Today is National Day of the Cowboy and we're celebrating all weekend on Get Lost In A Story. Today we'll explore cowboy culture and introduce you to some books that feature heroes who personify what the cowboy way.
What makes the cowboy culture so appealing. It might have something to do with our affinity and admiration for those who lived by the "Code of the West."
“A man’s got to have a code, a creed to live by, no matter his job.”
— John Wayne
What was that code and how did it come about?
The lack of codified laws on the frontier made it necessary for pioneers to frame their own guidelines or rules for acceptable behavior. This "code" wasn't written into statues, but it was written on men's (and women's) hearts. The settlers held each other accountable to unwritten rules regarding hospitality, fair play, loyalty, honesty, respect for the land and a solid work ethic. Some men broke the laws of the land, but few violated "the code. Those who did became outcasts.
A version of this code was chronicled in Zane Grey's 1934 novel,
The Code Of The West. Over the years, these frontier guidelines were recorded in a variety of ways. The tenents are more or less the same. Here's one version from the Legends of America website:
Now let's meet some characters from the West who practice this code in books written by some of our authors:
Her Bodyguard by E.E. Burke
The most dangerous man may be the one she hired.
For America “Amy” Langford, investing in the Border Tier Railroad isn’t about chasing riches. The savvy businesswoman is after bigger stakes: influence, respect, success her father didn’t live to see. Rioting settlers and underhanded competitors can’t stop her, but a killer might.
When a ruggedly handsome drifter comes to her rescue, she trusts her instincts and hires him on the spot as her bodyguard.
Buck O'Connor has put his violent past behind him, but being a wanted man dictates a life of deceit. So what’s one more lie? He becomes Amy’s protector so he can secretly thwart her railroad’s progress to help his cousin avoid financial ruin. A great scheme...until he falls in love.
Here's an excerpt
“You do seem like a man used to taking charge, but I wouldn’t have guessed cows.”
Buck lifted a shoulder in a nonchalant gesture even though he was anything but. “Oh, I’ve done all kinds of things to keep food in my stomach, like most men.”
“I see.” She nodded. He wondered just how much she did see. “If you’re looking for work, I could find you a position. Tell me what you know how to do.”
“What I know how to do?” he echoed. If he offered to give her a demonstration, she’d probably slap him. On the other hand, flirting with her might deflect further questions. A smile tugged at his lips. “That’s an awful long list. Not sure where to start.”
“Why don’t you start with the truth?”
Surprise splashed him like a bucket of cold water. How had he missed the sharpness in those caramel eyes? She’d ambushed him by looking so delicious. He scrambled for cover behind a suggestive smirk. “Don’t fret, Venus. I won’t exaggerate my skills.”
She drew back, frowning. “You forget yourself, sir.”
No, he’d only forgotten to be careful.
“You said to be honest.”
Still frowning, she cocked her head and took to studying him. As her gaze moved from his face down his body, his skin quivered as if she’d stroked it.
He struggled to maintain the cocky smile. It’d been a long time since he’d been with a woman this beautiful and he was far too susceptible. “So, what do you see?”
The muscles in her face stiffened. “I see a clever man who ought to know better than to try to fool an intelligent woman.”
The heat on his face melted his arrogant smile. Hell’s bells. He hadn’t blushed since he was twelve. “You see more than I thought.”
“Just because you’ve told me very little doesn’t mean I can’t deduce something of your character.”
“My character?” He shook his head. She’d thrown him again. “You sure I have one?”
“Every man has character, good or bad. I think you mean, what do I make of yours?” Her eyes softened, pulling him in. “You haven’t taken advantage in a situation where you clearly have the upper hand. So I assume under your rough exterior beats the heart of a gentleman.”
Buck wanted to laugh, but he couldn’t. She wouldn’t call him a gentleman if she knew half of what he imagined doing with her. Yet, she’d picked up enough to know he wouldn’t act on his fantasies. She’d also put her finger on the very thing he’d taken pride in before war and privation had turned him into an animal. His honor.
“Am I right, Mr. O’Connor?” The openness on her face made her look so young and vulnerable he couldn’t hold back the answer she sought.
“Close enough.”
Between Love & Lies by Jacqui Nelson
In a town ruled by sin, will he earn her love or her lies?
Sadie Sullivan lost everything when a herd of longhorn cattle bound for Dodge City trampled and destroyed her farm. Now she works in Dodge—one of the most wicked and lawless towns in the West—at the Northern Star Saloon. But her survival in this new world of sin and violence depends on maintaining a lie so deadly it could end her life before the town of Dodge can.
