A cowboy romance enthusiast discovers that everything’s bigger in Texas—even love—in this swoony novel from beloved author Alexa Martin.
Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from By the Bootstraps by Alexa Martin, which releases on May 26th 2026.
Fueled by a love of romance novels, Luna Starr was destined for a life with her head in the clouds. Her delusional tendencies serve her well…or at least they used to. When life throws her a curveball, she decides it’s time to turn her cowboy fantasies into reality and purchases a tiny farm in Celestial, Texas. After all, don’t all heroines try to outrun grief?
Tate Jacobs hates cowboys, which is a small problem, considering his family happens to own the largest ranch in Celestial. Life might not have gone the way he wanted, but as head coach at his old high school and the town’s best (and only) handyman, he’s figured out how to stay busy and keep his head down—until the new girl in town shows up. Luna’s new property is a bad accident waiting to happen unless someone helps her with her DIY home renovations.
As Tate and Luna spend more time together fixing up her house, unexpected feelings and undeniable chemistry bubble to the surface. Luna might’ve moved to Celestial to make her cowboy dreams come true, but somewhere beneath the vast Texas skies, she discovers that love in the real world can be far better than she imagined.
EXCERPT
Maybe it’s because I’m outrunning them with the well-timed efficiency of an adult girl boss who is running away from her feelings, but much to the surprise of the insecure, anxiety-riddled teenage girl always lurking in the back of my mind, I don’t even notice when the hordes of teenage boys start running on the track with me. I round the curve of the track for my third mile, and the only thing on my mind is keeping my breathing even with the ever-increasing burn in my muscles. I’m so in the zone that nothing could distract me.
Nothing.
Except a pair of onyx eyes that somehow managed to haunt the few hours of sleep I had last night.
I pull out my headphones and slow to a walk as I approach him on the side of the field.
“It’s you,” I say. “I guess you were right about this being a small town.”
“Lived here almost my entire life.” His voice is as quiet among the rowdy boys as it was in the bar. I have to strain my ears to hear him. “Trust me, there’s no hiding from anyone here.”
“You were hiding from me? Maybe that’s why I almost didn’t recognize you,” I tease, and a spark of pleasure twists my stomach when the lips that have taunted my memories curve into a whisper of a smile. I’ll figure out why this practical stranger’s smile lives in my mind rent-free another day.
Or never.
“It’s this.” He points to the navy floppy bucket hat he’s wearing. “Nobody knows it’s me when they don’t see the locs.”
He’s not wrong—the bucket hat hiding his locs and shielding his face does make him hard to spot—but that’s not why he looks so different today. He’s as stoic as he was the other night and his eyes are just as dark, but there’s a lightness about him that wasn’t there before. The hardness to his jaw is softened, and the lines around his eyes look suspiciously like smile lines. I don’t know this man from Adam, but he looks . . . happy.
“That must be it,” I lie. “I didn’t take you as a monogrammed polo and khaki shorts kind of guy.”
Not that I have room to talk about clothes right now. Other than the mint I spend on keeping my running shoes in tip-top condition, I think I may be one of the few women in the world who doesn’t see the appeal of a matching workout set. I got the shirt I’m wearing now at a soccer tournament in tenth grade and my shorts on clearance at the Nike outlet five years ago. Something I’ve never regretted until this very moment.
“I’m not,” he reassures me, and a happy thrill zaps through my veins knowing I was right. “I only wear this for football. I’ll change before I leave.”
“Don’t let him trick you. This is his favorite outfit.” A kid with an impish grin that promises as much fun as it does trouble appears next to Tate. “He has a closet full of khakis, don’t you, Coach?”
“You’re supposed to be running laps, so why are you talking to us, Aiden?” Tate’s deadpan voice cuts through the noise, but instead of seeming alarmed, the kid, Aiden, seems amused. “I’m trying to help you out in front of your lady friend.
Girls like it when guys dress good.” He drapes a sweat-covered arm over Tate’s shoulder and turns his attention to me.
“Right?”
“Well—”
“Don’t answer that.” Tate shakes his head, and his hard gaze cuts from me to the jokester beside him. “If you’re not running in five seconds, I’m adding four sets of barrel rolls for you and two laps for everyone else.”
“Dang, Coach T! I know you didn’t act like this when you were all big, playing college ball. Why you gotta be like that?” Aiden clutches his heart, and I bite back my laughter at his dramatics. “I was trying to run, but your lady friend here was embarrassing the rest of us with how she was lapping us.”
“Aiden.” Tate points to the track. “Go.”
“Fine, fine. I see how it is.” Aiden throws his arms in the air and starts to jog away backward with a smirk that says he absolutely does not see how it is. “Showing out in front of the hot new girl in town. I thought you had more game than that.” Nobody is braver than a child without a fully developed prefrontal cortex. If Tate was looking at me the way he’s looking at Aiden, I’d be shaking out of fear, not laughter. But going off the roar of laughter that breaks out all around us, I’m the only one.
“Five sets of barrel rolls!” Tate shouts to Aiden’s back as he sprints away. “And the next person who says anything can join him.”
“Don’t worry, Coach T,” another kid says as he jogs by. “We all know your game is as good off the field as it is on it.”
“Dammit, Josh.” Tate shakes his head. “You threw up the last time you did barrel rolls. Don’t make me have you rolling across the field with him.”
“I would never.” Josh holds up his hands in surrender. “But you should know Coach Linc promised to send twenty dollars to the person who gets you the most worked up in front of your friend.”
