“A group of women succeeding in a man’s world.”
That single phrase, uttered by my dear editor, Sinclair Sawhney, was the seed from which grew my new Tule series, Grit and Grace. Admittedly, an Aperol Spritzer might have fueled some of my inspiration on that lovely day last summer, but the rest was pure magic.
Peyton Halliday, my heroine in The Cowboy Doctor, the last book of my previous series, Rodeo Romeos, sort of kicked things off by introducing us to her friends. Sammie Abel, Emma Barrett, Beth Dawson, Laura Senske, and Meira Ware along with Peyton all bonded while riding ranch saddle broncs competitively and being filmed for a made-up reality TV show called Buckin’ Babes.
But the friends were destined for something more. They left the world of reality TV and competitive bronc riding behind to take a crack at rodeo rough stock contracting, specializing in, you guessed it, bucking broncs. Thanks to Peyton’s wealthy family, specifically her oldest brother, the newly formed Grit and Grace Rodeo Roughstock Company find a home on a ranch outside of Last Stand, Texas, to raise and train the animals used in professional rodeos.
All’s Fair in Love and Rodeo is Sammie Abel and Alec Neisson’s story, where they see if they can come together while going after the same rodeo rough stock contract. And more than just success in the rodeo world is at stake…
Sammie waited until the group was well past them before turning to him. “Alec! Seriously, what are you doing here?” she hissed.
“Why haven’t you answered my calls or texts?”
“Stalker much?”
“Come on, Sammie. You didn’t even say goodbye. Did I do something?”
“No. Well, yes. I mean, we did something.”
The very clear memory of all the things they’d done together that night raised his temperature faster than the Texas summer sun on pavement. “Damn straight we did something. We did a lot of something.”
She shifted away from him, looking everywhere but at him. “That’s not what I mean. But it is why I didn’t say goodbye. I never expected spending a night with you to be so . . . so . . .”
“Good?”
She met his gaze. “Yes.”
Alec softened his tone. “So you freaked out and ghosted me.”
“Yes. I’m sorry. I freaked out a little and just left. But now . . . I have been meaning to call you. Really.”
“Because?”
The blue of her eyes swam beneath the sheen of tears. “Because I’m pregnant, Alec.”
The women of Grit and Grace are determined to make it in a man’s world, but unexpectedly find love along the way. I hope you enjoy their stories!
About the Author.
Having never met an unhappy ending she couldn’t mentally “fix,” Leah Vale believes writing romance novels is the perfect job for her. A Pacific Northwest native with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington, she lives in Central Oregon, with a huge golden retriever who thinks he’s a lap dog. While having the chance to share her “happy endings from scratch” is a dream come true, dinner generally has to come premade from the store.
