The Antonio Banderas look-alike standing on the porch in Western gear wasn't at all what actress Catherine Loza had expected. But when the tall, dark and totally irresistible rancher asked her to play the role of his fiancée to get the local matchmakers off his back, well…it was an offer the actress couldn't refuse. Brighton Valley mayor Ray Mendez thought he'd come up with the perfect plan. But as his fake engagement awakened stirrings of real romance—and real passion—he soon found himself wondering if he could persuade his costar to make their arrangement of convenience permanent. A proposal from the heart—and a baby on the way!—might just convince her that he was for real….

Parker Ranches Inc., Book 1 This western romance novel is your introduction to the Parker Ranches, Inc. cowboy romance series! A reluctant rancher. A lonely librarian. A family in shambles. Can the rancher risk as second chance at love? When John Rankin’s wife dies, leaving him with two children to raise, he wonders how he can he take care of a family and run a working cattle ranch, too. Annie’s domain was home, hearth, and the kids. Her dying put a hole in his day-to-day existence like nothing he’d ever before experienced—not only in his rancher lifestyle, but also in his heart. As the months roll on, his heart is only one of his problems when eleven-year-old Callie rebels. Missing her mom and unsure how her life is unfolding, Callie pushes back at every turn, and John is unsure how to help her. Then his friend and farm manager, Buck McGinnis, suggests John seek the counsel of a woman for advice dealing with a moody pre-teen female. He wants to introduce John to his friend, Abby Cooper. John is reluctant, but eventually caves to Buck’s advice. Suddenly, life becomes more complicated. The Parker Ranches, Inc. series launches with the novella, The Rancher’s Second Chance, establishing the historical perspective of the original Parker Ranch, the patriarch of the present-day family, John Rankin, and his second chance at love and healing his family. **** The Parker Ranches, Inc. series is a contemporary western romance series written by award-winning and bestselling romance author Maddie James. Linked by strong family relationships, these stories take place in multiple ranch settings in Montana (Rankin’s Rock Creek Ranch; The Branded Filly Ranch), South Dakota (Sweet Grass Ranch), Texas and Kentucky (Remington Ranches). The Parker and Rankin families—Montana ranchers for generations—anchor the series and lay the foundation for stories to come. As families grow, forming new ranch partnerships, you’ll also meet the MacKay and Remington families, among others. Parker Ranches, Inc. books are romance stories with happily-ever-after endings. Some are sweet, most are steamy, and a few are romantically erotic. These novels and novellas always feature cowboy heroes and the women who love them—often with complicated relationships and external challenges. Welcome to the world of Parker Ranches, Incorporated.

This ambitious interdisciplinary study is the first to examine the interlinked economic uses and cultural practices and beliefs surrounding cattle in Western Amazonia, where cattle raising is at the center of debates about economic development and environ Winner, Brazil Section Book Award, Latin American Studies Association, 2016 The opening of the Amazon to colonization in the 1970s brought cattle, land conflict, and widespread deforestation. In the remote state of Acre, Brazil, rubber tappers fought against migrant ranchers to preserve the forest they relied on, and in the process, these “forest guardians” showed the world that it was possible to unite forest livelihoods and environmental preservation. Nowadays, many rubber tappers and their children are turning away from the forest-based lifestyle they once sought to protect and are becoming cattle-raisers or even caubois (cowboys). Rainforest Cowboys is the first book to examine the social and cultural forces driving the expansion of Amazonian cattle raising in all of their complexity. Drawing on eighteen months of fieldwork, Jeffrey Hoelle shows how cattle raising is about much more than beef production or deforestation in Acre, even among “carnivorous” environmentalists, vilified ranchers, and urbanites with no land or cattle. He contextualizes the rise of ranching in relation to political economic structures and broader meanings to understand the spread of “cattle culture.” This cattle-centered vision of rural life builds on local experiences and influences from across the Americas and even resembles East African cultural practices. Written in a broadly accessible and interdisciplinary style, Rainforest Cowboys is essential reading for a global audience interested in understanding the economic and cultural features of cattle raising, deforestation, and the continuing tensions between conservation and development in the Amazon.