The Cowboy's Little Surprise

The Hitching Post Hotel #1

by Barbara White Daille

THE LONG WAY HOME

A guy like Cole Slater is hard to forget. Tina Sanchez should know—for years since high school she's tried to bury the pain of Cole's cruel betrayal. But it's impossible to ignore the man she sees reflected in her young son's eyes now that Cole is back in her life—and about to meet the child he never knew he had.

Returning home to New Mexico, Cole is determined to put his playboy reputation to rest. Especially now that he knows there's a little boy looking up to him. And seeing Tina again reignites all the feelings Cole ran from as a teen. Despite his fear that he can't be the man Tina deserves, he's determined to try. For his son's sake—and his own.

Genres: Romance, Westerns, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Harlequin

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 2015

About the author

About me: my faves in life are chocolate, romance, and reading - and, of course, my DH (dear husband). ;) Exercise and housework...well, not so much.

About the writing: Short contemporary, small-town romance, usually with kids, quirky characters, and a touch of humor. All my books, even in series, are stand-alones with each hero and heroine reaching their Happy Ever After by the end of their story.

Harlequin Western Romance: The current series is The Hitching Post Hotel, a honeymoon destination set on a ranch owned by a matchmaking grandpa. The latest books are The Cowboy's Triple Surprise and The Rancher's Baby Proposal.

Entangled Bliss: This is a fun, sweet series called Snowflake Valley, set in a small town that caters to tourists 365 days a year and featuring the "bad-luck Barnett" sisters. Look for Snowbound with Mr. Wrong and the new release, One Week to Win Her Boss.

I'd love for you to check out my books (all listed here at Goodreads) and sign up for my newsletter to get insider info and subscriber-only perks.

And look for me out on the Web:
Website http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
Blog http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/blog
Newsletter http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/new...
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhited...
Twitter https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille
Amazon author page http://www.amazon.com/Barbara-White-D...
Harlequin author page http://www.harlequin.com/author.html?...
Goodreads author page
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

Hope to see you around!

All my best,

Barbara

Reviews

[Carmen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Apology or no apology, if she let him get close to Robbie, how could she believe he wouldn't walk away from their son? pg. 37

Cole comes back into town after a five year absence to find the woman he had slept with has a four-year-old son that he fathered.

The main problem with this book is that Cole is a dick. First, he has sex with Tina when he knows she is a serious, risk-averse, yearns-for-marriage-and-family type of girl. He has sex with her in high school - which is callous because he knows he's not in it for the long-haul - and then cruelly rejects her the next day when she asks him to the Sadie Hawkins dance.

She never bothers telling him she's pregnant after he takes off for parts unknown right after graduation. A big deal is made of this. How could she? How dare she? Blah blah blah. I agree - he had a right to know he fathered a kid. He's not a rapist or an abuser.

Then there is Cole's utter selfishness and general jackassery. He shows up. Gets all offended because she raised his son and didn't tell him he had a son.

Then he's all like, "I want to get to know my son and eventually tell him I'm his daddy."

But for all this, for the whole book, he's like, "Oh, I can never be a good father" blah blah blah, and he sure as heck doesn't plan on sticking around. But he's kissing her, putting the moves on her, also making her feel like shit for not telling him about his son... Allowing her to dream about them being together, him being a father to her son, him even simply deciding to stay in town. How about that one? But no. He's fucking with her again. Kiss her, make her think he has feelings for her, then just up and leave.

"Not an apology," he said. "I didn't intend for any of that to happen. Things got out of hand. It was just a few kisses. Damned fine kisses, but that's all. I didn't mean for you to take it as something more." pg. 179

Not only is he fucking with Tina, but imagine the effect on his son. Show up, play with him, take him out, tell him he's his father, then POOF gone. What is this guy thinking?!?!!? I couldn't take his lecturing of Tina seriously when he was acting the way he was.

Finally, reluctantly, Tina calls him on his shit. He aggressively approaches his sister's ex-husband on the street and berates him for being a bad father. Tina lets him know he's the pot calling the kettle black.

"Robbie's only 'our son' to you when it's convenient," she said sadly. "I don't mind at all that you're spending time with Scott[his nephew], so please don't think that's what this is about. But I want to know - I NEED to know - what the future's going to be like for Robbie... with you.

Yesterday you told him you were his daddy, and today you weren't even around to say hello. Is that what he has to look forward to?" pg. 206

YOU TELL HIM, GIRL! She's sad. She's not angry. Which makes it even more pitiful. IMO she lets this guy walk over her too much. And as for him, he really pisses me off. THE SHEER GALL. Imagine fucking over someone like this, and then showing up five years later to lecture her on what a bad person she is and then fucking her over the EXACT SAME WAY, ALL OVER AGAIN. What a dickwad. Worse than being a dickwad, he's a self-righteous dickwad, which I can't STAND.


HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? No sex. The heroine might be a bit pathetic, but she's not stupid enough to allow him to have sex with her again! Look what happened last time! He's also probably not keen on fathering another child he wants nothing to do with.


TL;DR The hero was really angering me. Being a dick is bad enough, being a self-righteous dick is even worse. He spends the whole book talking about HOW BAD Tina was for not telling him he was a father, but seemingly not realizing he's a piece of shit. And that he's hurting his own child. And that he's selfish and only thinks about himself and his own needs. I wanted to brain him with a frying pan. Whiny, self-righteous, selfish men drive me NUTS. I can forgive him for cruelly turning her down after having sex with her. I can forgive him for leaving town and not contacting her for five years. I cannot forgive his twisted logic of how HE'S the victim here, how SHE hurt him, how he should be able to waltz in and declare himself Robbie's father and then just disappear into the ether, only to show up when he feels like it. Being a shitty father to someone is pretty hard for me to forgive. Also toying with the same woman a second time. Wasn't it enough that you encouraged her feelings in high school, seduced her, and left her pregnant? Now you have to show up and give her hope and make her feel love for you AGAIN? When you are just planning on cutting and running? You're such a dick.

The rapid-fire, final-five-page ending of him 'coming to his senses' is not satisfying and does NOT make up for his behavior in the rest of the book IMO. She should have told him not to let the door hit him in the ass on the way out. Good riddance.

ROMANCE CATEGORIES
Contemporary Romance
Cowboy/Western Romance
Multicultural/Interracial Romance: Tina is half-latina, half-white and Cole is white.
Second Chance Romance
STEM Heroine Romance
Non-Virgin Heroine - although he's the one who 'took' her 'virginity' and there's no evidence she's ever had sex with anyone else.
Secret Baby
He's a Cowhand; She's an Accountant
Takes Place in: New Mexico, U.S.A.

NAMES IN THIS BOOK

Jedediah m
Paz f
Thom m
Tina f
Mary f
Robbie m 4
Jane f
Andi f
Sugar f
Cole m
Layne f
Pete m
John m
Ally f
Terry m
Scott m
Maria f
Trey m
Stan m
Rachel f
Bingo – pony
Shadow – horse
Emilia f
Starlight – horse

[Melody Cox · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cannot Recommend. 215 pages of brokenness, heartbreak and pain and 4 pages of trying to redeem the hero. Too little too late.

What a disappointment! I was so ready to love this book but it certainly didn't live up to my expectations.

Cole was the love of Tina Sanchez life but the feelings weren't reciprocated and he went out of his way to show her he didn't care about her until one night of passion their senior year of high school. Then the very next day she asked him to the 'girls ask guys' dance at their high school and he crudely and hatefully dismissed her and soon left town and moved on. Her heart was shattered and she was broken almost beyond repair for a good while. He returns home five years later to help his sister after her second divorce and runs into Tina again. Tina has been keeping a secret....a whopper. Cole has a four year old son by Tina and he is somewhat resistant to being a dad. In fact, he has definitely sworn off becoming involved with Tina and tells her, way too many times to count, that he will never marry and he will not be a good dad. Yeah...same old story: horrible childhood, crappy parents so he lets it ruin his life...blah blah blah!!! Not only was he a player but he was arrogant, cocky, purposely hurtful and a real son of a jerk. He ranked right up there on my top five list of Heroes that I cannot stand.

Oh my...I had so much more written but it vanished from the screen. Probably not a bad thing as there was tons of ranting. I will try again. I just don't know what it is about books these days that they seem so unbalanced. This book presented me with 215 pages of pain, anxiety, broken-heartedness, misery and an ignorant man who was an unfeeling, uncaring jerk of a coward. His younger sister had been through a whole lot as well but she let it shape her in a positive way. He just used it as crutch to check out of having a meaningful, responsible life. He was a rolling stone playboy and that's how he wanted it to remain. Then we were given 4 whole pages of the hero coming to his senses and deciding he loved Tina. Big Whoop! Can we say TOO LITTLE TOO LATE? It was certainly much too little to earn himself any redemption from this reader. If we suffer through 215 pages of agony and heartbreak do we not deserve more than 4 pages of happiness and love. Geesh!

I'm sorry but there is no way I can recommend this book. What a depressing downer. Not even warm and fuzzies at the end. Left me sad and angry and feeling blue which is not how I want to feel after I spend an afternoon or evening consuming a book.

