A chance to mend her body…
A doc to heal her heart?
Search-and-rescue
worker Cassandra Bellow arrives at Heatherglen Clinic injured and reeling from
the loss of her faithful rescue dog. But a Christmas romance with the gorgeous
clinic manager, Dr. Lyle Sinclair, along with Heatherglen's adorable therapy
dogs, restores Cass's lust for life. Except soon she must return to America --
unless guarded Lyle asks her to stay…
Excellent book that tugged at my heartstrings. Cassandra
arrived at the rehab clinic in Scotland, exhausted and hurting, physically and
emotionally. During a search-and-rescue mission in Europe she was severely
injured, and her canine partner was killed while saving her. She doesn't
understand why she was sent there rather than a rehab facility back in the
States, but she's determined to get better and get out. She is also at a crossroads
because she doesn't know whether she'll be able to resume her career, or even
if she could bear having a new partner.
I liked the development of the relationship between Lyle
and Cass. Lyle is the director of the clinic and determined to see Cassandra
fully healed. He is sincerely concerned about all his patients' recoveries, but
something about Cass calls a little deeper to him. I loved how he is firm with
her when she needs it, but that there is an underlying kindness and gentleness
in the way he treats her. There were a few times in the beginning when I wanted
to shake Cass because she was so stubborn and nearly rude, but Lyle didn't let
it get to him. I enjoyed that evening early on when Lyle found Cass almost
frozen after she had gone for a walk to avoid having to have dinner with
everyone. Again, that mixture of firm and kind was just what she needed. What
neither one expected was the flare of attraction between them.
I liked seeing their friendship develop as they spent
more time together. I felt a little bad for Lyle when he discovered the full story
behind Cass's refusal to work with one of the therapy dogs. He hadn't
understood the depth of her grief and liked that he was willing to find a
compromise. Cass appreciated his efforts, and I loved seeing the effect it had
on her. Though she still avoided making an emotional connection with any of the
dogs, the retired rescue dog, Hero, touched her heart anyway. I loved the scene
with him and the search for the lost girl. I liked the slow but steady growth
of Lyle and Cass's friendship into something more, even if neither was willing
to admit to it.
Both Cass and Lyle have issues that hold them back from admitting
those feelings. Cass is a bit of a mess emotionally. She isn't sure what her
future holds, job-wise, as she doesn't know if she can ever bond with another
rescue dog. Romantically, the last relationship she had ended when her
boyfriend could neither understand nor accept that her work was part of who she
was. She isn't sure that she is ready to risk her heart again. Lyle also had a
failed relationship behind him. His girlfriend sent him a "Dear John"
letter while he was deployed, making him reluctant to trust again either. He
also has an ongoing dilemma with his dying father, who expects Lyle to follow
the family tradition and rejoin the military. But Lyle has no interest in doing
so, as the time he spent before nearly destroyed him. The problem is, he can't
bring himself to stand up for what he wants. I loved seeing Cass stand up for
him when he wouldn't do it himself.
I ached for them both when her time at the clinic was
nearly over, and Lyle wanted her to stay. But Cass's fears wouldn't let go of
her, and she ran, but not before lashing out at Lyle. I hurt for him, because
he realized his feelings for her, but couldn't get past those fears. I liked
that both of them took their time apart to look honestly at what was holding
them back. Cass's big moment at the end was deeply emotional, and I loved
seeing the decisions she made. The conclusion was sweet and romantic, and I
hope to see more of them in the other books.
I liked the secondary characters, from the Laird to the
staff members, to fellow patient Andy. I liked Laird Charles's decision to use
the castle as a way to honor his brother Nick's sacrifice. I look forward to
reading their stories in the rest of the series. I also liked Lyle's parents.
His mom was sweet and welcoming to Cass. Lyle's dad was a bit harder to like
with the way he kept hammering at Lyle about returning to active service. He
did sort of redeem himself at the end.
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