"A tender western historical romance"

When widow Linnea McConaughy arrives at Will Tucker's Colorado ranch, all she wants is a chance to work and a place to stay until she can sort her life out. But when Will gets a look at the slender woman his sister has sent to be his cook and housekeeper, he angrily decrees that she is going right back where she came from. His is a remote, rough ranch and there is no room for frailty! But as he escorts her on the return trip, Will comes to realize that even though she is small she is willing to work, and something about her makes him suspect that she has nowhere else to go and no way to take care of herself, so he relents and gives her a chance to prove herself.

Linnea is afraid of this gruff, stern man so she does her best to do her job right and stay out of his way. Will may be accepting her now and willing to keep her on, but what will he do when he learns her secret? And what will she do to suppoert her baby when the time comes?

Fans of tender western historicals will love Linnea and Will's story! It touched my heart from the first page, and kept me longing to return to it whenever life intruded and I had to put it down. Will is an isolated man who doesn't know how to interact with people. Linnea is a victim of abuse who has found the perfect sanctuary with Will and the ranch's other inhabitants. Together they slowly begin to heal and to learn how to open their hearts, and trust love. Keep a tissue handy, you may need it!

Reviewed by Janice Bennett
Posted November 6, 2003

Will and Linnea's story is one I'd wanted to tell for quite a while now. When I had the opportunity to write it, I had fun pairing the mismatched couple and seeing how long Will could resist her.

Will Tucker is a gruff impatient rancher, eager to hire an experienced cook and housekeeper so he can shift part of the workload from his own shoulders to those of the capable Widow McConoughy. Then Linnea McConoughy shows up. She's young. Timid. And entirely inappropriate for the hardships and workload she's hired to handle. And she has secrets... After all,, what would be the fun of throwing these two people together if there weren't tantalizing secrets in the mix?

Summary

Secrets and lies made poor references, Linnea McConaughy knew. But her survival depended upon keeping her past hidden, especially from her employer, rancher Will Tucker. True, he'd shown her kindness, even tenderness, but could he ever accept her shameful past — and another man's baby?

Will Tucker did not like surprises, and Linnea McConaughy was not the sturdy, past-her-prime widow he'd expected to manage his household. Instead, she was a tiny slip of womanhood desperately seeking a place to belong. Yet much to his growing surprise, that place seemed to be in his home — and his heart!