[Kimberly Rocha~ Book Obsessed Chicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cole Slater returns home to New Mexico to help his struggling sister Layne out after being away for five years. When he left town, he never looked back, but now as he walks back into the Hitching Post Hotel, all the years Cole spent on the run fall away. He has a few things to atone for with one of those being the way he treated Tina Sanchez.

When the last person she thought she would ever see again walks through her door, Tina is running scared. Not only does Cole have apologies to make, Tina must come clean about why she kept the child she had out of wedlock a secret from not only his father, but her entire family as well.

As soon as Cole sees Robbie, he knows that the boy is his son and Tina has a lot to answer for. At first Tina believes that Cole can't ever live up to being the father that Robbie deserves, but the more time he spends with his son, the more Tina knows the opposite is true. The only thing she needs to do is convince Cole of that, but the troubled past won't allow him to move on until he takes a look deep into himself. Combine that with the rekindling of the attraction they once felt for one another and we have quite a tale. Even the conspiracy going on around them perpetrated by Tina's grandfather, Jed might not be enough to make the young couple see they are meant to be together, but maybe a feisty four year old can.

The Cowboy's Little Surprise by Barbara White Daille is a story of two people who strive to overcome the mistakes they made when they were too immature to really understand the ramifications of those mistakes. The budding desire they once felt for one another blossoms into a passion only maturity can give them, and watching both Tina and Cole come to that understanding is a pleasure. All of the characters in this story have their own distinct qualities that make The Cowboy's Little Surprise a heart-warming read that can't be missed.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good second chance story as Cole returns to Cowboy Creek to help his sister. Besides helping her, he has some mistakes from his past to face up to and make up for. He had left five years earlier and hadn't been back since.

While in high school, Tina had had a huge crush on Cole. During their senior year she tutored him in a couple classes and they got closer. Then that closeness was destroyed by Cole's betrayal and his departure, leaving her to face heartbreak and an unexpected pregnancy. She never tracked him down to tell him about the baby, and his reappearance has her worried about his reaction.

Cole came to the ranch to apologize to the man he worked for and left without a word. He's surprised by Jed's easy acceptance of his apology and offer of a job. Tina's reaction isn't as pleasant. She's not as happy to see him and doesn't mind telling him so. When Cole finds out about Robbie, he's furious with her for not telling him, and determined to be a father to the little boy.

Tina and Cole had a lot to overcome in the rekindling of their relationship. Both have realized that their actions in the past have led to where they are now. Cole had been forced into the role of father, brother and caretaker of his sister when their father died, leaving Cole as the only one to care for her. He had dreams of leaving Cowboy Creek, and felt trapped. He was a bit of a playboy in school, never making any kind of commitment. When he started to have feelings for Tina, a girl who was the forever kind, he panicked and ran. Now he wants to put all that behind him. Finding out about Robbie brings his old fears back to the surface. With the kind of example his own father was, how can he possibly be any kind of a father for Robbie?

Based on her experience with him, Tina's not so sure either. But as Cole spends more time with her and with Robbie, she sees that he is already showing himself to be just what Robbie needs. Tina feels more and more guilty about keeping them apart as she sees them get closer. Her own feelings of rejection, both by Cole's actions and, further back, by her parents' behavior, had left her feeling wary of trusting her heart to him again.

I liked how both Cole and Tina owned up to the mistakes of the past and wanted to move beyond them. Their cautious cooperation as Cole got to know Robbie also gave them a chance to get to know each other again. The attraction is still there though they try to resist its influence. I loved seeing Cole with his nephew Scott and with Robbie. He was so wonderful with them, yet couldn't see that it was contrary to his beliefs about himself. It took both his sister and Tina to show him that he wasn't his father and open his eyes to what he can have.

The secondary characters are all well done. Tina's cousins give some more insight into why Tina is the person she is. Their presence gives her a chance to see some things from the past in a different light, and indicates some changes for all of them in the future. Cole's sister Layne, the reason for his return to Cowboy Creek, shows him that the past, while influencing the present, doesn't have to dictate it. I really liked her positive outlook, and hope that she gets a happy ending of her own.

[Romancing the Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Jen
Book provided by Barbara White Daille
Review originally posted at Romancing the Book

I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest fan of the whole “don’t tell the baby daddy about his kid” theme in romance. More often than not a lot of these books read pretty similar. The folks have sex, she gets pregnant, doesn’t tell him and he runs off. Years later, they run into each other again and he finds out he has a kid. And of course since we’re talking about a romance, they end up as a happy little family. In the end, this book doesn’t really waiver from that formula. So the details are what makes a book stand out.

