Copper Lake

The weight of the legacy I carry is a constant tug in my mind, with the ghosts of the generations before me always whispering for me to push harder, train longer, be better. In the eight seconds I have to ride, everything else falls away, and my sole focus is on doing what I do best. I am Shooter Graham, consecutive three-time world champion bronc rider. No one has ever come close to taking the title since I've had it… until him. Sterling Addams. The new cowboy in town with dark hair, eyes like honey, and a taste for me he likes to pretend he doesn't have.

Bronc riding has always been my main focus. The plan was simple: work hard, go pro, and show the world what I was made of. It hasn't been easy, but I did it through dedication and a whole lot of determination. My dreams came true, my life more than fulfilled… Or so I thought. I never knew how much I ached for more until I stopped to help a stranger on the side of a one-lane road one chilly fall afternoon. He couldn't be more different than me, with his messy curls and the chipped black polish.

When I moved in with my sister over summer break, I had no intention of returning to college in the fall. A work trip for her meant a lot of time alone for me with her husband. Boone Stanton. World famous bull rider and way, way off limits. A few late-night deep conversations between the two of us, only the midnight sky our witness, and suddenly, I can't look away. Can't keep my mind off of him. It's in the way he works around the yard, sweaty and shirtless. Then one night, I see something I shouldn't. Something that makes my mouth water and my heart race.

There are some things you just don't do… Don't lie. Don't steal. Don't break the law. And absolutely do not, under any circumstance, sleep with your best friend's son. I've always prided myself on being a good man. I am a doctor after all. I consider myself to be a by-the-book man. A man with strong morals and a clear conscience. That is until a night out of town with too many drinks finds me naked and sweaty with the one person I shouldn't be rolling around in the sheets with.

Conrad Strauss is the owner of Grazing Acres Ranch, home to some of the sharpest bucking bulls around. As Copper Lake's only veterinarian in our small town, I have to see him more than I'd like. It hasn't always been easy, but it's become manageable. Until, of course, the night my need for him burned too hot to ignore. The night I let my walls down and allowed myself to soak in his comfort and strong arms once more. If that wasn't bad enough, now his Nana is coming to visit, and she doesn't know we're divorced.