Synopsis
from back of book: Things
have not gone well for Hayley Ryan. Her beloved grandfather
is dead. Her ex-husband not only abandoned her for another woman but
also stole Hayley's inheritance – and left her pregnant. All she
has now is a piece of property to camp on – and a secret mine that
might or might not produce.
Jake
Cooper is part owner of the Triple C Ranch in southern Arizona.
Hayley Ryan's campsite is adjacent to the Triple C. The first time
Jake rides into her camp, she points a shotgun at his head – and
without even knowing it, takes aim at his heart...
Jake
is determined to persuade Hayley to trust him and marry him. As for
Hayley's baby-to-be – he'd love the chance to be a dad!
Stats
for my copy:
Mass market paperback, published by Harlequin Enterprises Limited,
2011, originally published as MOM'S THE WORD; purchased at a library
book sale.
First
line:
“You're pregnant, Hayley.”
My
thoughts: I
have a subscription to Harlequin Heartwarming through their Reader
Service, but I subscribed late and missed the earliest books, so I
was pleased to recently come across this one at a library sale – a
Heartwarming, AND a Roz Denny Fox, so double score. And then the hero
is a cowboy, and I've really gotten into cowboys over the last few
months, so triple score!
Hayley
is young and naive, a girl who grew up lonely and fell for the first
smooth talker to take an interest in her. She was raised by an
undemonstrative grandfather who spent more time at his mine than with
his granddaughter, and she was glad to marry Joe despite her
grandfather's dislike and distrust of him. Then her grandfather
passed away, and Joe forged her name and sold the mine out from under
her, and took off with another woman, leaving Hayley with no income.
And now she finds out she is carrying his child.
Then
she learns from one of her grandfather's friends that he had been
working another claim site for several years. She quickly goes to the
recorder's office and files a claim in her own name, then sets up
camp with her grandfather's old pickup and tiny little camper. She
plans to work the site herself for a few months, and hopefully
discover something, anything, that will support herself and the baby
for awhile.
Enter
Jake Cooper, part owner with his parents and brother of the Triple C.
He tells Hayley that her claim site supplies water to the surrounding
ranches, and Grandpa had a deal with the ranchers to let them use the
water as needed, and to turn over the land – and the precious water
– to them when he's through with his prospecting. So he's not happy
to find this woman here working the site. And neither are the other
ranchers, some of who are downright angry about it, and want her out
of the way pronto.
It's
a little strange that in all the years Grandpa was camping out at
this site for a few months each year, he never told his granddaughter
about it. And even more strange that in all these years he never
mentioned to Jake and his family, who he was on very friendly terms
with, that he was raising a granddaughter. But the secrecy also works
in Hayley's favor, as Joe doesn't know anything about it, and until
her divorce is finalized, she needs to keep it that way so he doesn’t
steal it out from under her also. And yeah, it seems a little
unbelievable that Joe got away with selling the other mine and
keeping Hayley from getting a cent (other than the $1,000 he left her
when he took off). She apparently has no recourse, and I had a little
trouble believing that to be possible. Oh, she contacted the police
of course, but it turns out Joe and the local deputy are tight, so,
you know, no help from that quarter.
But
put that aside and just go with it. Hayley is very determined to
never trust or depend on a man again, and Jake is just as determined
to show her that she can trust him and can depend on him. Sometimes I
felt Hayley was acting foolish, putting herself out in the middle of
nowhere, alone, with no cell phone and unreliable transportation –
putting her unborn child at risk if anything should happen and she
should need emergency medical attention. Not to mention no regular
prenatal care. But I could empathize with that determination I
mentioned. My ex didn't do me as badly as hers did, but I still felt
the same way she did about not trusting or depending on men.
I
enjoyed watching Hayley and Jake dance around each other. Hayley
would let her guard down and be nice to Jake and have fun with him,
and then he'd say something about the claim site or the water and her
defenses would slam back into place and she would turn on him,
convinced that he didn't care about her and just wanted her land.
Since
most of the story takes place at her claim site, between just Hayley
and Jake (and his dog), the secondary characters stay pretty
secondary, but I didn’t mind that. Jake's family are a little
antagonistic about Hayley (and his father and brother to her face),
and since we don't spend as much time with them or get to know them
as well as we do Hayley and Jake, we're not always sure if they can
be trusted. But that added to the overall tone of the book and worked
well.
A
quick and enjoyable read with a satisfying HEA.
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