The one man capable of unraveling all of Sadie's secrets is Noah Ballantyne, the Texan cowboy whose herd destroyed her home. Back in town and taking up the role of deputy alongside legendary lawman Bat Masterson, Noah vows he won't leave until he's made things right. But with the saloon’s madam unwilling to release Sadie and a rich cattle baron wanting her as well, the odds aren’t in favor of finding love…or leaving town alive.
Here's an excerpt
Awareness prickled the nape of Noah’s neck as he and Lewis stood in the doorway of the Northern Star Saloon.
“Jesus,” Lewis whispered. “An angel is singing about Texas. I must have died and gone to heaven.”
Sweet Jesus, indeed. He’d never heard a voice as compelling as the one that washed over him now. The husky rawness awakened every nerve in his body. It drew him like a parched man to a watering hole.
His step quickened as he pushed through the crowd in search of the voice’s owner. Cowhands, trail bosses, and wealthy cattle barons pressed shoulder to shoulder, all focused on one thing—the redhead on a raised stage in the far corner.
His redhead.
The air abandoned his lungs in a rush. He blinked, forced himself to take a second look. Nothing had changed. She was still onstage, but oh, had she changed since he’d last seen her. Gone was the tangle of red tresses, replaced by a mass of curls artfully arranged atop her head. Her pretty gingham dress had been swapped for a shiny sapphire creation with a high hem, tight waist, and a plunging neckline.
Equal parts shocked and mesmerized, he watched her chest rise and fall with the words of her song.
“She cried so when I left her,
It like to break my heart,”
Lord, his heart was liable to break right here and now. It missed a beat, tightened as if she’d reached out with her small hand and twisted it. What in the blue devil was she doing dressed like that and in a saloon?
“And if I ever find her
We never more will part.”
He’d found her. Hadn’t even taken a day. But what had happened during their year apart? Dread made his stomach churn as a dozen possible answers, each one more sordid than the last, flashed through his mind.
“She’s the sweetest rose of color
A fellow ever knew,”
The red of her hair shone like a beacon. He’d remembered it perfectly these last twelve months. But her face was different—paler, while the blush of her cheeks was too vivid.
“Her eyes are bright as diamonds,
They sparkle like the dew.”
From this distance, he couldn’t see the color of her eyes, but he didn’t have to. They’d be green as a summer meadow and glittering with tears. Tears he’d caused.
An avalanche of regrets roared in his ears, blocking out all sound. The one person he’d loved was gone, wiped out much like he’d destroyed this woman’s farm. Now there was only her, haunting his dreams, both sleeping and waking. Her memory had called to him in Texas, same as her voice broke through his grief and called to him now.
“We’ll play the banjo gaily,
and we’ll sing the songs of yore,
And the Yellow Rose of Texas
Shall be mine forevermore.”
With that last line, Noah made a promise—to God, to himself and the whole forsaken town of Dodge. He wasn’t leaving until he fixed the wrong he’d done.
RANGER GUARDIAN by Angi Morgan
A Texas Ranger’s daughter has been taken.
Getting her back is all that matters.
They’ve been estranged for months, so Texas Ranger Heath Murray is surprised to be partnered with his dedicated FBI agent wife, Kendall Barlow. It’s the case of Kendall’s career—a career that has divided their marriage, though not their attraction.
When their young daughter is kidnapped as a pawn, they have only each other to turn to. Saving her together is their only option. The alternative is unthinkable.
~ ~ ~ Here's an Excerpt ~ ~ ~
Why had he come to the rodeo? He’d gotten up early to feed the horses after a restless night of tossing in his bed alone. But he’d needed to get away from the ranch. Needed to get away from everyone really. Needed to be with people who weren’t worried about him.
His parents’ house was too far away to visit and be back to work in a couple of days—if he could concentrate on anything. It had been less than a full day. He couldn’t go by himself, and he didn’t want Kendall to think he was pressuring her for an answer. Instead, he reassured his mom that he was okay via text…about every three hours.
Hell, maybe he should pack up Jupitar and take a trip home to see his mom and dad. The major had looked him in the eye and told him he’d put him on desk duty for six months if he showed up for work sooner than a week.
But the major didn’t know Heath was sleeping on the couch. Officially…he didn’t have a home at the moment. Maybe that was the real reason he’d come to help at the rodeo. He didn’t want everyone to know he wasn’t with Skylar Dawn and Kendall.
Dammit, he was a chicken after all. Even his morning ride had lost its appeal.
