The Last True Cowboy

In Drake’s often heartbreaking western romance, a small town’s favorite high school sweethearts are forced to face growing up as individuals and finding out whether they are still meant to live their dream life together. Carly’s finally had enough of putting her life on hold. After Austin tells her yet again that “after next season” he’ll quit the rodeo and settle down, she breaks up with him. Furious that no one believes she’s serious this time, she takes a trip to Albuquerque, has a one-night stand she barely remembers with a stranger who gives a fake name, and gets pregnant. While Carly must face telling the news to everyone in the judgmental town where she runs the diner, she is becoming an adult who isn’t half of a couple. Meanwhile, Austin is learning she’s right: he’s too old for the rodeo circuit, and it’s time for him to return home. He still wants Carly, despite their shared concerns about the pregnancy, but he has to convince her to take him back. Drake (Sweet on You) takes readers on a beautifully imperfect journey with two people who can no longer have their ideal future, but learn that the real one might be even better. Agent: Nalini Akolekar, Spencerhill Assoc. (Dec.)