroused his curiosity, his hunger, his desire to hear her moan his name again.
“There’ll be plenty of time after dinner, since I’m spending the night.” She propped her hands on the countertop and hopped up to sit there. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Stop seducing me?” he asked futilely. That would be impossible.
Charity laughed. “If it makes you feel better, you look incredibly sexy standing at the stove.”
“Saying that doesn’t help.” It made him want to haul her back to the bedroom. But…if she insisted on eating first…“You want something to drink? I’m sure there’s a bottle of red wine around here somewhere.”
Charity crossed her legs and leaned back into her hands in a pose that emphasized her chest. “I’ll take a beer.”
Now she was just torturing him. “I knew you were the perfect woman.” He reached into the fridge and handed her an IPA. She popped the top and took a long pull, tilting her head back so that her blond hair spilled down her back just like it had when she rode him all the way to an orgasm.
Yeah, he wasn’t gonna be able to eat dinner when he was this hard.
“That’s it.” Dev hastily covered the steaks with foil and turned off the stove. “We’re having dessert first.” He walked over, took the beer out of her hand, and then lifted Charity off the counter, securing his hands under her perfect ass.
A surprised squeak parted her lips, but he kissed her before she could say anything. Within seconds her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, and her hands were tangled in his hair. He pulled back to grin at her, to take in that rosy glow on her face.
“I thought you told your mom we had a lot to talk about,” she murmured.
“That overnight bag told me all I needed to know.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

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Giveaway: Print copy of Colorado Cowboy (Rocky Mountain Riders) by Sara Richardson

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Book Info:

Come home to Topaz Falls, Colorado where a down-on-her-luck bull rider falls for the cowboy she can’t resist in this heart-warming western romance!

As a champion barrel racer, Charity Stone has learned to hold her own in the male-dominated rodeo world. There’s no cowboy she can’t handle…except for one. Officer Dev Jenkins has made it clear he doesn’t look at her like one of the guys. He’s caught her attention but Charity doesn’t do relationships–especially not with a cowboy. When she suddenly finds herself in charge of her thirteen-year-old nephew, who’s had a few brushes with the law, Charity has no choice but to ask for the deputy’s help.

Dev hasn’t stopped fantasizing about Charity since she moved to Topaz Falls, but she’s been hell bent on keeping her distance. When she comes to him for help with her nephew, he finally has the chance to make his move. Winning her over won’t be easy, though–especially when her nephew’s mistakes start to threaten his town. How can he do his job and still convince Charity he’s the cowboy for her?

Book Link: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/sara-richardson/colorado-cowboy/9781538712269/
 
 

Meet the Author:

Sara Richardson grew up chasing adventure in Colorado’s rugged mountains. After a brief stint in the corporate writing world, she stopped ignoring the voices in her head and started writing fiction. Now she uses her experience as a mountain adventure guide to write stories that incorporate adventure with romance. Sara lives and plays in Colorado with her saint of a husband and two young sons. For more on Sara and her books, visit SaraRichardson.net.