Cowboys Don’t Ride Unicorns
(Cowboys Don’t Series, #2)
By Tara Lain
Blurb
Cowboy Danny Boone—a name he made up one drunken night and has regretted ever since—harbors a big past and yearns for a small future. A short, bright career as a champion bull rider almost ended in his death when his homophobic father discovered Danny was gay. Now Danny longs for a plot of land he can build a ranch house on and enough money to make up for some of the education he missed.
Danny also hides a preference for beautiful femmes who like to top—a combo rarer than a unicorn. Then onto the guest ranch where Danny works drives San Francisco decorator Laurie Belmont, a young man so gorgeous he makes horses gasp, and so ballsy he almost kills Danny’s attacker.
Laurie’s trying to find his way out from under the thumb of a domineering mother, helpless father, and rich, privileged boyfriend. But no matter the attraction, their lives are worlds apart, and cowboys don’t ride unicorns.
Two hours later he’d drawn his bull—a huge sucker named Scorpion, and from the looks on Maury’s team’s faces, he must have the sting to go with the name. As they walked to the chutes, Maury clapped a hand on Danny’s shoulders. “Careful. Don’t underestimate Scorpion. He’s meaner than piss.”“Sounds like not my luckiest draw.”
“Well, let’s just say he’ll earn a lot of points.”
Danny propped himself on the fence and slid onto the broad back, feeling the heat of the animal under him. He worked with the rope puller Maury had provided to get his bull rope in exactly the tautness and configuration he liked best. Scorpion shifted restlessly but didn’t try to slam Danny against the fence. Danny leaned down toward the twitching ear. “I’m your friend, Scorpion. I’ll make you look good if you return the favor.”
The cowboy closest to Danny chuckled.
The announcer called, “Next up, we got a new rider named Danny Boone. If you’ve been in California lately, you know Danny’s been doing his share of winning. So let’s see if he’s up to the great state of Nevada.”
Danny adjusted his vest, planted his hat, wrapped his hand tight enough to hold but not so tight he couldn’t let go—and nodded.
Fucking hell broke loose. The bull leaped out of the stall in a full breakaway—not a move bulls usually performed. Danny vaguely heard the crowd gasp over his own intake of breath. She-it. Just pretend he’s a bronc. Danny flapped his loose hand toward the sky and adjusted the roll of his hips and movement of his spine to accommodate the bull’s unique style. He spurred for a couple of extra points, but truth was he could barely stay on this sucker. Just try to look good. The hurt didn’t exist—until later.
Scorpion sunfished, throwing his legs to the side, and Danny rode the buck, trying like a son of a bitch to look in control. Wham! All four hooves hit the ground straight-legged, and the impact shot up Danny’s back in a bolt of pain. Much longer and that bell on the bull’s belly would be tolling for Danny. For an instant Laurie’s face flashed in his mind.
After what felt like an hour, the horn sounded.
He waited for old Scorpion to stop spinning, kicked to the side, and landed standing. Scorpion hadn’t taken kindly to Danny’s offer of friendship and took off after him like he’d been given a contract on his life. Danny leaped to the side and let Scorpion sail past. Two bullfighters jumped in front of Scorpion, but the damned bull was hard to distract. He swiped at Danny twice more, getting lots of reaction from the crowd, and finally stampeded after the bullfighters, who lured him into the exit chute.
Danny walked out of the arena too as the announcer said, “Looks like Danny Boone can take on the big dogs with the best of them. Good ride.”
A couple of guys slapped his shoulder, and he nodded. Don’t let ’em see you sweat.
Ten Things About Tara (Some You May Not Know)
Hi! I’m so happy to be here today to celebrate the release of my new romance, Cowboys Don’t Ride Unicorns. I’m Tara Lain and I write the Beautiful Boys of Romance. Often readers ask me things about myself, so I thought I’d share a few facts, some of which may be new to you.
- As a child, I lived first in Austria and later in Japan as well as on both coasts of the US. I was in school before college for 11 years (I skipped a grade) and was in 13 different schools.
- I love cats but my honey is very allergic to them so I have a Papillon dog who thinks she’s a cat. She licks her paws and washes her face with them and is totally finicky about food. I adore her.
- I love snakes. When my honey and I go to the zoo which is pretty often, he stands outside for a long time while I commune with my slithery pals. Me and Harry Potter.
- For astrology buffs, I have 6 planets in Libra — having six of anything is called a stellium. If you’re really a buff, I’ll tell you I have 9 air signs and no earth. I also have 9 cardinal signs. Doing new stuff is fun for me.
- My name is really Tara but it’s pronounced Tahra like tar on the roof not Terra. It’s a Sanskrit word meaning star or the guiding star
- Like so many authors, I wrote my first book at five. The hero was (of course) a snake named Peter. Peter Pit Snake to be exact
- After seeing a gazillion beautiful places, I still think Paris is the most gorgeous city I’ve ever seen
- I’m hugely claustrophobic
- Two of my dearest friends growing up were gay men. I didn’t know it because they didn’t know it (or didn’t share it if they did). But they have ended up influencing so many things in my life.
- I’m one of the lucky ones. I met and married my soul mate. We’ve been together over 30 years. That’s why I can say as a romance writer, I know my subject!
That’s it. I hope you enjoy Cowboys Don’t Ride Unicorns. Thank you so much for coming by!. : )
Thank you so much for having my cowboys on the blog! so happy to be here. : )
You are quite welcome. I’m happy to do it. 😃 Thank you for stopping by, Tara! 💕