“What are you out here for, Heath? Did that bronc throw you a little softer than we thought last week?” the manager of the rodeo asked.
“Afraid I’ve got some broken ribs, Bobby Joe.”
“And you’re spending your free time here? Don’t you have a life, kid?” He cupped Heath’s shoulder before he walked off to the next thing he had to do.
A rhetorical question that shot straight through his heart. He didn’t want to think. His thoughts would only land on Kendall. And who knew how long she’d take. He might not know what to say or when the right time to say it was…but she always needed time to think.
And he always gave it to her.
“So what do you say, cowboy? What are you doing after you’re finished?” asked a sweet voice he recognized but didn’t expect to hear.
Heath dropped the edge of his Stetson to block the sun from his eyes. “Kendall?”
CLOSER TO YOU By Amanda McIntyre
"To find true love, you have only to travel through time..."
Single, misjudged, and socially sequestered, library curator Lillian White lives vicariously through her beloved books of the bawdy Old West, dreaming of the cowboy that will take her away from her lonely life until the day she discovers a mysterious, antique necklace with the power to tap into her deepest desires and possibly change her life forever.
Sheriff Jake Sloan is Deadwater Gulch's "good son." A man married to the law, his heart secretly yearns for the Magnolia's headmistress, a soiled dove forbidden to him and his perfect reputation, until he saves her life from a ruthless gunman and injured, winds up convalescing in her bed.
Can a librarian with secret fantasies, make it as a bordello madam? And can a sheriff with his career in the balance fall in love with her? Be careful what you wish for...you just might get it.
~*~Here's an excerpt ~*~
"Now, you and I, we had an agreement. They could come into town, late afternoon, between five and six, that’s when your women are allowed to shop for your—” His Adam’s apple bobbled on his unshaven throat. “You know…your womanly things.”
His gaze snapped to hers tilting her world on its axis. Those cool, dark eyes filled with determination held hers in an all-business-and-no-fun look.
Hardly the direction she’d hoped for with this fantasy.
“Mark my words, Miss Lillian”
“You can call me, Lil, everyone else does.”
He pointed a finger at her nose. “Listen, I want no trouble. You talk to those gals. Remind ‘em of our little agreement. That way the townsfolk get what they want, and y’all get what you want.” He ripped the hat from his head and pushed his long fingers through his wave of thick, black hair. “Damn, it sure is hot in here.”
He was sweet, gorgeous, and Lil had to admit she enjoyed watching him battle between lust and being a gentleman. She was usually the one ill at ease around men, not knowing what to say, how to act. She smiled, touching the gem at the base of her throat. An instant surge of brazen confidence welled inside her.
“Is there anything else you needed, Sheriff?” She laid her carnal suggestion out like a royal flush, finding the more she gave into her fantasy, the more empowered she felt. “Anything I can do for you?” She shifted one shoulder, allowing the robe to slide to the crook of her arm and curled her hand over his broad shoulder. She sensed the all-male strength that lay beneath the soft leathery coat. Thoughts of where else he might be as firm flooded her mind and caused her body to heat.
Lil circled around behind him, trailing her fingers across the width of his back.
She indulged in her fantasy of a man with large shoulders, brimming with masculinity and strength, held in his capable arms, soothed by his velvet touch. She breathed in his scent, the smell of the rugged outdoors mingled with leather and, yes horse, but she was willing to overlook that for the sake of her fantasy.
She arched a brow as she came around to face him. Playfully, she rested her arm on his shoulder, allowing him full view of the magic of her push-up lingerie. She curled her finger around a ringlet of his ebony hair, jutting out just below his ear. His shoulder flinched briefly as he fought for control. Lillian smiled, appreciating the power she seemed to have over him. Only in a dream would she have the audacity to come on like this to a man like him. She ran her fingertip along his chiseled jaw, over his firm, kissable lower lip.
“Miss Lillian.” His tone offered a stern warning.
Cowboy Treats
Celebrate the weekend with a special prize package:
From E.E. Burke: a signed copy of the anthology
Wild Deadwood Tales and her debut novel,
Her Bodyguard, along with candles created especially to honor the two Western heroes in those books--Wild Bill and Buck. (I call these romance-scented candles,
Old Flames. And boy, do they smell good!)
From Jacqui Nelson: Three eBooks including, Between Love and Lies, Adella's Enemy and The Calling Birds.
From Angi Morgan, a copy of
Ranger Guardian
From Amanda McIntyre, eBook
Closer to You
Leave a comment and enter the raffle to be eligible to win!
What characteristics do you like best in a cowboy?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
