Cowboy Heart

Book excerpt: Ben Matthews had always moved with great ease through life. A rodeo champion and the eldest son of a prominent south Texas rancher, he had indeed been “blessed by the gods.” His fellow cowboys liked and respected him, women loved him, and young boys wanted to grow up to be like him – a modern-day cowboy hero. His courage is tested when two seconds away from his fifth all-around cowboy title, a rogue bull leaves him for dead. Somehow he survives and, with the help of his family, makes a remarkable comeback. But his return to being a rodeo champion comes at a high price – the loss of almost everyone and everything he has based his identity on. For the first time in his life, Ben Matthews is afraid. Even the woman he loves can’t help him. And soon he is on the run. Fleeing from all that used to be his life, Ben stumbles into the exciting world of Thoroughbred racing in Miami, Florida. It is a world away from his Texas heritage, but is it far enough away from the pain he thought he left behind? Ben’s new life also brings new dangers – as deadly as any he faced on the back of a bull. As his very life is threatened, Ben must wrestle with the paradox of letting go in order to hold on to his “cowboy heart.”