Avon (Paperback), ISBN 0-380-80330-5
Can a saloonkeeper's daughter turn two pampered English noblemen into Texas cowboys? Barmaid Jessye Kane finds out when she teams up with Christian Montgomery and Harrison Bainbridge, both second sons of English nobility.  

Leaving behind lives filled with scandal and heartache, Kit and Harry arrive in Fortune, Texas, with little more than their wits and lots of nerve. Under the grueling Texas sun, they pick cotton till their fingers bleed and their cash flow improves. Now Harry and Kit embark on their most dangerous venture -- driving Texas longhorns north to sell. With the Civil War over, the northern market hungers for Texas beef. Harry and Kit plan to satisfy those appetites, but they need a partner with ready cash. 

Harry knows just the person, because Harry lives upstairs in her father's saloon. Harry survives by his wits and his skill at cards, but a run of bad luck leaves him broke. Jessye agrees to the deal with one exception: she won't carry Harry as a partner, but he can hire on like any other cowhand. He willingly accepts her blunt offer. Kit doesn't like the terms. He wants Harry as the third full partner, but Jessye's got the cash.  

Jessye believes Harry about as much as she trusts the cards he holds in his hands, so she adds one more condition to the deal. She follows her money, which means Harry and Kit must take her along. Being the lone woman on a cattle drive could damage a girl's reputation. But what has Jessye got to lose? After all, she spent her life in or behind a bar. She sells liquor, but nothing else. She plays cards with Harry, but she won't gamble her heart or climb the stairs to his room. 

This saucy barmaid can ride and shoot with the best. She taught Harry and Kit to use a gun and a rifle, and to ride a tough Texas pony. She lacks the polished speech and manners of a lady, but these English noblemen know this Texas lass fits the title. In honor of her, they call their cattle brand the Texas Lady. 

Jessye finds the cattle drive north almost as dangerous as the lust in Harry's eyes. When this rugged scoundrel risks his life to save her, Jessye vows to make Harry's crippled body and wounded soul whole again.  

I enjoyed Never Love a Cowboy so much I rushed out and bought Heath's first book about these Englishmen, A Rogue in Texas. A Rogue in Texas introduces Harrison, Jessye and Kit, while telling the story of Grayson Rhodes, another English nobleman who leaves his heart in the cotton fields of Texas. I eagerly await a final book about this trio. After all, Kit Montgomery must seek his fortune and discover love on the rugged Texas prairie. 

Doris Valliant

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