Cowboys of Stargazer Springs

It's all fun and games until the cowboy rides away. The most amazing guy sweeps into my life when I need him most, and I don't want him to be the one who got away.As a bonus, he's extremely photogenic even if he is a bit reluctant to let me snap his picture. My engagement is through the roof whenever he shows up in my feed. Because who doesn't love a man in Wranglers?Did I mention that he's adorably shy?I'm hoping for a happily-ever-after, but then everything implodes. Maybe he's too shy.But I was falling in love.Then I open my social media and get the shock of my life.What am I going to do now?

The one who got away was here all alongWhen I'm abandoned at a party and find myself in a vulnerable situation, a stranger rescues me. I want to thank him, but I have no memory of his face, only a text telling my housemate that he's a cowboy with a pretty face. That's not a lot to go on.I've build him up as a fantasy in my head, but when a flirtatious ranch hand makes his interest clear, I have to choose between clinging to a memory, one that's fuzzy at best, and embracing the present.A real-life cowboy is better than a dream. Right? What if I'm wrong about that?

Tall, dark, and . . . does not fit with my life planWhen my dad marries into this incredible found family, I make lots of new friends.I'm strangely infatuated with one of my hunky new friends. And his kid is adorable too. Watching him with his son makes my heart flutter. Who knew single dads could be so sexy?But it's easy to keep our relationship in the friend zone because 1) he isn't interested and 2) he lives in Texas and I'm in New York.I love my life in the big city. Moving isn't in my plan.The trips back to the ranch are just for fun. I like spending time with him, but it doesn't mean I'm falling in love.

I only saw him as my best friend's little brother . . . until I married him. Getting pregnant before the wedding wasn't my plan, but surprise! Then my fiancé (correction, ex-fiancé) tells me to take care of the problem. And that's how he becomes my ex. But being a single mom in this small town won't be easy. Maybe not even possible. I'm a large animal vet. It's not like I can take my baby to work with me. Then my best friend's younger brother drops to one knee and proposes so that I won't be a single mom. After hours of pondering, I accept Parker's impulsive proposal. Romance has never been part of our relationship, but he treats me better than anyone I've ever dated. He's caring, protective, and more than a little good looking. Way more than I deserve. But I really didn't think about the day-to-day of married life. Or what it would be like to see him without a shirt all the time. He's no longer the scrawny kid who liked to tag along. He's a full-grown cowboy and quickly becoming my best friend. (Well, my other best friend) Just when I think maybe a happily-ever-after is possible, tragedy strikes. Now that there's nothing to save me from, I have to let him go. But walking away from my knight in shining armor will absolutely shatter my heart.

In high school I made a deal with my best friend. If neither of us were married by 35, we'd marry each other.We haven't spoken about it since. So when he proposes at our party, I walk away. I've loved him forever, but he is just making good on a deal.I deserve better than that.So I get on every dating app I can and vow to change things. I'll meet someone new and forget about how much I love my best friend.That's my plan.But it veers a little off course when he gets protective about my dates and goes out of his way to spend time with me.I'm not sure what to think anymore.

I've been avoiding my ex. More like hiding from him, but that's just semantics. But hiding isn't possible now that he's my new neighbor.We dated all through high school, but then the day after graduation, I ended things, which I know broke his heart. But at the time, I thought I was making the best choice.Now I regret it. Actually, I've regretted it for a while. Pretty much since the day we said goodbye.As much as I want to apologize and make things right-if that's even possible-I'm afraid to face him. And telling him why I broke up with him will crush him.Clinging to the old adage that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, I spend an entire night making him cookies. Apologies go better with cookies, I think.At least I hope so.

A cowboy. A cactus. And my eight-year-old daughter.That's how I end up having dinner with the hottest guy I've ever laid eyes on.My relationship history is a trail of horrible mistakes. Well, two, but they were really big. Now I'm a single mom, and I have no plans to date.But I make an exception for just one dinner because my daughter spends time at the barn, and Anderson works there, so I need to know a little about him.One dinner turns into two, and he helps me move. Then I kiss him.One kiss turns into two, and I agree to date him as long as we keep it a secret because I don't want my daughter to know.But keeping secrets in a small town isn't always easy to do.

I need a fake fiancé for the next six months. That shouldn't be too hard to find, right?Hopefully my blind date is in a good mood because I'm about to put my desperation on full display by asking him to pose as my fiancé for six months.The cute cowboy not only agrees to my crazy plan to get my family to leave me alone until my brother's wedding, but he's also so good at playing the part, going above and beyond, that it makes even me believe this whole charade is real.When he turns all protective, I start to wish we weren't pretending. But fake or not, Dallas makes me feel brave enough to stand up for myself.During the six months, the lines blur and as the end of our agreement approaches, I'm not sure we're pretending anymore. And now that I've grown a spine, I'm brave enough to admit I want the real thing with him.But after the wedding, Dallas acts like our deal is done and walks away, dragging my happily-ever-after along with him. If he can't trust me enough to talk about what changed his mind, then we aren't meant to be.Except I think we are. Nobody's that good at faking love.

A car crash. A cowboy. And a moody tween. That's how my happily-ever-after starts.An adorable cowboy literally carries me to safety after my car flips, and that's when I feel it. The spark. Until meeting him, I always thought the spark was just figurative. Nope. Real tingles.He's friendly and attentive but cautious, and I start to think he isn't interested. Then I get the scoop. Carson recently adopted his nephew and is learning to be a dad. To a preteen.That only makes me like Carson more. I make that clear, and we start dating. Taking it slow, we date in secret for a while. And the little spark turns into more.When it's clear this isn't a passing infatuation for either of us, he introduces me to Fred.And the kid doesn't like me.How do I get him to understand that I don't want to divide their little family? I just want to become part of it.Is it even possible to get a tween boy to change his mind? I hope so. My happily-ever-after depends on it.

Coincidence? I'm leaning more toward fate Regret. That's what inspired my now-trending song. I swore that if I ever saw my childhood friend again, I'd tell her she was pretty. And today, I got to tell her. Sadly, it followed her whisper of "I think I'm going to be sick."Definitely not the best timing.That one chance meeting on a plane rekindles our friendship. It helps that she's moving into her gramps's place, which is right down the road. When he calls, asking for help on his ranch, I jump at the chance.More time around my friend is a great thing.As weeks stretch into months, my feelings grow. But it's clear, she's afraid of pushing out of the friend zone.When a musical opportunity comes my way, I have a choice to make. Do I chase my dream or follow my heart?