Synopsis
from back cover: New
York artist Cassie Reynolds moves to Wishing, Texas to raise her
orphaned niece, and discovers she’s in way over her head. Then she
meets Ella’s financial guardian, Ty Barnett, a handsome hardworking
rancher, with his own ideas on child rearing.
Ty
and Cassie clash over almost everything, especially Ella, but when
two people have the welfare of one child at heart, suddenly they find
themselves looking at each other in a whole new light…
Will
Ty make room for another lady in his life? And will Cassie allow
herself to love a Texas cowboy?
Stats
for my copy: Kindle
edition, Tule Publishing, 2015.
How
acquired: NetGalley
My
thoughts: I like
stories where a character who has no experience with kids is suddenly
thrown headfirst into instant parenthood. And I like stories where a
city girl who has no experience with cowboys is suddenly thrown
headfirst into…well, to continue the metaphor, into a cowboy!
When
Cassie’s sister and her husband, Chloe and Jack, are killed in a
plane crash, Cassie relocates from New York to her sister’s bed and
breakfast in the small town of Wishing, Texas, to take custody of her
young niece. Ella of course is emotionally scarred from losing both
of her parents, and refuses to talk, or participate in anything at
school. When we meet Cassie, she is struggling to deal with her own
grief, and to relate to Ella and get through to her.
Ty
was good friends with Chloe and Jack, and he and Chloe were in
business together. Chloe had the bed and breakfast, and Ty provided
dude ranch services to her guests at his ranch – trail rides and
sightseeing tours on horseback. He didn’t love it, but the money
helped support his ranch and his family, which included his widowed
mother and his younger sister, Aubrey. Ella’s parents had also
appointed Ty to be Ella’s financial guardian, so while Cassie now
has custody of Ella, Ty has custody of Ella’s money and makes the
financial decisions.
I
loved Ty. He adored Ella, and even when being his gruff stoic self,
when Ella came into a scene he softened. He was good with her, and
she obviously felt very close to him. With her father gone, Ty was
now the predominant male role model in her life, and he was
determined do not only guard her finances, but also to be sure she
was properly cared for, even if that meant butting in, whether or not
Cassie felt he had a right to.
Cassie
is a pretty successful artist in New York, and suddenly being in
charge of an inn leaves her floundering. She considers selling it and
taking Ella back to New York with her, but since Ty holds the purse
strings, he would have to approve of any sale. And he thinks it’s
better for Ella to remain in her own home. So of course Ty and Cassie
are going to constantly clash with each other. And of course they are
going to be attracted to each other, hard as they try to fight it. Ty
has been burned in love, and has no desire to be burned again.
I
truly loved those Cassie and Ty clashing scenes, and the banter that
flew back and forth between them often made me laugh. I could
understand the reasoning behind each character's hesitance to become
involved with the other, and considering that having Ella in common
would keep them tethered to each other for several years, I could
easily agree that caution should be taken. I do wish that Ella had
actually been involved in the story more than she was. The developing
relationship between Ty and Cassie was very dependent on her, as was
much of the plot. But even in the end, as much as I felt I knew both
adults, Ella was still more of a little plot moppet than a fleshed
out person.
I'm
looking forward to the rest of this series, featuring other members
of Ty's group of college friends,and here's hoping his sister Aubrey
will hook up with one of them and get her own HEA!
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