Series: Gold Valley (Book 4)
It's Christmas in Gold Valley, and this wounded widower
is about to get another shot at love…
Grant Dodge didn't expect to find a woman sleeping in an
abandoned cabin on his family ranch. Or to find her so intriguing. Unlike every
other woman in town, McKenna Tate doesn't know Grant's a widower. There's no
pity in the looks she gives him. McKenna wants him, and Grant has forgotten
what it's like to feel like a man. A no-strings fling for Christmas might be
the kind of holiday cheer Grant needs…
With only a suitcase to her name, McKenna came to Gold
Valley to confront her birth father. She didn't plan to work at the Dodge ranch
or fall for the gorgeous cowboy who keeps his heart roped off. But there's no
denying the way their broken pieces fit together. Hope brought her to Gold
Valley -- but will it be the gift that could finally heal Grant, and McKenna's
own wounded heart?
Good story about two emotionally wounded people. Grant
finds McKenna sleeping in an abandoned cabin on the family property. Both he and
McKenna have had rough pasts that have affected the way they deal with other people.
Grant is a bit of a loner, even in his own family. He
lost his mother when he was young and dealt with the pain by taking it out on
other people. He was an obnoxious bully until he met Lindsay, who was assigned
to tutor him. Her belief in him helped him change. They fell in love and married
right out of high school, even though Lindsay's cancer had returned. For years,
Grant was a caregiver rather than a husband. Eight years after her death, he is
still grieving, but also frustrated. Everyone in town, including the women, always
treats him as "that poor widower," and Grant is sick of the pitying
looks, but he doesn't know how to move on either. When he meets McKenna,
something about her gets to him, but he isn't sure what to do about it.
McKenna has had a rough life. Her mother gave her up when
she was two, and she ended up in the foster system. She moved from home to home,
never connecting with anyone. All she wants is a family of her own. When she left
the system at the age of eighteen, one of the things she received was her birth
certificate. Several years later, she tracked down her birth father and has
arrived in Gold Valley to see him. Thanks to a run of bad luck, McKenna ends up
homeless and finds herself sleeping in an abandoned cabin on a local ranch.
The first meeting between Grant and McKenna isn't very
pleasant. He's not happy to find a squatter on the property, but he's not going
to kick her out either. There's something about her that draws him, so he takes
her to his brother and sister-in-law, who give her a job and a place to live.
Grant is assigned to show her the ropes around the ranch. There are sparks of
attraction between them from the start. Because she doesn't know about his
past, McKenna treats Grant like the hot cowboy he is, and he isn't quite sure
how to deal with that. Grant has a surprising secret that affects how he
handles his attraction to McKenna. Eventually, those sparks that fly between
them burst into flame. Neither Grant nor McKenna claims to be interested in a
relationship, so no-strings sex is their agreed-upon solution.
Of course, that doesn't last. I liked seeing the way that
they were able to share their pasts, hard though it was. Grant held out the
longest because he liked that McKenna didn't know. She didn't give him those
pitying looks, just the ones that said she wanted him. However, he can't deny
that she reaches him in a way that no one else does. I liked how he supported
her when it came to her desire to connect with her family. McKenna is upfront
about her life and what she wants from it. Even though she has no confidence that
it will happen, she still allows herself to hope. I liked watching her with Grant.
She constantly reminds him that life isn't fair and that you do the best you
can. I liked that she finally dared to tell him her feelings, and ached at the
way he pulled away. One of my favorite things about McKenna is that she stands
up for her own needs and wants. She lets him know that she deserves more and
won't settle for less. It took a while for what she told him to sink in, plus additional
input from his brother, Wyatt, but eventually, Grant saw the light. I like
their big moment at the end, especially Grant's exposure of his vulnerability.
I loved McKenna's reaction and seeing them come together as they are. The
epilogue was terrific.
I also ached for McKenna in her search for family. All
she wanted was someone that would love her. I liked her conversation with her
brother, Gabe, and the hope that it gave her. Her first visit with her father
was emotional. Both McKenna and I had high hopes, and I felt her pain at the
way the visit ended. I loved how she stood up to him. Fortunately, he did
redeem himself in the end.
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