★★★★ Pickup Men by L.C. Chase
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Blurb…
It takes a pissed-off Brahma bull named Shockwave to show rodeo pickup man Marty Fairgrave the cold hard truth about champion bull rider Tripp Colby: Tripp will never leave the safety of his closet or acknowledge Marty in public. Sometimes loving someone just isn’t enough, and after a year of hiding what they are, Marty finally sees the light—and it’s no longer shining on Tripp.
Tripp Colby would do anything for Marty. Well . . . almost. He’s never loved anyone before, and isn’t quite sure how to handle it now. But he knows Marty is his everything, and in order to win him back, Tripp will have to overcome his darkest fears and step into the light.
But no matter Tripp’s intentions, the cost might be too high and the effort too late for these two cowboys to ride off into the sunset.
So what did I think?
I thoroughly enjoyed this story which moved along at fairly rapid pace, keeping me involved enough to want to read it through in one sitting.
From the very first chapter, there are lots of emotions and the scene is set for the rest of the book.
Marty is a rodeo pickup man and makes a huge sacrifice for Tripp, a bullrider and the man he loves. The two have been together for over a year and when Marty sees Tripp in trouble, he doesn’t hesitate to rush in and save him from being gored by a bull. Unfortunately Marty isn’t quick enough to save himself and as he lies on the ground, injured and in pain, he stares at Tripp in the distance. Marty realises that Tripp is so far in the closet, he won’t approach even as his lover lies injured and in pain. Marty knows he needs to end their relationship. “Warm liquid slithered down his temple, and he voweed that would be the only tear he’d shed. Darkness wrapped around him, pushing out sound and thought, and blessedly, the pain of broken bones and shattered dreams.” And that’s just chapter one!
The story follows Marty and Tripp as they move from rodeo to rodeo. There is some bull riding action but most of the story explores the emotional turmoil each man is facing.
Tripp wants another chance but Marty keeps strong and his friends offer support. Plus Eric, an EMT joins their group of friends, expressing a clear interest in Marty.
Tripp wants nothing more than to be the man that Marty needs “Tripp berated himself, He had to stop this, had to get over his fears somehow before he lost Marty completely.” but he bears tremendous guilt from the past which does not make this easy.
Losing Marty, the jealously he feels when he sees Eric with Marty, and finally a push from Marty himself, finally see Tripp taking steps to address his past.
But nothing is simple and the men need to face even larger hurdles if they are to be together.
I enjoyed this story and the journey that Marty and Tripp needed to undertake to be together. At times I wanted to shake them to get them to see sense. Admittedly I was also confused as to why Marty gave Tripp another chance but finally understanding his history put it into perspective. This also helped me to like his as a character more. I didn’t warm to Tripp at the beginning of the book but by the end I was cheering for him!
This books gets points for having some big dramatic moments and of course I love grand romantic gestures so bonus points there too!
For more information on L.C. Chase and her books, visit her website.
Buy Pickup Men from Amazon.