The Little Boy Had His Eyes
Cody Masters always believed that nothing could keep him
and his high school sweetheart, Laura Duke, apart. Not her parents, not town
gossip -- not even a jail sentence! But when the cowboy returns home, he finds
a new man in Laura's life. Johnny is three-and-a-half-feet tall, adores his
pony and stares back at Cody with all-too-familiar blue eyes…
The Mother Had His Heart
Even though Laura insists a quickie marriage produced
Johnny, Cody isn't giving up on his dream of their family. The only problem is
getting her -- and the rest of the town -- to trust him again. Besides, Laura
is harboring a secret that is keeping them apart but could also bond them, and
little Johnny, forever!
Good book. Laura Duke is visiting her neighbor and
babysitter when she is stunned to see the girl's brother, Cody. Cody was sent
to prison for murdering his abusive stepfather. Cody's early release was a
surprise and left Laura in a quandary.
Cody's early release from prison was engineered by
Laura's father, a prominent rancher who wants the land that Cody's family ranch
sits on. As part of his parole, Cody must work for Mr. Duke, who is adamant
that Cody toe the line, and also stay away from Laura.
Cody and Laura have a history together. In high school,
he and Laura were secret sweethearts who believed that nothing could keep them
apart. Then Cody ended up in jail, and Laura had a short-lived marriage that
produced an adorable son. She never talks about the marriage, but her son is
the center of her life. Cody is hurt at first, but quickly bonds with little
Johnny, renewing his determination to get Laura back in his life.
I liked the rekindling of the relationship between Cody
and Laura. The feelings between them had never died, and being near each other
again simply fanned the flames. I ached for Cody because of the way everyone
treated him. He had paid his debt and deserved a chance to live a normal life.
I especially hurt for him at the church picnic and loved the way that Laura
supported him. I also liked that Laura didn't keep the truth from Cody for very
long, even though she wasn't ready to tell anyone else. Laura frustrated me
during a large part of the book because of how she let the thought of other
people's opinions keep her from fully accepting Cody back into her life. Her
attitude broke Cody's heart and made me wonder how they would ever get past it.
I enjoyed the scene at the barn with Cody's parole officer, and how Laura
finally began to show a little spine. But it was the events later that night
that brought everything to a head. I loved Cody's calm and collected attitude
during the crisis and how he was the one to take charge. And I loved the flabbergasted
reactions when Laura dropped her bombshell. I was happy to see that she finally
realized what she had done and was able to move past it.
The epilogue was good. I liked seeing the changes in
Laura's parents and their relationship with Cody's family. There was an
interesting twist at the end of it, even though it wasn't too much of a
surprise to me.
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