The Romance Reviews

Tuesday 28 July 2009

All My Hopes and Dreams

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends:
I understand you wish to learn about my hero, Ricardo Romero. You see, we experienced an inauspicious beginning. I lived in Nacogdoches in East Texas, and he arrived in some kind of glorious appearance, as though he ruled the world and mastered all he surveyed. Oh, his haughty, regal demeanor irritated me so. Just whom did he think he was?

The first thing that irritated me was that my father, the banker and richest man in town, practically bowed down to the man, a bronzed-skinned Latin or Mexican or some sort or foreigner! At first, I thought he was a ranch hand, a wrangler, hired by my friend’s husband. It was at their ranch that I first encountered him face-to-face.

I had driven my little one-seater out to visit my friends, and since I stayed a little too late, I needed a wrangler to escort me to town. Ricardo happened to be there visiting, and he volunteered because he was going back to town, also. There he came, striding toward me with that swaggering, haughty manner in those tight brown pants with the silver Conchos down the outside seams, those black, fancy-stitched boots, and blindingly white shirt. How utterly gauche!

He proceeded to tie his huge black stallion to the back of the buggy and climb in beside me! As he did so, the buggy tilted enough that when he sat, our thighs came in contact. Well, my lands, the muscles in his upper leg were as hard as…oh, dear me, whatever am I thinking? “Get off this buggy,” I demanded. “Ride behind me as you should. My father will be very angry if he sees you sitting on the buggy seat next to me.” He only smiled—with his chin in the air, no less, looking down his long, thin nose at me, as though he had been carved from brown glistening stone, and his eyes glittered like shiny pieces of obsidian, and…oh, heavens to Betsy. There I go again. Without looking at me, he tugged on the brim of his black gaucho hat, clicked his tongue to the horse, and said, “No, your father will not. I can assure you he will not be angry. Not at all.”

That ride was the beginning of a whirlwind romance, two weddings—one Protestant and one Catholic—and a long journey across the entire state of Texas to God-knows-where. Never in my life did I dream such a man could sweep me off my feet—and then plunk me right down in the middle of nowhere on an isolated ranch. But…he kissed me. And then the real story began.

ALL MY HOPES AND DREAMS
Genre: Western Historical Romance
Author: Celia Yeary
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Buy Link: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/all-my-hopes-and-dreams-p-1060.html

BLURB:
To escape an arranged marriage, beautiful, proper Cynthia Harrington from East Texas impulsively marries Ricardo Romero, a striking, sensual Spaniard who ranches on the far western edge of the Texas frontier. Innocently, she steps into a hotbed of anger, rivalry, and strong wills. As she struggles to gain a foothold in the hostile household and foreign ranch community, she finds that her biggest challenge is to make her husband love her.
Ricardo creates his own problems by marrying an outsider, angering his mother, father, and his jealous ex-lady friend. Then, the Texas Rangers arrive looking for a killer, and Cynthia saves Ricardo’s mother in a confrontation with the wanted man. Ricardo realizes that his delicate bride has more grit and spunk than he thought, and his greatest trial becomes a race to pursue his own wife and persuade her to stay with him.
EXCERPT:

While he waited in the parlor, Ricardo thought through his plan once more. Was this the right thing to do? His schedule was to leave for home in three days. Would that be enough time? He paced back and forth in front of the large front window, hoping Mr. Harrington would not come home. All he needed to do was convince Cynthia to marry him, and he believed he could.
He heard her approach and spun on his heels. There she was, pale but beautiful, sad but strong.
“Cynthia?”
“What are you doing here?” She cocked her head to one side. She looked like she’d been crying sometime during the previous hours.
“Will you sit here beside me?” He swept his arm toward the love seat.
She sat and he joined her. “Cynthia, I have news. And I have a proposition. Will you hear me out?”
Turning slightly toward him, she leaned forward in curiosity. “What do you want, Ricardo?”
“I want to ask you to marry me. Three days from now, if you will.”
She gasped and pulled back. “What?”
“I ask for your hand in marriage.” He studied her light blue eyes, so wide with surprise. She had not turned from him yet. “The marriage proposal you received yesterday will be retracted soon, before the afternoon is over, I’m certain. So, I ask you to marry me instead, but not a month from now—in three days.”
“Why three days?” she asked. “And how do you know Harris will retract his proposal?”
He almost laughed. She asked why so soon, not why on earth he would ask in the first place.
“Believe me; Harris Newton does not want to marry you.”
“Why?”
“He will retract his proposal because you were out on the road with me all night.”
“Well, then, why should I marry you in three days?”
This was a good sign, a good sign, indeed. “Because I’m going home, and I want you to go with me—as my bride. Will you, Cynthia? Will you marry me?”
She was speechless, but she did not reject him out of hand. After some moments of heavy silence, she asked. “Where exactly do you live?”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “West of San Antonio, on a very large ranch.”
“Why were you here in Nacogdoches? I’ve often wondered.”
“To buy blooded mares to add to our herd.”
“Our. Who else?”
“My father. He and I ranch together on property that has been in his family for generations. He and my mother live there, but it’s a very large house, and an enormous operation. It takes all of us and many vaqueros to keep things going. My father is aging, so I am mostly in charge.”
“A ranch? I know nothing of ranching or the West. I would like to live in a city. But you live…”
“Not far from San Antonio,” he hastened to say. “But it is far enough away that we only go twice a year for a holiday.”
She lowered her head and looked at her hands. “I don’t know. That seems far out of my realm of expertise. I’m not certain I could do that.”
“Answer this, Cynthia. Would you rather live here until your father finds another husband for you, or would you rather make your own decision? I’m giving you a choice.”
At that moment, they heard heavy, hurried footsteps on the porch. Both knew it was the master of the house. Ricardo gathered Cynthia into his arms. He turned her just so, placed his lips on her soft, feminine ones, and kissed her with all the passion he could muster. For good measure, he moved his hand to one breast. Instead of fighting, she responded as though she hadn’t heard her father.
“Cynthia Louise Harrington! What the devil are you up to?”
Ricardo and Cynthia pulled back, but they did not jerk apart. Instead, they gazed into each other’s eyes and parted slowly. Without caring if the man was in the room or not, Ricardo placed his palm on her cheek, and kissed her on the other, ever so sweetly and gently. Before he let her go, he whispered, “Will you marry me?”
She nodded and whispered in return, “Yes, I will marry you.”

