Sandy M’s review of Touch of Texas by Tracy Garrett
Western historical romance published 1 Oct 07 by Zebra

Blurb:

SHELTER FROM THE STORM…
A blizzard blows Texas Ranger Jake McCain to Rachel Hudson’s cabin and trouble is right behind him. He’s badly wounded. Taking care of him is the right thing to do, but she knows the local gossips won’t see it that way.Suddenly, everything Rachel’s fought for is at stake—and the past she’d hoped to escape looms over her future. Still, when Jake turns his dark gaze on her, all she wants is his strong, seductive touch…

A WOMAN TO CALL HIS OWN …
Jake McCain has never stayed in one place. A home and a family aren’t for the likes of a man accustomed to the rough life of the trail. But when he sees the trouble she’s in, he can’t leave her behind. Not when her innocent kisses burn straight into his soul, and the sight of her smile is the only bounty he cares to collect…

Read an excerpt.

A cowboy with a heart always makes my toes curl.  I just got over a case of the toe curls after reading about Jake McCain, the hero of this novel.  Besides being handsome and sexy, he’s also a stubborn man, one that women would love to whomp up side of the head with a cast-iron skillet, and Rachel Hudson, our heroine, is just the woman to take a swing at our hero.

Jake has been beaten and left for dead and has just enough left in him to stay in his saddle.  He comes upon a light in a window to save him from not only his injuries but also the blizzard raging around him.  Rachel brings him into her home, even though she knows if the townsfolk find out, her hard-earned reputation will be in tatters.  She has her younger brother to care for and has high hopes the up-and-coming banker in town is getting ready to propose, but she won’t leave a man to freeze to death when she has the means to help him. 

Once Jake is back on his feet and pays his dues to Rachel by helping around her homestead, it’s already to too late.  She is falling hard for the Texas Ranger.  Her body definitely doesn’t react to the banker like it reacts to Jake when he kisses her silly.  But respectability is what Rachel craves, after being dumped on the roadside by the preacher who had raised them when she refused the man’s advances.  She has worked to keep her secrets hidden. 

The feeling of home and family is not something Jake thought he’d ever experience again and though Rachel is tempting, he’s never been one to stay in one place too long.  And he has criminals to find, one in particular that keeps the Ranger in him on the move until he gets his man.  His mind made up, he sets out on the trail once again.  Jake never thought he could feel so lonely after so many years on his own and images of Rachel tear at his heart, making him feel he’s just thrown away the best thing to come his way in a very long time. 

If you love cowboys, you’re going to love Touch of Texas.  There’s a lot packed into this book besides Jake and Rachel’s story.  The secondary characters are fun or evil in their own right as you come across them, and the villain in this book is one mean varmint.  But the best part, of course, is when both Jake and Rachel finally get the gumption to take what they want and you can then sit back and watch the fireworks fly.  Tracy Garrett is on her way if she keeps weaving them as good as this one. 

Grade:  B+