Leann Harris - The Cowboy Meets His Match

Corralling Her Heart

Sawyer Jensen is ready to grab life—and his new job—by the horns. The tall, hazel-eyed cowboy has been brought in to revive Quay County’s faltering rodeo, but his bigger challenge may be taking on Erin Delong. The beautiful rodeo rider was in the running for Sawyer’s job, and she’s not walking away without a fight. Sawyer is no stranger to conflict, but the feelings Erin is stirring in him are brand-new. Her independent spirit both intrigues and scares him. As it turns out, Sawyer’s biggest project will be repairing his own wounded heart—and Erin may just be the perfect person for the job!

What had gotten into him?

During the rodeo board meeting, thoughts of Erin kept creeping into Sawyer’s head. When he passed the road leading to the Delong ranch, Sawyer decided to visit her. Besides, he could use the excuse that he wanted to ride. He was a cowboy.

He parked his truck and saw Erin in the corral, practicing her barrel racing. He sat and watched her ride the figure eights. Slipping out of his truck, he softly closed the door.

She didn’t bounce in her saddle, nor did she yank on the reins. She leaned into the sharp turn, keeping her weight off the horse’s back. They worked in unison as a well-oiled machine. When she finished the last figure eight, she let her horse canter around the corral, cooling both her and the horse.

“You’ve got a good seat,” he said.

“Hours of practice.”

Her face glowed and her entire body appeared relaxed and at ease, the most relaxed he’d ever seen her. This was a joyful woman, who loved riding and competing. As she came toward him, he felt himself being drawn to that smile.

LEANN HARRIS has always had stories in her head. Once her youngest child went to school, she began putting those stories on a page. She is active in her local RWA chapter and ACFW chapters. She’s a teacher of the deaf (high school), a master composter and avid gardener, and teaches writing at her local community college. Her website is leannharris.com.

The Cowboy Meets His Match

Leann Harris

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Let the morning bring me word of

Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You.

—Psalms 143:8

For my grandbaby: You are the miracle child

we prayed for, and your smile melts my heart.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text Corralling Her Heart Sawyer Jensen is ready to grab life—and his new job—by the horns. The tall, hazel-eyed cowboy has been brought in to revive Quay County’s faltering rodeo, but his bigger challenge may be taking on Erin Delong. The beautiful rodeo rider was in the running for Sawyer’s job, and she’s not walking away without a fight. Sawyer is no stranger to conflict, but the feelings Erin is stirring in him are brand-new. Her independent spirit both intrigues and scares him. As it turns out, Sawyer’s biggest project will be repairing his own wounded heart—and Erin may just be the perfect person for the job!

Introduction What had gotten into him? During the rodeo board meeting, thoughts of Erin kept creeping into Sawyer’s head. When he passed the road leading to the Delong ranch, Sawyer decided to visit her. Besides, he could use the excuse that he wanted to ride. He was a cowboy. He parked his truck and saw Erin in the corral, practicing her barrel racing. He sat and watched her ride the figure eights. Slipping out of his truck, he softly closed the door. She didn’t bounce in her saddle, nor did she yank on the reins. She leaned into the sharp turn, keeping her weight off the horse’s back. They worked in unison as a well-oiled machine. When she finished the last figure eight, she let her horse canter around the corral, cooling both her and the horse. “You’ve got a good seat,” he said. “Hours of practice.” Her face glowed and her entire body appeared relaxed and at ease, the most relaxed he’d ever seen her. This was a joyful woman, who loved riding and competing. As she came toward him, he felt himself being drawn to that smile.

About the Author LEANN HARRIS has always had stories in her head. Once her youngest child went to school, she began putting those stories on a page. She is active in her local RWA chapter and ACFW chapters. She’s a teacher of the deaf (high school), a master composter and avid gardener, and teaches writing at her local community college. Her website is leannharris.com .

Title Page The Cowboy Meets His Match Leann Harris www.millsandboon.co.uk

Bible Verse Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. —Psalms 143:8

Dedication For my grandbaby: You are the miracle child we prayed for, and your smile melts my heart.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Erin Joy Delong stood before the closed conference-room door. On the other side lay the truth she needed to face no matter how ugly. Grasping the doorknob, she took a deep breath and turned it.

All talking ceased. The air-conditioning clicked on, filling the dead silence.

Erin looked at each of the seven men seated around the table. No one would meet her gaze except for the stranger standing at the head of the table. A slide of his presentation on how to reorganize the bicounty rodeo lit the screen behind him.

Her knees nearly buckled. She hadn’t gotten the job. No, the job of reorganizing the rodeo that her great-grandfather established had gone to a total stranger.

“Erin, we didn’t expect you,” Melvin Lowell, the rodeo board’s president, said.

She didn’t doubt it. “Sorry I’m late, but after I talked with dad’s doctors at the hospital this morning, I ran into a big accident on the interstate just outside Albuquerque. Then, finding this unscheduled Thursday meeting proved tricky, since you’d moved it from the rodeo headquarters.”

The men around the table shifted in their chairs as if they were ashamed of themselves. They continued to avoid her gaze.

“How’s your father?” Mel asked, as if nothing was off-kilter.

She stepped into the elegant meeting room at the new conference center. “He’s improving from the stroke, but we won’t know the extent of the damage for several days. I drove in as his representative on the board.”

“Is that legal?” Norman Burke, one of the board members from Harding County, asked. “I mean, if he can’t talk—”

“You can call my mother or the floor nurse at the hospital, Sylvia Carter, who witnessed Dad nodding for me to represent him until he came back.”

“Oh.”

Erin glanced at the man giving the presentation and caught the hint of a smile that crossed his face before it disappeared.

The muted brush of her boots on the carpet was the only sound in the room as she walked to the empty chair on the opposite side of the table and sat. In front of her was a slick folder that read “Tucumcari Rodeo Proposal by Sawyer Jensen.” Her eyes jerked up and clashed with Melvin’s. He didn’t look away.

“I take it Mr. Jensen won the contract?”

“Yes, we voted for him at the last meeting,” Mel replied, his head held high. “Didn’t anyone tell you?” Too much satisfaction laced his voice. Most of the other board members kept their gazes fixed on the table.

“No, but you know with all the chaos that occurred the day of the vote and Dad having the stroke afterward, it was the last thing on Mom’s mind.”