Nate Grant knows that his eldest brother has the respect, his middle brother has the smarts, and he was left to fight for his own piece of the spotlight. Thus, began his daring, dangerous, and often a little bit crazy foray into the world of rodeo. Now, with his career on the rise, Nate is back in town to do a promotional show at the local Strawberry Festival to land himself a major sponsor. But when he arrives expecting to be welcomed as the hometown hero, he instead finds himself challenged by the only person who could ever make him shake in his boots: Athena Moore. Athena grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Limited money for rodeo lessons or competitions meant that while she could best the boys, she couldn’t follow them to the big leagues. Watching Nate excel really lit a fire in her britches and after school she began training and teaching young girls rodeo skills. Winning against Nate at the upcoming Strawberry Festival will show the girls (and Athena) that they could do anything boys could—and do it better to boot. But promoting the event means Nate and Athena are forced to spend time together. Too much time to keep their tumultuous feelings under wraps. Now, there’s a grudging respect to their relationship and a heavy dose of passion too. But as Nate and Athena get closer, their competition becomes public via a reality show. When the lines between promotion and passion are crossed, they’ll be forced to ask themselves what it is they’re fighting for...and what they’ll lose if they win. This novel contains sexual content, profanity and scenes with substance abuse.

She needs a favor. He needs a bride. Langston Carr is back in her hometown Marietta as the temporary event planner for the Graff Hotel. The first event on the calendar is the society wedding that should have been her big day with her loving groom, so when rodeo cowboy Bowen Ballantyne swaggers into the hotel, all hard-bodied and chivalrous, she thanks him the way any single woman needing to salve her pride would—she kisses him. Bull rider Bowen Ballantyne thrives on competition, but this time his cowboy cousins have taken their one-upmanship challenge too far. He needs to find a bride by the end of the Copper Mountain Rodeo. Bowen’s never backed down from anything, so when former barrel racer Langston Carr, his tormentor from their teen years, propositions him, Bowen rockets up the heat. A game of pretend between rivals…what could go wrong?

The sixteen original essays in this collection cover influential and famous rivalries from a variety of sports, including track and field, golf, boxing, basketball, tennis, ice skating, baseball, football, soccer, and more. The essays are diverse, but together they illustrate what is common to any rivalry: equally matched opponents that often have decidedly different backgrounds, styles, and personalities. These differences may center on race and culture, political and societal ideologies, personality, geography, or religion—a mix intensified by fans and the media. From highly publicized and emotionally charged individual competitions to bitterly fought team contests, Rivals illuminates what one-of-a-kind opponents and the passion they inspire tell us about ourselves and our society.

The triumphant true story of the native Hawaiian cowboys who crossed the Pacific to shock America at the 1908 world rodeo championships Oregon Book Award winner * An NPR Best Book of the Year * Pacific Northwest Book Award finalist * A Reading the West Book Awards finalist "Groundbreaking. … A must-read. ... An essential addition." —True West In August 1908, three unknown riders arrived in Cheyenne, Wyoming, their hats adorned with wildflowers, to compete in the world’s greatest rodeo. Steer-roping virtuoso Ikua Purdy and his cousins Jack Low and Archie Ka’au’a had travelled 4,200 miles from Hawaii, of all places, to test themselves against the toughest riders in the West. Dismissed by whites, who considered themselves the only true cowboys, the native Hawaiians would astonish the country, returning home champions—and American legends. An unforgettable human drama set against the rough-knuckled frontier, David Wolman and Julian Smith’s Aloha Rodeo unspools the fascinating and little-known true story of the Hawaiian cowboys, or paniolo, whose 1908 adventure upended the conventional history of the American West. What few understood when the three paniolo rode into Cheyenne is that the Hawaiians were no underdogs. They were the product of a deeply engrained cattle culture that was twice as old as that of the Great Plains, for Hawaiians had been chasing cattle over the islands’ rugged volcanic slopes and through thick tropical forests since the late 1700s. Tracing the life story of Purdy and his cousins, Wolman and Smith delve into the dual histories of ranching and cowboys in the islands, and the meteoric rise and sudden fall of Cheyenne, “Holy City of the Cow.” At the turn of the twentieth century, larger-than-life personalities like “Buffalo Bill” Cody and Theodore Roosevelt capitalized on a national obsession with the Wild West and helped transform Cheyenne’s annual Frontier Days celebration into an unparalleled rodeo spectacle, the “Daddy of ‘em All.” The hopes of all Hawaii rode on the three riders’ shoulders during those dusty days in August 1908. The U.S. had forcibly annexed the islands just a decade earlier. The young Hawaiians brought the pride of a people struggling to preserve their cultural identity and anxious about their future under the rule of overlords an ocean away. In Cheyenne, they didn’t just astound the locals; they also overturned simplistic thinking about cattle country, the binary narrative of “cowboys versus Indians,” and the very concept of the Wild West. Blending sport and history, while exploring questions of identity, imperialism, and race, Aloha Rodeo spotlights an overlooked and riveting chapter in the saga of the American West.

