A MAN WITH A PAST...
Cruz Rivera is on his last second chance. He can’t afford to blow it by falling for the beautiful blonde widow who just hired him to fix up her family’s New Mexico property. If he’s going to get back on the rodeo circuit, Cruz needs to focus. Besides, a sweet single mom like Sara Mendez can do better than someone with Cruz’s troubled history.
Sara isn’t making it easy for Cruz to keep his distance. He’s a man of many secrets, but Sarah sees only good in his warm brown eyes. Though Cruz knows he should move on before Sara discovers the truth about his past, he can’t leave the closest thing to a home he’s ever known. Cruz is the only man Sara wants—can he become the one she deserves?
“I don’t want you to go.”
Sara inched closer to Cruz and her scent hypnotized him.
“If I stay...” He couldn’t make himself say the words.
“I know.” Her eyes softened. “Let’s take it one day at a time.”
He’d been forced to take it one day at a time in prison, and that was the last thing he wanted to do with Sara. But he was just a man. A man who yearned to be with a woman who would make him feel good inside. And worthy.
“I’m not asking for anything more from you. I just...” She dropped her gaze for a moment, then looked him in the eye. “I just need you here.” Her voice cracked, and he nearly lost the battle to stand firm.
“I can’t stay.” He stepped by her and headed for the barn. He didn’t know whether he was a fool or a coward. The one thing he knew for sure was that he was no saint.
In December 2011 A Rodeo Man’s Promise was released as part of my Rodeo Rebels series (the book is available in ebook). I’m thrilled to share that the three delinquent teens in A Rodeo Man’s Promise will get their own stories in my new series, Cowboys of the Rio Grande.
A Cowboy’s Redemption is Cruz Rivera’s story. Cruz showed great potential for rodeo and was set to ride the circuit when one fateful night he made a decision that changed his world and landed him in prison, robbing him of a rodeo career.
We’ve all made mistakes, and many of us would do things differently if we could go back in time. But there are no do-overs in life—we can only move forward. Having served his prison sentence, Cruz is searching for peace and a new purpose for his life when he runs into widow Sara Mendez and her daughter, Dani. They tempt Cruz to believe he deserves happiness, but deep down he doesn’t feel worthy of their love and trust—not when he’s carrying a secret that he’s certain will change the way Sara feels about him.
I hope you enjoy Cruz and Sara’s journey as they show us that the healing power of love redeems us all.
You can find more information on the books I write at my website, marinthomas.com, as well as links to all my social media hangouts.
I love hearing from readers and can be reached at [email protected].
Happy reading,
Marin
A Cowboy’s Redemption
Marin Thomas
MARIN THOMAS grew up in the Midwest, then attended college at the U of A in Tucson, Arizona, where she earned a BA in radio-TV and played basketball for the Lady Wildcats. Following graduation she married her college sweetheart in the historic Little Chapel of the West in Las Vegas, Nevada. Recent empty nesters Marin and her husband now live in Texas, where cattle is king, cowboys are plentiful and pickups rule the road.
To my cousin Jeanna, who is always on the lookout for my newest release—thank you for reading my books. I love you.
Contents
“This rodeo won’t be the same without you, Rivera.”
Cruz Rivera’s gaze skipped over the prison warden, Mitchell Bole, who stopped at his side near the bronc-busting chutes. The first rule Cruz had learned on the inside was that you never made eye contact with the warden.
“Your talent has turned our little rodeo into a money-making machine.”
Before Cruz had arrived at the White Sands New Mexico Correctional Facility, the prison rodeo had been nothing