Ing Cruz
Written on Apr 26, 2011
Ann Marie has placed an ad for a horse trainer to help break her horse Black Jack. Her husband John, passed away 7 months ago and she's been managing the farm and raising her son, Tyler, on her own. Black Jack was the their winning ticket in the horse races. The horse packs some speed but he's temperamental.
Travis Brooks answers the ad and shows up at the farm. Travis has made a name for himself, as a horse trainer. He's taken aback when he realizes that his boss is a woman. Not just a woman but an attractive one he's very much interested in spending some "bed time" with. Travis agrees to stay on for 6 months to help break Black Jack and try to get him ready to be entered to his first horse race.
These two have baggage and are definitely not looking for anything long-term. The attraction is instant and constant for both Ann Marie and Travis. They agree to enjoy each other during the 6 months while Travis is there and at the end of the 6 months either party can just walk away without any hurt feelings. This all sounds great but neither expect to find that they fit so perfectly together and fill a void that was missing. Could there be more for these two after 6 months?
My Thoughts:
This was a fast and sexy read by Sandy Sullivan. This is a first time author for me and I'll be checking out her other books. I enjoyed the storyline of the widow and horse trainer. It was a nice mixture of romance, heat and angst set in the backdrop of the cowboy world.
Ann Marie is no wilting flower. When she and Travis first meet she sets the boy straight when he had reservations working for a woman. Her previous marriage wasn't a love match. She married John to get away from her abusive father. She and John had a comfortable marriage that was based more on companionship then heat. Ann Marie is shocked at her reaction to Travis. The feelings and constant heat surprises the heck out of Ann Marie. I liked Ann Marie. She's mature, realistic, hard-worker and honest. When she and Travis makes their bargain she goes into it with both eyes open with no ulterior motive.
Travis is sexy. He is still emotionally unavailable after the tragic death of his son and his nightmare of a marriage to a cheating ex-wife. He never ever, ever, ever wants to become emotionally tied again. Seriously this guy is very adamant about ever marrying or giving his heart away ever again. Ann Marie and her son scares him to death. Right away he wants to pick up and leave because mother and son draws him in and makes him care too much. I like when a man is scared. It is always so much fun and entertaining to watch them fight and fight but can't help falling anyway.
These two together bring lots of heat. There is plenty of sex and romance in this story. There is a little sprinkle of mystery thrown in there to keep the story going and give it a bit more conflict. I did have some issues with the book. The ex-wife was thrown into the story at the beginning for like three seconds. It didn't make sense having her show up and it could have done without that scene. The mystery was a bit weak and random bad guys show up towards the end that really didn't gel much. The dialogue sometimes was a bit mechanical and cheesy. Despite those little hiccups the story itself was still entertaining and the love story was sweet and realistic.
Anyone who enjoys a story with a sexy cowboy, smart woman, and a bit of emotional angst should give this book a try.