The Rancher Needs a Wife

WANTED: Workaholic cowboy needs hardy woman to manage household and motley family. “Girly” widows, with small children, who sell naughty lingerie need not apply.

          Overprotective big brother and ranch owner, Carter Peters, draws the short straw at a contrived family meeting, to buy his stepmom’s sixtieth birthday present. He never imagines while on the present-buying quest he’ll get zapped with cupid’s arrow by a feisty southern belle, single mom, and lingerie shop owner who is so wrong for him and has off-limits written all over her. He has no time for romance—he has a ranch to run and a father who, despite being “retired,” can’t help micro-manage. Dad insists Carter’s new-fangled ways won’t work.

          Lynette Mercer wants nothing to do with the tall, sexy, and slightly bashful cowboy who walks through her door. Okay, maybe just a little. They could be friends. After all, she’s vowed not to date until her four-year old reaches the ripe age of thirty-six. She’s recovering from the death of her husband in a marriage turned bad, and starting a new business.

          With new friends and Carter’s family determined to marry him off, neither stand a chance against cupid or a town full of caring folks.

Good morning, Lynette, Tell us a bit about yourself, starting with Where are you from? A small town near Atlanta, Georgia.

Tell us about The Rancher Needs a Wife, Book two in the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series. Well, I declare. I just moved to Mineral Springs with my four-year-old daughter. I’ve opened a lingerie shop, much needed in this small Colorado ranching town. The local women are flocking through the door—or will be soon. Men, not so much, until a tall, broad-shouldered, Stetson carrying, and a bit bashful cowboy walks through the door. That’s how I meet Carter. And as much as I do not need a man, he is intriguing. Well, glory, the story goes on from there, where we keep running into each other. His sister, four brothers, friends, and step-mom are set on finding Carter a wife. Y’all will have to stop in and see how this all turns out.

What did you think the first time you saw Carter Peters? Mighty handsome, but like a rainbow trout tossed out of the churning creek that runs into the Roaring Fork River, when he walked into the too pink and frilly forbidden territory. A lot nervous. A lot handsome. Man of few words and itching to get away from my shop. But I lured him deeper into the land of nightgowns and what-nots. I have to admit, I was intrigued and set it up so he’d most likely invite me to lunch. Thank goodness my Mama still lives in Georgia, or she’d have been appalled by my brazen behavior. I couldn’t help the flutter in my tummy and my need to get to know a real honest-to-goodness and heavenly handsome rancher.

Un huh. So, what was your second thought? Lordy, my second thought was to hold on to my flaming cheeks and hope he skedaddled right on out of my store. I had no time, nor inclination to get close to any man at this juncture in my life. No siree, none at all. I have a daughter to raise and a business to run and…

What do you like most about Carter? His kindness. He’s a gentleman through and through. And a bit mysterious. Quiet. Not giving much away about himself. And very serious about his family and business.

How would you describe him? I think I’ve done that already. Handsome. Charming in a shy way. A man’s man who treats a woman like a precious stone. But he can get carried away in that protective sort of way. Thinking he has to always do for a woman. Like she can’t do it herself. Annoying, but endearing.

How would Carter describe you? Oh, lordy, I have no idea. I do know he looked me up and down when we first met. I think he liked what he saw, since he blushed and stammered and fiddled with the brim of his Stetson. But truthfully, I think I scared him a wee bit. Especially when he found out I had a four-year old.

What made you choose to sell what some would call naughty lingerie? Oh mercy me, I don’t sell naughty lingerie. I sell beautiful, feminine, make-you-feel-good lingerie. Every woman, whether she’s wraslin’ a cow or dressing for her man needs to feel good, even when no one sees what’s underneath. But, oh my, when that someone special’s eyes cloud over when he sees you in that lime green chiffon…well, never mind the details. You’ll have to wait and see. But back to the question…I grew up working in the family grocery so I know retail. Groceries aren’t all that exciting, but I always loved fabric and color and design. I decided being a clothing designer wasn’t for me, despite the fact I loved it. So, opening a lingerie store, whether selling functional or extravagant wear, seemed the perfect match for me.

What is your biggest fear? Well, truthfully, I have two big fears. Losing those I love. And losing control of my life. By that I mean being controlled or over-protected by someone else. Oh lordy, I just realized both my fears have to do with loss.

How do you relax? Relax? Single mom, business owner, new in town. Oh glory me, I haven’t relaxed since I moved to town several months ago. But spending time with my adorable baby girl, Gaby, is my way of relaxing. And I do love a good party, although being a single mom leaves little time for that. I soon discover the folks in Mineral Springs seem to have a knack for throwing good parties, and they always include the kids.

Who is your favorite fictional character? Barbie. Sorry. Don’t laugh. But she was my childhood inspiration that led me to go to design school. Alas, life got in the way, but my love of fashion (and Barbie) led me to where I am today, the owner of a lingerie shop. But I do love design and, every once in a while, I tend to dabble. If you could see my daughter’s bedroom, and her line-up of my old Barbie’s all dressed in my hand-made designs. Now that I’ve met the Peters family, I may get to dabble in designing for real-life people.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? My Daddy and Mama, being good southern parents, are full of advice. Here are some of their pearls that I still take to heart. Daddy, always the practical one, used to say “Never leave a mess for the customer to see.” So I live by all the customer services rules of going above and beyond for a customer. When I used to have problems, Daddy would say, “Every team has turn-overs, Sugar. What counts is how fast you get the ball back.” He taught me to own my mistakes and solve problems.