The Cowboy’s Surprise Nanny Ian Grant isn’t a man who accepts help easily. After promising his young son that he could participate in the strawberry festival, and then missing the admittance deadline, Ian’s in a bind and forced to ask the mayor for a favor. The mayor agrees, on one condition: his niece has run into hard times and needs a safe place to stay: Ian’s place to stay. She’s great with kids and Ian needs someone to look after his rambunctious son Andy while he ranches. Ian agrees, expecting some college-aged girl who’d flunked Algebra. Instead, he finds a full-grown woman—a beautiful and sassy one to boot. Katie Rylie has always dreamed of helping others by teaching them to cook. Her online persona was thriving—until a scandal with her forthcoming cookbook rocked her career. Not only did she have to pay back the entire advance, but her once-loyal fan base has turned against her. Defeated and with nowhere to go, Katie feels it’s better to hide out in the country until she can get her life back together. The offer of a free home, an open range, and a wily six-year-old to focus on sounds like just the escape she needs. When Andy’s diet restrictions force Katie to become creative in the kitchen, she finds herself drawn back into the food world, just as she’s falling in love with Ian and Andy. But Ian, who likes having control of everything, doesn’t know how to ask Katie to become a permanent part of their lives. The Cowboy’s Contract Marriage Jonah Grant wants to make his own mark on the world. As a horse breeder starting his business from scratch, he hasn’t had the easiest road. But he might have finally caught a break in the form of two beautiful studs for sale that would be perfect for his stock. The problem is Jonah doesn’t have the funds, or any means of getting them—until an old friend shows up with a proposition. Virginia Leeland wants to build something of her own. The daughter of a traditional family, she refuses to stand behind a husband...she wants to stand on her own two feet. Still, she’ll take advantage of the money bequeathed to her by her grandmother and use it to buy Jonah’s beautiful old barn to host weddings in. The funds, however, are only available upon her marriage, so it’s a good thing she’s engaged. But when Virginia catches her no-good, cheating fiancé, well, cheating on her, the marriage plans dry up, along with the funds for her business, and Jonah’s plans for expansion. The situation seems hopeless. That is, until Virginia has a champagne-fueled epiphany: she and Jonah can marry. In name only, of course. The Cowboy’s Rodeo Rival Nate Grant knows that his eldest brother has the respect, his middle brother has the smarts, and he was left to fight for his own piece of the spotlight. Thus, began his daring, dangerous, and often a little bit crazy foray into the world of rodeo. Now, with his career on the rise, Nate is back in town to do a promotional show at the local Strawberry Festival to land himself a major sponsor. But when he arrives expecting to be welcomed as the hometown hero, he instead finds himself challenged by the only person who could ever make him shake in his boots: Athena Moore. Athena grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Limited money for rodeo lessons or competitions meant that while she could best the boys, she couldn’t follow them to the big leagues. Watching Nate excel really lit a fire in her britches and after school she began training and teaching young girls rodeo skills. Winning against Nate at the upcoming Strawberry Festival will show the girls (and Athena) that they could do anything boys could—and do it better to boot. But promoting the event means Nate and Athena are forced to spend time together. Too much time to keep their tumultuous feelings under wraps.

An off-limits kiss on the ranch turns enemies to lovers in the launch of this new Western series, Return to Catamount, from USA TODAY bestselling author Joanne Rock! The man responsible for ruining her life… just made her an offer she can’t refuse. As heartless and irresistibly attractive as ever, bull-riding champion Drake Alexander says he has his reasons for wanting control of Fleur Barclay’s family ranch. And Fleur is torn by her warring feelings for him—Drake is her ex’s brother and totally off-limits. Yet she gives in to his powers of persuasion…and their sizzling chemistry. But secrets and a devastating betrayal could turn these lovers back into bitter enemies in a heartbeat… From Harlequin Desire: A luxurious world of bold encounters and sizzling chemistry. Love triumphs in this uplifting romance, part of the Return to Catamount series: Book 1: Rocky Mountain Rivals Book 2: One Colorado Night Book 3: A Colorado Claim

Rodeo, cattle ranching, and bullfighting converge in the arenas of race, gender, and ethics in Reversible America. In Southwestern California, these sports manifest in spectacular expressions of transcultural interactions that continue to develop through border crossings. Using an interdisciplinary scope, this unique look into the subculture negotiates the paradoxes and connections between the popular American performances, Iberian bullfighting, and Native American hunting methods, along with the relationship between human and non-human beings, and systems of value across borders.