A local girl comes home to face the cowboy from her past—and finally claim her future…
Lawson Granger loved Eve Cooper once, but her dreams were
grander than anything his Texas-cowboy destiny could provide. Letting her walk
out of his life and into television stardom was a mistake he made eighteen
years ago. Now everything’s changed. Eve is back—pregnant and desperate for
someplace to hide. And their desire is just as stubborn as they are.
Escaping to the comforts of home is Eve’s one shot at
giving her baby a safe life. Earning Lawson’s trust is her one chance at making
amends for the past. But the long-buried secrets and unintentional damage she
fled from aren’t far behind. When the truth finds her, she stands to lose the
man she loves and the only place she’s ever called home…this time forever.
Good second chance story. Lawson and Eve had been high
school sweethearts until they were driven apart by the death of a friend and
Eve’s departure for Hollywood. He hasn’t seen her in eighteen years. Then he
finds out that Eve has moved back to Wrangler’s Creek.
Eve has been having a bad year. She’s pregnant from a one
night stand with her former costar. Her adopted daughter isn’t speaking to her.
She just wants a place where she can get her life back on track, and when she’s
offered the house in Wrangler’s Creek, she jumps at it.
The book started with a bang and just kept going. Lawson
was confronted by local fortune-teller and resident nutcase, Vita, and informed
that he had a bunch of curses on him. He blows her off, but soon has reason to
regret it, as he’s told about Eve’s presence on the ranch. He comes face to
face with her just in time to deliver her baby, in a vastly amusing scene. It’s
also quite clear that the sparks between them aren’t dead. Lawson copes by
leaving town for as long as he can get away with it. Eve was grateful for his
help, but she’s glad he’s gone. It gives her a chance to figure out what she is
going to say to him.
I liked both Lawson and Eve. Lawson is a good man. He
loves his family, even though they frequently irritate him. He works hard on
the ranch. He’s very careful not to lead women on during those occasions when
he cuts loose. He is also racked with guilt over the death of his friend Brett,
and blames himself for what happened.
Having Eve around is a double-edged sword – she reminds him of that
loss, but he’s also still attracted to her.
Eve has worked hard to be a good mother to Tessie,
keeping her out of the Hollywood spotlight. But Eve has also kept a huge secret
from her – a secret that caused a big rift with Tessie when it was discovered.
Eve also feels guilty about Brett’s death, feeling that she could have done
something to prevent it. Eve is a good person who made the choices that she
believed were best at the time, but they are now creating more problems for
her. But no matter what happens, she faces up to the consequences.
I liked the rekindling of Lawson and Eve’s relationship.
Delivering her baby adds a layer of intimacy to their new reality. Lawson also
discovers that he is unexpectedly protective of both Eve and little Aidan, a
situation that is very disturbing to him at the beginning. He wants to keep his
distance to protect his heart, but he just can’t do it. Eve is equally drawn to
the man that Lawson has become, but the secrets she is keeping make that
attraction hard to accept. It was fun to see how they fought their feelings,
especially when everyone else could see that they belonged together. I
especially enjoyed the identical housewarming gifts that Dylan gave to both
Lawson and Eve.
I loved seeing Lawson get more involved in Eve’s life. It
took him a while to realize how strong his feelings for her were. Those
feelings took quite a hit when he discovered the secret she had been keeping. I
understood his anger, and I also liked when he accepted that she had done what
she thought was best. I did get a bit frustrated with Eve as she kept putting
off the talk she had to have with Lawson, afraid that it would ruin their
healing relationship. But whatever else was going on, I loved that they worked
together to weather the crisis involving Tessie. Eve still had some obstacles
to face, thanks to her former costar. Thankfully, with Lawson’s support, she
finally saw that she and Lawson belonged together. I liked Lawson’s big moment
at the end, even though it didn’t go quite the way he planned.
The secondary characters were terrific. Vita’s
involvement with Lawson’s “curses” was pretty funny, especially the scene with
the chicken. Cassidy was a terrific friend and had no problem telling Eve when
she was being an idiot, but also backing her up anyway. Kellan was the
character who was the biggest influence on the story. His total involvement in
his own wants and activities, regardless of anyone else, made him especially
irritating. I loved seeing Eve push back, getting blunter as the book went on.
I loved seeing her finally get her point across. There was a terrific scene at
the end, with Lawson, Tessie, and one of the show fans, that was especially
heartwarming.
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