About Tabula Rasa
Written by Tory Temple
125 pages / 62500 words
ISBN: 978-1-60370-197-6, 1-60370-197-4
Available file types - html, lit, pdf, prc, paperback
Rodeo cowboy Teagan has inherited his father's ranch, and it's in a bad way. He needs to work the rodeo circuit hard to make enough money to pay the bills, so he starts looking for a rodeo partner.
Team roper Cash is just the ticket. He's not the friendliest sort, but he has a good seat and a better roping arm, so Teagan takes Cash on, and as they get to know each other, things start to heat up fast.
Maybe too fast. When Teagan finds out he's not the only one Cash has in the saddle, things go bad, and Teagan thinks he and Cash are over for good. When he gets the call that Cash has had an accident, though, he knows he has to go and see if he can make good. He cares too much about Cash to just let it go.
Like any good rodeo ride, Teagan and Cash have ups and downs, crashing and burning as often as they blaze bright. Can they work through all of the deception and stubborn pride to find a love that works as smoothly as their roping?
Tory Temple is the author of such popular titles as Heat and Flashover, which are combined in paperback in Fireline.
Review
Jodi Payne, author of Founder, writes: Teagan Rafferty’s ranch is in trouble, but he’s determined to do everything in his power to hang on to the property that his daddy left him when he died. He’s pretty sure he can earn enough to get by on the rodeo circuit, but his rodeo partner has been injured in practice and now he’s stuck without a heeler.
The search is frustrating and fruitless and things are looking grim until, mostly out of desperation, Teagan finally hunts down a cowboy called Cash and gets him to agree to be his partner for the season. Thankfully, they seem to work pretty well together, and things start to look up.
Cash has a reputation and he doesn’t seem particularly talkative or friendly, but he gets the job done so Teagan can't really complain. When Teagan finds himself continually distracted by Cash’s striking eyes and his lean, fit body, he does his level best to put aside his attraction to the stoic cowboy to concentrate on work, but he just can’t seem to manage it. Eventually a little alcohol and adrenaline prove to be very liberating, and it isn’t long before Teagan finds himself having more sex than he can handle.
What happens after that is both exhilarating and heartbreaking. Teagan and Cash prove to be an incredible match both in the rodeo ring and in the bedroom, but is it love or only lust? Their season is terrific and Teagan finds himself sending home enough money to keep the ranch afloat and begin to build it back up to what was in his father’s day, but when their good fortune takes a sudden turn for the worse, everything is up in the air – not just the future of Teagan’s ranch, but whatever it is he and Cash have managed to build together, too.
I don’t need to tell you that Tory Temple’s men are hot. You’ve read her firemen, you know, and these cowboys certainly don't disappoint. But this story is so much more than wrangler jeans, leather saddles and the undeniable attraction between two men. It’s about trust and friendship and responsibility. It’s about learning tough lessons from your mistakes. It’s about the lengths to which a son will go to protect his family, his heritage and his future. And it’s about love, and the many, varied and often subtle ways in which it can be expressed.
Ms. Temple’s setting is rich, colorful and authentic, and her story, revolving around characters you truly care about, is every bit as beautiful. I cannot recommend Tabula Rasa highly enough.
Sample
The rope whipped through the air and landed almost exactly where it was supposed to. Teagan held his breath and tightened his fingers on the fence while he watched it slide up the back legs of the calf.
“He’s got it! … Fuck, no, he don’t.” Bram rolled his eyes and snorted with disgust. “How in holy fuck is it so fucking hard to find a decent heeler? Jesus.” He pushed away from the fence that surrounded the practice ring. “I’m gonna go smoke.”
Teagan sighed and watched the cowboy in the ring leap off his horse. He had only gotten one of the calf’s rear legs, not both, and it took the man about four seconds to figure it out once he was down in the dirt with the animal.
Joe threw Teagan a look from under the brim of his hat and dismounted. He strolled to the steer and lifted the rope he’d tossed around the cow’s front horns. Teagan watched Joe spit a stream of tobacco juice into the dirt as he coiled his rope. “Five second penalty,” he said to the cowboy, who was examining his own rope as if it was to blame for his mistake. “Can’t afford that.”
“Lemme try again?” The cowboy squinted up at Joe, a hopeful note in his voice.
Joe glanced at Teagan. Teagan shook his head. “Nope,” Joe said, walking back to Stormy and mounting up again. “That was your third time, boy. Close is only good in horseshoes, sorry.” He waited until the steer was back on its feet before wheeling Stormy around and heading for the barn.
The cowboy still sat there in the dust, discouraged. Teagan had a momentary flash of sympathy. He’d been there, once. Fifteen years ago, to be sure, but still. He didn’t have time for this shit now, not when qualifying rounds were in two weeks.
“Sorry.” Teagan sighed and waited, hoping the kid would get to his feet.
The boy shrugged and got up, slapping at his jeans. “I fucked up. Ain’t no call for you to be sorry.” He mounted his horse and looked down at Teagan. “Hope you find your heeler.”
Teagan watched him leave the ring and scrubbed a hand over his face. It sounded so damn easy. He tried not to curse Stubby again, but the man couldn’t have broken his ankle at a more inconvenient time. It wasn’t that uncommon for a team roper to also participate in solo rodeo events such as calf roping or steer wrestling, but Stubby liked the saddle broncs. The last one hadn’t liked him, however, and had promptly stepped on Stubby’s ankle three days ago during practice.
Now, Teagan was stuck with trying to find a heeler that he could compete with in the upcoming rodeo season. It was harder than it sounded. He lifted his head and watched the young cowboy ride off down the lane, tiny puffs of dust kicking up under his horse’s feet. Fuck. He’d come highly recommended, too. Chet Dawson had given Teagan the kid’s name.
Reminding himself to call Chet and ask him what the fuck he’d been thinking, Teagan pushed off from the wooden fence and headed toward the house. It was looking like rain, in any case. Good enough excuse to stop for the day.