THE INSIDE STORY

After writing the original The Rodeo Rider, I fell hard for Dusty McPherson, Tanner O'Brien's best friend. He's what my friend and Silhouette Desire© author Kathie DeNosky calls "a stinker." We've all met "stinkers" —charming, loveable, but definitely not the marrying kind, and Dusty fit the bill. It was only right that the woman for Dusty would be strong and capable, and not at all interested in a man who was accustomed to having women worship him. Kate, with or without her shotgun, is a formidable foe, but that doesn't stop Dusty from being attracted to her. In face, he's fascinated by her.

Pit a love-'em-and-leave-em hero with a determined-to-remain-unmarried heroine, add a dash of love, then wait until the sparks fly. Maybe it really is true that opposites attract.