My Mama’s pearl of wisdom about handling an ornery man was, “lemons were meant to make lemonade—sweeten the pot, darlin’.” Us southern women are bred to make a man happy. Although, unbeknownst to the men, we do always keep the upper hand, even while we sweeten the pot to make them forget their mad.

We thank you for speaking with us, Lynette. It's now time to put Delsora under the spotlight. What movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? Anything associated with romance, whether books or movies. And pretty much any romance genre. I know way too many authors now, either in person or having discovered them on loops, which means more and more books. I do like to read different genres than contemporary when I am writing my first draft. I guess it’s because it gets me out of my own head and I can get lost in a story unlike my own. I’m one who underlines great lines on my Kindle. I always say I’ll go back to read those lines, but I read so many books, I never do. But it makes me happy to underline and reread a great line while I am in the story. It also helps me see different ways of writing a scene or a character.

What event in your private life were you able to bring to this story and how do you feel it impacted the novel? As with my first book in this series, The Prince’s Son, it is based on an area where my daughter lived, up in the mountains of Colorado. I have a vision of where she lived when I write this series, and I use different locations or events in the area to add reality-based texture to the story. The background of my cover for the second book, The Rancher Needs a Wife, released on October 20, is a photo taken by my daughter. In fact, if you go to my website, you will see lots of photos taken by her. And I have a blog about book one up on my website (originally on Wild Women Authors in April 2019) where you will see more photos taken by my daughter. The organic cattle farm is based on one in the areas she lived in (near Carbondale, CO) and there is a scene in the book about a cattle drive down the main street that my daughter witnessed. I have a great photo that she took of that cattle drive on my website, in a blog about writing small town romance.

Tell us a bit about your publisher: how did you hear about them and what influenced your decision to submit to them? My books are self-published, under the name Beach Plum Publishing, I have a great team with whom I work closely, including two editors, a formatter, and a cover artist. I will have a traditionally published book about a Vermont holiday, which will be out next year.

What book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? This is an ever changing pile, as I read a lot of books. On my TBR pile is the latest book by Susan Vaughan, Hidden Obsession. Primal Obsession was the first book (and a stand-alone). An excellent romantic thriller. I was on the edge of my chair throughout, and I absolutely loved the romance. I’m almost finished with Jen Gilroy’s latest, The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls, and I can’t wait to see what happens, yet don’t want it to end. Loved her first series, based in Vermont. Then I’m starting It Started With Joy by Cindy Kirk. Right now, most of the books on my pile are holiday books, as I will be doing a blog in November about holiday reads – some authors I will read are Donna Alward, RaeAnne Thayne, Jill Shavlis, Marianne Rice, Roni Denholtz, and Amy Andrews (a new author to me), plus others not yet discovered. One will be a new anthology Romancing the Holidays by eleven authors I have never read, from Australia, New Zealand, England and elsewhere. It will be out in early November.

Lastly, what's up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? As mentioned above, I am working on the Vermont sweet romance. I hope to also get out the next two books in the Cowboys of Mineral Springs sometime in 2020. I have a Galway Cove novella series that I would like to start editing and get out in the next year or two. So, lots going on, but never enough time to do it all.

Delsora brought along an excerpt: 
     She finished a dance with Rocky, a cowboy who had grown up on the ranch with Mitch Peters. He left her breathless as he twirled her around the floor in a lively two-step that she finally gotten the hang of. “My, oh my, you have some fancy foot-work.”

     The older man blushed. “Thank you, ma’am. I ‘preciate the dance.”

     “I’m tuckered out.” She fanned her face with her hand. “I’m going to duck out for a breath of air. Thank you again, Rocky.”

     She drifted through the wide doorway, regaining a bit of energy once the cool air hit her warm body. She headed toward the edge of the large yard leading to the ranch house. The music dimmed. Dusk settled around her.

     When she reached the green lawn, she turned and looked back toward the barn. Soft light spilled from the open doors, picking up the glint of pebbles scattered over the dirt drive. The thin line of gray-blue sky outlined the surrounding mountain tops and blended into midnight black above her head.

     She arched her back and swept her hair up in one hand to cool off her neck while she took in the breathtaking display of twinkling stars. The full moon shoved its way free of a drifting cloud to shine bright, casting shadows across the rugged landscape.

     The crisp air and slight breeze brushed over her to dry the perspiration after her exertion on the dance floor. A shiver zipped through her, the night chill in contrast to the heated barn full of moving bodies and pulsing music.

     “You cold?”

     Out of the shadows near the barn came the deep voice she’d longed to hear all night. She turned toward the wide expanse of barn silhouetted against the moonlight. 
     Carter sauntered from the shadows, removing his light-weight jacket. He stopped inches away, his presence sucking the air from her lungs, and draped his jacket around her shoulders. The scent of pine and leather and Carter wafted up to surround her.

     Oh, lordy. She wanted to swoon.

The Rancher Needs a Wife can be purchased at:

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Rancher-Needs-Cowboys-Mineral-Springs-ebook/dp/B07YXB5C4W/

and Books2Read books2read.com/u/bxv56d

To learn more about Delsora Lowe, go to:

Website: www.delsoralowe.com


FaceBook page: fb.me/delsoraloweauthor


Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0


Books2Read: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe


BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518


Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe