He’s the rodeo cowboy who left town with a secret. She’s the sheriff determined to uncover the truth.

For years, B. J. Lambert has ridden the professional rodeo circuit, keeping his distance from Coffee Creek—and from the night that changed everything. Eighteen years ago, a barn burned and a man died. B. J. made a promise to protect the truth, even if it cost him the only woman he ever loved.

Now duty calls him back to the family ranch, and staying away from Sheriff Savannah Moody is no longer an option.

Savannah has worked hard to earn her badge in the small town they both call home. She’s sworn to uphold the law, no matter where it leads. But B. J.’s return stirs up more than old memories and undeniable chemistry. It reopens a cold case she can’t ignore.

As sparks reignite and long-buried secrets threaten to surface, Savannah must decide how far she’s willing to go for justice. And B. J. must choose between keeping his promise… or finally fighting for the woman who still owns his heart.

Titles in the Coffee Creek, Montana series include:  Remember Me Always, Cowboy ~ Her Cowboy Dilemma ~ Promise from a Cowboy ~ Big Sky Christmas ~

This series was previously published in the Harlequin American Romance line.

This story may contain language, violence, and/or sexual situations intended for an adult 18+ audience.

Title:  Promise From a Cowboy
Series:  Coffee Creek, Montana #3
Author:  CJ Carmichael
Published:  July 21, 2026 (previously published)
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating:  4 stars

Promise From a Cowboy is the third title in the Coffee Creek, Montana series.  This time we’ll find a reunited couple who not only have to face the dangers of the present, but the memories of the past as well.  When they were teenagers, Savannah and B. J. were in love, the innocence of youth kind of love, until one event changed everything when B. J. took off on the rodeo circuit, leaving Savannah and a mystery behind.  When new information surfaces, Savannah, now the town’s sheriff, reinvestigates the event from their past… which also includes her brother.  B.J. has returned home to tend to the family ranch, and that mystery is going to lie between them like a snake about to strike.  The truth will always eventually rise to the surface; the hard part will be whether their newly rediscovered love survives that truth.

I enjoyed Promise From a Cowboy; it’s a well-written, engaging, and emotional romance.  I have a personal issue with certain types of secrets or lies being kept from someone involved, someone either the heroine or the hero loves.  That’s me, completely.  So even though I liked their romance and was fully behind Savannah, I had a harder time loving B.J.  Oh, I understood his reasons, but that same faithfulness in keeping a promise also kept me from completely falling for this hero.  Each book in the series, I keep hoping that Olive will change her ways and not be such a… nasty person.  But she’s up to her usual tricks once again.  The mystery kept me on edge throughout, and I loved seeing familiar faces from the earlier titles once again.  In all, I enjoyed myself here.  If this sounds like your kind of Modern Western Romance, then you’d love Savannah and B.J.’s romantic journey.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the author or the author’s team via Booksprout, and I sincerely thank them for their trust. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

This title was previously released in the Harlequin American Romance line; I mention that because, frankly, I hate to discover that I already have a title in my library that I’ve now re-purchased.  (I have tons of paperbacks, even though the Kindle is my preferred reading device these days, so it’s not all that hard for a duplicate title to slip past me.) 

This title is available at Amazon