Contemporary Western Romance published by St. Martin’s Paperbacks 26 Apr 22
Cal Bennet wakes up out of a drunken stupor with a cocked gun pointed at him. He doesn’t know how he got here, the sun is baking hot, and alcohol is gurgling in his stomach looking for a way out. Not the best way to make the acquaintance of a drop-dead gorgeous woman. One who might be dead in actuality – without Cal’s quick reflexes that got her out of the path of bullets aimed at her.
There is definitely trouble on Dillon Young’s ranch. Her prized stallion has disappeared, someone is trying to buy her ranch, and failing that, seems to be willing to kill to own it. Cal Bennet is the number one suspect, at least for the disappearance of the prime stud, except he might have been too drunk to have perhaps done it.
It’s clear who the culprits are for all the mayhem that’s aimed at Dillon and the motive is greed. Someone wants something that’s on her ranch, and she better wise up quickly to figure out why her next-door neighbor wants her ranch so desperately that he’s willing to kill for it and might have planted cowboy Cal to win her trust and facilitate his objectives.
I enjoyed the story being told from multiple angles, so there is no mystery from the reader’s perspective, though I did want to yell out a warning to Dillon a few times regarding her circle of trust and how skewed it might be in reality. The ranger who’s investigating her missing stallion and her lawyer in Dallas are the only two people who Dillon feels she can trust absolutely.
A few more bullets will fly before the truth is revealed, leaving Cal and Dillon a clear path to exploring their chemistry and a happily ever after. A fun read with a good mix of murder, mystery, action and romance.
Grade: B
Summary:
Is he an enemy?
Dillon Young is proud that she inherited her aunt’s ranch. The problem: someone is trying to run her off and is willing to do whatever it takes. Strange, dangerous things keep happening. Dillion suspects her no-good neighbor and fellow wealthy rancher Hank Stephens. Never a man to get his hands dirty, he sends others to get the job done. So, when the irresistible Cal Bennett is found passed out drunk on her property, Dillion is on high alert. Until someone takes a shot at her and Cal springs to her rescue. When the hard-bodied, no-nonsense-talking cowboy points out that she may need some help, Dillion is inclined to reluctantly agree.
Or a lover?
Waking up on a stranger’s property with a shotgun in his face is not Cal Bennett’s idea of a good time. Never mind that the person on the other end of the barrel is one of the most fiercely beautiful women he has ever seen. Things get more interesting when he finds himself shielding her from flying bullets. It’s clear that this smart, savvy woman could use a hand and Cal is all too happy to lend any part of his body she requires. His proposal: pose as lovers until they find out who is after her ranch. As the danger rises and secrets are revealed, the passion explodes between them and there is no turning back.