For me, the details didn’t stand out as much as I’d like. Cole is a pretty typical romance male lead. He’s good looking, doesn’t want to settle down, is loyal to his family, but has some issues from his past he’s working through. Tina, on the other hand, became pregnant from a one night stand while still in high school, works at the family business, has loved Cole forever, but doesn’t trust him when he comes back into her life. The characters were just too formulaic to me. Cole saying that he’s not interested in a relationship, then sending mixed signals to Tina. In fact, the whole romance in this story seemed to take a backseat to Cole getting to know his son and coming to terms to being a daddy… which is fine, but also frustrating when you’re reading a romance.

What did stand out though was the setting. This ranch / hotel in New Mexico offered a nice change of pace for a western setting. Since this is the first book in a series, some groundwork was laid for future installments…. introducing characters, starting the ball rolling on renovating the hotel, and so on. It does offer some interesting options for stories to come.

I wasn’t too keen on the prologue… in fact, it confused me more than setting the stage for the story. Before I realized this was the first book in the series, I felt that this may have been some sort of recap of earlier books. I also wasn’t terribly fond of the meddling grandfather and I have a feeling he’ll continue his matchmaking ways in the next book.

Now don’t get me wrong, I did like the book. It was a pretty quick read and I’m interested to revisit the Hitching Post Hotel to see what happens. All in all, it’s a pretty typical Harlequin read.

[A.C. Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this paperback via Goodreads from the author. I was really excited to read this book and I'm so glad that I did. If you like wholesome romantic romance without the fluff and intense sexual scenes, Barbara writes a darn good one. Poor Cole has been chasing a dream he thought lived outside of Cowboy Creek. He was thrown into the role as father, brother, and provider for his younger sister. All he wanted to be was free. All he needed was Tina.

Tina fell for the playboy in high school and thinking that everything was as it seemed, she succumbed to him. A very public rejection left her stunned by his cruelty and further compounded by the pregnancy she discovers from their one night together. It changes her life. It keeps her steady and being both parents to a little boy with blue eyes. Fate has a funny way of lashing two people together and giving a person exactly what they dream of.

[Zara West · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's nothing majorly wrong with this book. But there's nothing spectacular either. It's a simple, second chance romance with a "hidden" baby thrown in.

[Margaret Yelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read, a quick and fast read that keeps you turning the page until the book is done. I would certainly recommend it to others.

[Mnix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cole Slater had cruelly rejected Tina Sanchez and then left town. She never had the chance to tell him that she was pregnant so now that’s he returned home, she’s faced with the difficult task of telling him about their son. Cole wants Tina’s forgiveness for the past but once he learns about their son he is determined to be a better parent than his. Can he and Tina make a family together?

Harlequin was the first type of romance I ever read and I still love them to this day. The Cowboy’s Little Surprise is a wonderful example why! Barbara White Daille deftly handles the how the past affects the decisions we make while building a future for Cole and Tina. Pick this one up for a quick read that will leave you with that feel good feeling!

This book was reviewed by Melissa for Joyfully Reviewed (JR), and was provided by the publisher/author at no cost to JR for the purpose of being reviewed.

[Joyfully Reviewed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cole Slater had cruelly rejected Tina Sanchez and then left town. She never had the chance to tell him that she was pregnant so now that’s he returned home, she’s faced with the difficult task of telling him about their son. Cole wants Tina’s forgiveness for the past but once he learns about their son he is determined to be a better parent than his. Can he and Tina make a family together?

Harlequin was the first type of romance I ever read and I still love them to this day. The Cowboy’s Little Surprise is a wonderful example why! Barbara White Daille deftly handles the how the past affects the decisions we make while building a future for Cole and Tina. Pick this one up for a quick read that will leave you with that feel good feeling!

Reviewed by Melissa for Joyfully Reviewed
Link: http://bit.ly/1FXqd8F

[Lorelei Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the family dynamics in this story. Tina, single mom with a grandma who is always there for her, a grandpa who interfers, thinking no one is on to him, and the there is Cole who discovers that he is a dad when he looks into the face of a young boy. This is a sweet second chance love story that will melt your heart. I loved it.

[Madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read..loved the fanmily atmosphere..Cole was already like a member of tinas family,even though tina wasnt happy abut him coming bak to new mexico,cole continued to surprise her.loved the way grandpaw was throwing tina and cole together.

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: The Hitching Post Hotel

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read my review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Lee Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for free through Goodreads First Reads

Nice, wholesome quick read. Perfect for an afternoon of sitting on the couch.

[Karen Machamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great way to start a new series. Cole and Tina are a couple of great characters. Also loved Jed and Paz, a couple of great supporting characters.