MIDNIGHT RIDE

MIDNIGHT RIDE                                         CAT JOHNSON
Posted:  May 19, 2015

One bucking bronco…
Oklahoma ranch hand Tyler Jenkins is too young, too sexy, and too damn wild to be tied down by any single woman—for more than a few steamy hours…

One hard-working widow…
Widowed rancher Janie Smithwick is too busy paying off her debts to play rodeo with a reckless young cowboy like Tyler—no matter how hot he gets her…

One midnight ride they’ll never forget…
As a rule, Janie should be dating a man her own age, like her handsome neighbor Rohn—not the twenty-four-year old ranch hand he employs. But once Tyler gets Janie alone—held tight in his arms, pressed against his hard muscled body, burning with desire—the widow realizes that some rules, like broncos, are meant to be broken…

MY REIVIEW:

     How do you tell your heart no once it has set itself to loving just one and has no room for anyone else?  This is the case for Tyler Jenkins, 24.  Due to a misunderstanding with a girl he met at The Two Step Bar he met Janie Smithwick, 36.

     You see Tyler had gone out to the bar with his work friend, Colton, to drink and meet girls.  Well, no sooner do they make it in the door when they each meet someone.  The girl Ty meets is quick to ask if he wants to go out back, he agrees.  No sooner are they out the door when she is kissing the enamel off his teeth with her tongue.  Then she moves her hand lower down to unhook his belt.  When he says, “Whoa slow down.”  When asked what’s the matter she says she’s mad at her fiancé and that she caught him staring at some girls tits.  Ty’s like hold up did you talk to him about it?  She mumble something like, But I saw him right there at the front door. Plus I can’t talk to him until the other bouncer relieves him. When it all clicks in Ty’s brain, wait she said “fiancé and bouncer” in the same sentences and “at the front door.” 

     Ty sees his life flash before his very eyes as the back door goes flying open as the back door opens hitting the back wall of the bar.  Seeing this too big for words, too mad bouncer coming after him.  What’s a guy to do but run of course, right?  There is a nearby forest that he sees as his safest bet of losing this guy bodily wise not so much, the branches are whacking him everywhere.  Not to mention it’s a little hard to run full out trying to hold on to your pants that are still unzipped and unbuckled.  Every time he stops and looks back he hears load grunting, this guy is pissed.  Really he can’t blame him he would be too still he’s not stopping to make amends that’s for sure.

     He sees he’s coming to a clearing by where the hardware store is he needs a quick plan.  He scans it quickly his best option is a truck he hops in the back he hopes lying flat the guy will just run right past him.  Well, God is on his side because there is a tarp in it.  So he covers up, holds his breath.  He hears the bouncer crash through the trees and hears him keep running.  Then, when he thinks he’s in the clear he hears footsteps walking to the truck.  He is worried so he holds his breath again.  Then he hears voices a females and a males and they stop beside the truck.  Now he’s really worried, especially since his pants are still unbuckled.  He hears the woman say thanks for carrying that out for me to the attendant.  Then someone pulls back the tarp.  To the surprise of all three there is Ty.

     It turns out the guy who brings out the post for the lady is a high school buddy of Ty’s.  He’s like Ty what are you doing?  Ty sends out his million dollar smile to the lady standing by him.  Basically, Ty says it’s not what it looks like.  Hops up and tells his friend let me help you get that in for this nice lady. Once they get it in his friend says fix your pants.  He does while looking around.  His friend teases him about what he may have gotten into now when he sees how uneasy the lady is.  His friend says, Ty may act crazy but he’s not at all.  He’s harmless and a good guy.  Then the friend asks, where’s your truck?  He says it’s at Rohn’s, the ranch he works at.  When the lady introduces herself she says she can give him a ride that she goes right by there.

     On the way to Rohn’s she gets curious about why he was hiding in her truck but he keeps steering it away with other talk.  As they are almost there he looks at her ring finger and finds that she is wearing a wedding ring.  He finds himself saying “to bad.”  Not only did she think she was sexy but she was easy to talk to.  But for sure she has curves in all the right places, small and compact, and mature knowing what she wants.  They turn into Rohn’s he tells her thanks for the ride sorry for putting her out of her way.  She tells him he didn’t that the last drive they passed was hers.  He says you’re the widow?  She laughs because after a year that’s the first time she heard anyone call her that.  He then ask what she planned to do with that fence post.  She says that the last storm knocked a branch loose that took out part of her fence and she needs to replace the post.

     Ty thought for all of two seconds.  Not happening he said.  Have you ever done it?  She said, no.  He says for being so nice that he’d be over in the morning to do it.  She said no but he said it was thanks for the ride home.  So, when she got up she found herself excited to have him coming over.  She thought about fixing herself up but she was like are you crazy he’s not coming for you he’s coming to work so hurry up so you can help.  When she got downstairs she started the coffee she hears a knock and it’s Ty and another hand, Colton, they come in for coffee.  Then is when she finds out the guys already did it.  She was totally surprised.  When Ty hears Colton say I only met Tom a few times he was a good man if you ever need any help around here just let Rohn know we would be glad to help.  That just sent a steel rod up Ty’s back.  He wanted to be the one that she needed to do for Janie and Colton was stealing his thunder. 

     After work Ty shows up on Janie’s doorstep.  He tells her that her alfalfa is ready to be cut and harvested.  That she needed to talk to her hand about doing it.  She said when her husband died she had to let him go with most of the cattle too.  He looked at her and said, I’ll do it!  She said no she couldn’t ask that of him.  He said, she didn’t ask he offered.  That when it was done that his boss might even buy it.  She couldn’t believe it.  She had been so worried about making ends meet this an answer to a prayer.  Not to mention lonely and now the most unlikely person was there to be was there to be her friend.  She invited him to stay for dinner.  He was excited and grateful to spend time with her.

     One day led to two then more but when that first kiss of his came, Janie panicked.  Was it right?  He’s so young (12 years younger.)  It’s only been a year since Tom died.  What would people think?  What would a young sexy as hell rodeo star see in her?  Well, you will have to read and find out.  This is so funny, endearing, and tender.  You can feel all to giddy, sad, joyful emotions that happen with and around Ty and Janie.  I give this 5 stars.  Provided by NetGalley.

Follow us at:  www.1rad-readerreviews.com