Cowboy to the Core (Gold Valley #6)

Yates’s fast-paced and intensely emotional sixth Gold Valley contemporary (after Unbroken Cowboy) follows two wary lovers learning to take the necessary risks for a chance of romance. Jamie Dodge, 25, is a skilled horsewoman hired by Gabe Dalton to work with retired and abused horses on his family’s ranch in Gold Valley, Ore. It seems like everyone Jamie knows is either married or engaged, including her best friends, and she’s feeling a little left out—she’s never even had sex. Then her friendship with Gabe intensifies and they wind up in bed. As they explore their physical connection, Jamie opens up to Gabe about her sorrow over her mother’s early death, and Gabe reveals his fears that he will be a serial philanderer like his father and be unable to commit to one woman for a lifetime. Though Jamie has touched Gabe’s heart as no other woman has, he must decide whether he’s willing to believe that he can settle down. This is one of the most heartfelt installments in this series, and Yates’s fans will love it. Agent: Helen Breitweiser, Cornerstone Literary. (June)