COWBOY

The Blackthornes and the Creeds had been at war for generations, and when Trace Blackthorne and Callie Creed fell in love as college students, the hostilities didn't stop. Family loyalty eventually drove the two young lovers apart; Trace disappeared from their small Texas town while Callie married her father's foreman, bore two children, and became a young widow. It isn't until Trace's father has a heart attack that he returns to Texas and comes looking for Callie, the one woman he's never been able to forget. But although Callie has never stopped loving Trace, she harbors a secret that could destroy any chance of a future with him.

Just when it seems that the two lovers may work out a solution, tragedy strikes the Creeds. Once again their family problems may be a direct result of the bitter feud with the Blackthornes that has so badly damaged the family in the past. And this time, the stunning truth may drive Trace and Callie apart forever.

With The Cowboy, Johnston has concocted a compelling story of jealousy and greed, passion and hate, combined it with an intriguing look at the world of cutting horse competition, and set the tale against the backdrop of working Texas ranches. Readers will be delighted to know that The Cowboy is only the first in a trilogy about the Blackthornes and Creeds that will soon be continued in The Lone Wolf, the story of Owen Blackthorne and Bayleigh Creed. --Lois Faye Dyer