To: Rafaelo Romero. Double R Ranch. Rico Springs, Texas
From: Ricardo Romero
Arriving home Stop Twenty mares Stop One stallion Stop One bride Stop
************************

Celia Yeary

http://www.celiayeary.com/
http://celiayeary.blogspot.com/

http://www.thewildrosepress.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thebookspa
http://twrpcactusrose.blogspot.com/

ALL MY HOPES AND DREAMS-a Texas Historical
Available in eBook: The Wild Rose Press
Available in print: Amazon.com, B&N

20 comments:

Lindsay Townsend said...

A very charismatic hero who clearly swept your heroine off her feet!

Sparks fly while he's around. I love the way he dominates a scene and a landscape, Celia!

Powerful and protective - a stunning combination!

Unknown said...

Lindsay, thank you for allowing me to be part of your pink blog--love it! Heroes weeks should prove to be entertaining! Celia

Linda Swift said...

Oh dear me. What an impossible act to follow, Celia! As you know, I loved your book. And I love your style of writing. And you have done a marvelous job here of depicting your hero. I think I'll just ask Lindsay to rerun your blog tomorrow in my place. You are not only my mentor but my inspiration, dear friend.
Linda
Lindsay, your blog pages and the lovely flowers that your husband photographed soothe my soul every time I come to this site. And you are on my list of favorite people, too.

Unknown said...

Linda--you are a sweetheart--what would I do without you? I noticed you were up tomorrow--I hope you do a better job of posting the notice everywhere than I did today.
I've made one mistake after the other, so it'll be a wonder if anyone finds me today!!
Thank you--you're a wonderful friend who by your very presence reminds me to use my manners and act dignified a little more.Celia

Mona Risk said...

Celia- I had the pleasure of reading your book during my recent trip. You made the long flight seems short. What an enjoyable story and a spunky heroine. Ricardo is so sexy. I even enjoyed the wicked Felicia, a stereotype of nosey mother-in-law. I am not going to add more in case my dear hubby happens to read this. LOL

Jane Richardson said...

Oh, my, Celia - poor Cynthia didn't stand a chance!! The again, who could ever resist a hero such as he? I love, love, love that excerpt, and I adore the telegram message at the end. Who could write Texas like you? The love shines through - wonderful stuff!

Jane x

Unknown said...

MONA--You made me laugh!! You know, I never had a MIL--she died many years before I even met my husband--and I know there are the good, the bad, and the ugly. I have had more comments about the MIL than I have about my h/h. Everyone loved to hate her!! And I'm glad the book made a long flight seem short--I appreciate your reading it. Celia

Unknown said...

JANE--hi, there, friend! If I don't know anything else, I do know Texas!I remember my very first guest spot on a blog--it was yours! Message From A Broad--I remember telling my husband about it, I thought it was so clever. and your interview of me was outstanding--you made me look really good.I saved it. Thanks--Celia

Jane Richardson said...

Ah, Celia, my friend - YOU made you look good! :) I'm thrilled this book is doing so well.

Jane x

Savanna Kougar said...

Celia, no Cynthia never had a chance with that Latin potent lover. Ricardo, my oh my, don't I wish I'd been in his kissing way.
Course then, I'd steal rides on his huge black stallion.

Cheryl Pierson said...

Celia,

I love this excerpt. I love the telegram at the end. What a fantastic way to end the excerpt and make everyone want MORE MORE MORE! Very clever of you to introduce your hero through Cynthia's eyes. I enjoy this venue of presenting characters--we're seeing it more and more on different blogs, but I still find it so unusual, and interesting. Of course, you did a great job! Who could resist Ricardo? NOT ME!
Cheryl

Unknown said...

Thank you, Cheryl--I always appreciate your comments! In fact, I'm always anxious to hear what you have to say. Celia

Mary Ricksen said...

What are you waiting for!! Say yes!! yes,yes,yes!!He's a real catch!

Oh, sorry, I got so into it, I forgot it was a story.
Great stuff Celia!

Unknown said...

MARY! You made me laugh. Isn't it fun to make up stories? Celia

Rebecca J Vickery said...

Hi Celia,

Ricardo is muy bueno!!!
Hope that's the way to say it.
Sounds like a have to read. Love these Texas tales.

LK Hunsaker said...

Yes, that Ricardo is an irresistable charmer! I enjoyed him throughout the book, and now I got to enjoy him again for Hero week!

Nice post, Celia.

Unknown said...

Rebecca--si! Oh, yes, i love those cowboys, too-Spaniards or not.Celia

Unknown said...

Loraine--you're a kind soul. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment--I appreciate it-Celia

Chelle Cordero said...

hot, very hot.

Maggie Toussaint said...

I love all the realism your imagination packs into your stories, Celia. Nicely done!!!