[Cowboys of Crested Butte 04] • Stay with Me

Professional saddle bronc rider Jace Rice has a habit of falling in love with women who turn around and fall in love with someone else.

It had happened three times, and as much as he vowed to never let it happen again, it does. Although this time, the woman is in love with a guy Jace can't possibly compete with—a dead man.

Comforting sad-eyed widow, Bree Fox, leaves Jace Rice with plenty of gaping wounds himself, and a pent up desire to get to know more about her, other than how much she loved her late husband. But he knows Bree is not ready for that, so he waits...and waits. When she never contacts him again, he takes that as a sign, but that sign doesn't stop him from thinking about her, from wondering what could be if he just confronted her with how he felt.

The problem was confronting her would be almost impossible, since her sister was married to his brother, who hated him, and they all lived together in Crested Butte, where he wasn't welcome. Going there would be like walking into a hornet's nest where he would likely be stung.

Jace had been stung before, though, so many times he should be immune. And he wasn't a coward--otherwise he wouldn't be the fierce competitor he was in the rodeo arena. He knew he had what it took to go to Crested Butte and pound things out with his twin brother, if necessary. It wasn't like it was the first time they'd come to blows. What he didn't know was whether it would be worth it in the end.

Could Bree Fox ever feel about him the way she felt about her former husband? Or would she forever be just another woman Jace was rejected by when the dust settled?