Dinca’s review of The Cowboy’s Secret Son by Trish Milburn
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin American Romance 2 Jan 12
From Hell to Heaven in 224 pages. This book is a perfect example of fear dictating your decisions. The heroine is so strong to pull herself up from nothing and remake herself, all out of fear.
After battling cancer, Grace Cameron realizes her son needs his father. But how can she go to the man after seven years of silence? She has already lost her son once. Knowing all the boy wants is a father, she is afraid Evan will be taken away from her again. To ease into the introductions, Grace enrolls her son in the Cowboy camp being run on the Teague family ranch, planning to watch how Nathan Teague interacts with Evan. Instead, she blurts out to Nathan that he is Evan’s father the moment she sees him. She swears him to secrecy not to tell the rest of the family. Seeing how taken Evan is with the horses and Nathan, her worries increase and she runs off with Evan again.
Nathan doesn’t know what to feel when he sees his mini replica. He is angry she’s kept him in the dark, yet puzzled why she disappeared without telling him in the first place. He finds he still has the “hots” for this mother, which can only lead to disaster. But spending time with his son is paramount. Keeping his son a secret from his family is next to impossible with such a close resemblance.
The story is nothing new but has several different takes on an old concept. Grace needs a backup plan in case she has a relapse and dies from the cancer. Which leads me to wonder what her plan was in the first case? Discovering why she is afraid of losing her son is a surprise you won’t want to miss. The recovery of her son is interesting.
There is not much of a side story, but the supporting characters are vivid, wonderful people you will want to get to know. I am giving it a B because I find the heroine to be selfish and all the overwhelming fear the author comes across with just doesn’t extinguish or justify the possessive, selfish feelings. She knew all along she was not acting in the best interests of her child, and that just doesn’t illicit warm and fuzzy feelings for the heroine for me.
Grade: B
Summary:
After battling a serious illness, Grace Cameron realizes one thing: her son needs his father. But how can she face Nathan Teague after seven years of lies? To ease into it, she enrolls her boy in the Cowboy Camp run by the Teague family on their Texas Hill Country ranch. Little Evan is bursting with excitement over horses, ropin’ and hanging around real cowboys! Oh, my!
Nathan is in shock when Grace comes back to town. Then when he discovers he’s the father of her cute little boy—a miniature Nathan—he’s not sure if he should be angry, grateful or both. He decides to go with angry. For a while, at least…until he gets the sense that Grace is still hiding something. What’s the secret—and how can he ever trust the woman who stole his son from him?
Read an excerpt.
