Series: 7 Brides for 7 Brothers (Book 3)
When Hunter Brannigan loses his father and is sent a map, he doesn’t know what to think. Is it a joke? Was the old man going senile at the end? The attorney sending the map assures him the piece of paper was definitely from his father and he must follow the clues to find himself.
Hunter has been running from anything even remotely resembling responsibility for a very long time. He’s a world renowned Photo Journalist, traveling the seven continents in pursuit of the next great shot. He’s been in the heart of the trauma during war time, natural disasters, and life-altering moments, always on the other side of the lens, never getting emotionally involved. His father’s last wish for him is to put himself within the pictures he’s famous for.
Deciding to humor his father’s last request, he stumbles upon Rebekah Kingsley III, an uptight History Professor who desperately needs to let her hair down. Though he has his doubts she can get dirty long enough to help him, something about her won’t let him walk so easily this time. Will she be enough to make him settle down, or will he leave her with nothing but a picture of what could have been.
The third book in the series, and another second chance story. In this book, Hunter, who is Gabe's twin brother, receives a treasure map as his inheritance from his father. He's not sure what to make of it, or the instruction to seek the assistance of a college history professor to solve the clues on the map. Hunter is shocked to discover that the history professor is none other than Bekka, the girl he'd had a summer romance with ten years earlier. Bekka had fallen hard for Hunter during that summer and had been heartbroken when he left without looking back. She moved on with her life, following her detailed one-, five-, and ten-year plans, and was not too happy to have Hunter burst back into her life.
Hunter and Bekka were interesting people. Hunter is just as much of an adrenaline junkie as his brother Luke, with no situation too dangerous for him to go into looking for the perfect photograph. He's constantly on the move, never getting too deeply involved with anyone or anything. Thanks to his father's withdrawal after his mom's death, Hunter doesn't trust anyone, except maybe his brothers. Bekka is very intelligent and had been raised by her mother not to trust emotions, encouraged to pursue academics. She had one brief summer of rebellion, where she allowed adventure into her life, falling in love with Hunter as they shared those adventures. But when he broke her heart, she locked adventure out of her life.
The development of the relationship between Hunter and Bekka was interesting. The attraction between them was still as strong as ever. Hunter was more than willing to give in to it and see what happened. He made no secret of that to Bekka, showing her at every chance how much he wanted her. Bekka was far more interested in protecting her heart. She knew it would be way too easy to fall for him again, and she wasn't sure she could survive another heartache. As they followed the various clues on the map, they couldn't help but grow closer. Hunter found himself more and more willing to put off his next photography jaunt if he could spend the time with Bekka. This made him both happy and scared to death. I liked how he could see under her buttoned up exterior to the girl he used to know, and how much he enjoyed bringing that girl back to the surface. I also liked the way he showed how much he cared, even though he wouldn't admit it to himself. The scenes following the snake bite were awesome at showing the depth of his caring. Bekka spent a fair amount of time fighting against the attraction she still felt for Hunter. She's afraid to trust that, if she gives in to him, he won't walk away and break her heart again. It was interesting to see her slowly loosen up and begin to enjoy life again, including giving in to the heat. But she also had trouble holding back the hope that this time it would be different. I ached for her when they came to the final clue, and what Hunter found sent him running again. I thought he deserved every bit of the misery he felt, and was thoroughly delighted by the advice he got from his brother. He redeemed himself quite nicely with his big moment at the end.
I loved seeing more of Luke and Lizzie, and Gabe and Josie in this book. It was great to see how they have both changed for the better since falling in love, without losing who they are. I also enjoyed seeing how the brothers have gotten closer since their father's death, and how they are there for each other. Their interactions are fun, especially when they get a little snarky.
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