The wide-open prairie never felt so crowded
Finding love is the easy part…
To Dahlia King, Connor Remington is just another wannabe
cowboy who'll go back to the city by midwinter. But underneath that
city-slicker shine is a dedicated horseman who's already won the heart of
Dahlia's animal-loving little daughter. Before she knows it, Dahlia is one-third
of a happy trio. But when her ex returns, Connor must decide to step up with
this family…or step out.
Terrific book. Dahlia is the daughter of the late
vice-president, a single mother, and the owner of the local
brothel-turned-saloon. The story opens on the day of her father's funeral as Dahlia
reaches the maximum amount of time she can spend with her family. Having had
enough togetherness, Dahlia takes her daughter, Amelia, and heads for home. On
the way, they barely miss hitting a small white dog who has a man in pursuit.
Amelia, who never met an animal she didn't like, insists on helping to catch
the dog. Dahlia is a bit warier of the unknown man until she finds out he's
just inherited the ranch next door. Looking at his jeans and sneakers, she figures
he won't last.
Connor, a former Marine, left the Corps when his
previously unknown aunt left him her ranch and made him promise to bring it
back to life. He didn't expect to be chasing a stray dog before he even had a
chance to unlock the front door. Nor did he expect to feel an instant connection
with his adorable little helper and her mother.
I enjoyed the first meeting between Dahlia and Connor. She
isn't very complimentary about his lack of relationship with his aunt or his
chances of succeeding with the ranch, but she can't help noticing him as a man.
His kind-hearted treatment of her talkative, single-minded daughter wins him a
few points in her eyes. I loved watching Amelia steamroller him into catching
and then keeping the little white dog, opening the door for her to visit the
dog whenever she can. Dahlia intrigues and attracts Connor, and he takes
advantage of every opportunity to spend time with her.
Dahlia accepts the attraction between them but resists
the idea of a relationship. Too many men have been more interested in who she
is than in the woman herself. The more time she spends with him, the harder it
is to resist her growing feelings. I loved seeing Connor fall hard for both Dahlia
and Amelia. Spending time with them feels like the family he never had. I liked
how Connor freely admitted his interest to Dahlia and his intention to see
where it would go. There's a little bit of a rough spot when Dahlia's
ex-husband, Micah, returns to town, and Connor wonders if she'll go back to
him. Dahlia's relationship with Micah is an unusual one, and Connor isn't sure
how to deal with it. There's a hilarious part where Micah takes care of Amelia
while Dahlia is away, and he's roped into taking Amelia to Connor's to see the
animals. The conversation between the two men was great and led to an even
funnier joint venture later that night. But it takes a crisis involving Amelia for
Connor and Dahlia to share their feelings. The ending was terrific, with an unexpected
twist provided by Amelia.
The secondary characters were fantastic. The best, of
course, was Amelia. That little girl could talk a mile a minute, and you never
knew what was going to come out of her mouth. I loved how she took to Connor,
with the father-daughter dance scenes being among my favorites. Dahlia's family
dynamics provided plenty of drama, from the constant sniping between Sherilee
and Freckles to the various siblings' conflicts.
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