Cowboy Tough

Kennedy's love of the West shines in this cowboy romance featuring a watercolor artist. Cat Crandall decides to trade in her Chicago ad agency job for a two-week stint teaching painting at a Wyoming dude ranch. Since her sister's death, Cat wants to live life to the fullest, and that includes being a mother figure to her rebellious teen niece, who's attending the art camp along with an elderly couple and their middle-aged daughter, a big tattooed man, and a snooty photographer who puts her teeth on edge. Rodeo star Mack Boyd has returned to the ranch to help his mom out of financial ruin, but he finds his mind more on Cat than the horses, not least because the ranch desperately needs the income from the art lessons. Several romantic subplots and various hot sex scenes are tacked on to a muddled plot of cattle rustling, horse poisoning, and art. Agent: Elaine English, Elaine English Agency. (Feb.)