Cole Mitchell of Changing Tracks (Exclusive outtake & #Giveaway Inside)

Hello! I’m Sarah Cass, and it’s wonderful to meet you all.

I’m a big lover of cowboys. The good ones, the bad ones, and everything in between. In my first ever novel (now sitting in my files abandoned), my hero was a cowboy at heart. He rode the trails, and ran a ranch, and all of those good things.

In Changing Tracks, I went another direction. No real cowboy on display (although one character did some trail riding in his time)…but my Hero, Cole Mitchell, is the one men in town go to in order to get a wild horse broken and trained right. He’s got a certain skill with the equine.

Jane, my heroine, learns to appreciate his skill — for reasons I think we can all agree are sound. In honor of today, I’m giving you an exclusive outtake of the first time Jane notices Cole’s…special skill.

And to add to the fun – I’m also hosting a giveaway with this post!! Just leave a comment by 8PM telling me what you like to see in your cowboys – get a second entry by commenting on my earlier post about the other side of westerns. You can win a copy of both of my novels that I’m talking about today (Masked Hearts and Changing Tracks {Dominion Falls Series book 1}). I’ll choose a winner at 8PM!!

*~*

Right up until she reached the door of the library, Jane kept reading the book she had in hand. She almost hated to let it go, she’d enjoyed it that much, but it was time to find another one, or ten, to read.

“Morning, Miss Doe.” A wrinkled old woman sat behind the desk. She had to be the oldest person in town. Jane wondered how she got around.

“Good morning Widow Teak. I’m returning these.” Jane set a pile of five books on desk, the one she’d finished at the door on top. “I hope you don’t mind if I look for more.”

“Of course not. But are you really done with all of these?” The widows voice creaked and shook. “You just borrowed them three days ago.”

“What can I say? I do enjoy a good book.” Jane smiled and moved along the shelves. When a book caught her eye, she pulled it free. Near the window she grabbed another and turned her back to the shelves to inspect them both in the light.

Normally just a few words would clue her into whether she’d read the book and forgotten already. It seemed that even if she forgot reading, her mind remembered the words. A shout outside drew her attention. A wagon sped carelessly through the street, rattling and banging until it disappeared out of sight.

Still, Jane kept her gaze fixed outside. It wasn’t until that moment that she realized she could see the corral behind the saloon from this window. It had to be her timing, because this was the first time she’d ever seen Cole out there.

Shirtless.

Her brows rose and she leaned on the panes to get a better look. Rumors of Cole’s skill at training horses appeared to be true, for that’s what he was doing right then.

A large horse circled at the end of the lead Cole held, the horse’s head bobbing and shaking against the lead.

Every inch of Cole’s bare skin was darkened by the sun to perfection. As he spun, she caught sight of a long white scar on his abdomen, the only imperfection on an otherwise perfect form.

The strong muscles in his arms tensed and relaxed in response to the actions of the horse on the end of his lead. As he turned, he leaned back, the long lines of his legs appearing between the fence poles to show the smooth reaction of his turn.

His broad shoulders and broad chest were on proud display, but the horse kept blocking her direct vantage point. Still, from the side she could admire the way his abdomen rippled and curved. Muscles stood out in stark relief as if carved out of stone like one of the great sculptures she’d read about.

Cole paused the turn when the back door to the saloon opened and his beefy business partner Graham stepped out.

Now Jane had a much better view of the way his waist narrowed down to the top of his trousers. A faint gleam of sweat made each ridge and bump of muscle stand out in a display that left her mouth dry and her body trembling.

“Are you finding everything all right, Miss Doe?”

Jane startled out of her staring at the old woman’s voice, the heat of her fluster rising into her cheeks until she thought she might be sweating herself. She dabbed at her forehead and nodded. “Yes, widow Teak. Just two books today.”

With only two books, she could come back tomorrow. Maybe she’d get to see more.

When she stepped out of the library onto the porch, Cole was still in the corral. He gave her a nod and a wicked grin.

She crossed the street with her books clutched to her chest, hoping the remaining heat in her cheeks could be passed off as due to the weather. “Good morning, Cole. I didn’t know you knew what this time of day looked like.”

“I didn’t know there were books next to the window in that library.” He winked and leaned on the fence. The action brought her attention back to the strong arms she’d admired from the day she’d met him. “Ya thought about getting a horse yet?”

“No. But I’m certainly considering it now.”

*~*

Blurb:

There’s nothing simple about forgetting your past.

Cole Mitchell runs the busiest saloon and brothel in Dominion Falls. He keeps his women at a distance, unwilling to relive a past he worked hard to forget.

Until the night Jane Doe falls into his saloon bleeding and near death. She wakes with no memory, only the firm belief someone tried to kill her. In the strange world of amnesia she manages to find solace in Cole’s arms and he finds home in hers.

While they work together to solve the mystery of her appearance, their pasts ““ her lack of, and his buried ““ build a barrier between them.

To make matters worse, Jane’s past isn’t willing to let her go. A stranger proves he’ll kill to keep his secrets safe. With those she loves in danger, Jane’s errant memory is all that stands between them and death. Cole can only do so much to protect her, will it be enough?

Buy Links:

Secret Cravings Website – http://bit.ly/14XQPTl

Amazon – http://amzn.to/11DDgcG

Barnes & Noble – http://bit.ly/XcTs0R

All Romance Ebooks – http://bit.ly/WJxSiA

Bookstrand – http://bit.ly/12dl2PB

BIO:

Sarah Cass’s world is regularly turned upside down by her three special-needs kids and loving mate, so she breaks genre barriers, dabbling in horror, straight fiction, and urban fantasy. An ADD tendency leaves her with a variety of interests that include singing, dancing, crafting, cooking, and being a photographer. She fights through the struggles of the day, knowing the battles are her crucible and though she may emerge scarred, she’s also stronger. Changing Tracks is her debut novel, but she’s already ahead of the game with another novel set for release in April. While busy creating worlds and characters as real to her as her own family, she leads an active online life with her blog, Redefining Perfect, which gives a real and sometimes raw glimpses into her life and art.