FIVE Blue Ribbons from Romance Junkies!
The ranch used to be all male, but now, there is Emma for Deke and her daughter, Sammie Jo, age four. Clint loves Emma just like a sister. Deke was at one point jealous of their relationship. Abigail Martin came home from Dallas after her father, Ross died of a heart attack. Clint realized that he still loves her, not just as his best friend, but also as a woman. Abby tells Clint she is “practically engaged to John”. Clint discovers that Abby has a secret that she did not want him to know. Clint makes up his mind, with the help of Emma, that he is going to “court” Abby. Clint has not been out with a woman in three years. Because Clint is so rusty in the dating field, Emma has to show Clint all the ins and outs of courting Abby.
Bud, the foreman at the Martin Ranch quit the day of the funeral so Judy Martin, Abby’s mother, hires Clint as foreman until they can hire another one. This does not make Abby too happy. Clint moves into the bunkhouse. It definitely bothers Abby that Clint is so close. Will Abby break her engagement to John for Clint? Will she forgive him for the past? Will Judy, interfere once too often? Will Clint allow Abby to continue the farce?
This book, is as, if not, more entertaining than CHIEF COOK AND BOTTLE WASHER –Travers Brother Book 1. I love a good family story and this had all the elements that make you laugh and cry, and thank your lucky stars that you have a family. Ms. Hestand again goes all the way with your emotions. I have to give this one a 5. I definitely look forward to reading and reviewing anything that Rita Hestand writes.
by PHYLLIS....OF ROMANCE JUNKIES
FOUR ROSES from Love Romances
It was Christmas and the town was buzzing with excitement. Clint was with his friends when he thought he saw her. He left his friends searching to find the woman, he finally found her and it was the girl he had hurt years ago, it was Abby, his childhood best friend, his first love, the woman his heart still ached for.
Abby was shocked to see Clint. She had loved him and he had not been there for her like she had wanted. Abby had kept a secret from Clint, a year three secret that Clint met face to face, his son and Abby’s son Clay. He was angry with her for not telling him. He loved children and wanted young Clay in his life but Abby was engaged and once married John would be Clay’s father.
Family was every thing to the Travers. Clint was not ready to let go of his son so easily and he was not ready to let the woman he had always loved marry another man. Foolish secrets kept them apart; a young girl’s image of her father clouded her mind and the truth. Ross Martin had treasured his little girl and wanted more for her then a cowboy and a true cowboy was all Clint knew how to be. So they were kept apart. As the days passed Clint courted her, trying to prove to her that she had always been in his heart. As the days pass young Clay becomes closer to the man he knew as Uncle Clint. Can time heal old wounds? Can Abby face the truth and accept the fact that Clint has always been the one and his heart has always belonged to her?
This is not only a romantic countrified story but also exciting to read. This reviewer even got goose bumps when Clint delivers his nephew. The relationship between Clay and Clint is sweet and you find yourself just wanting for him to hurry and tell his son the truth. Abby’s pain is real and most women have experienced this hurt. The ending is perfect and the passion between Clint and Abby is exhausting, knowing they both want each other but holding out afraid to get hurt. A good read.
Reviewed by RUBY
of Love Romances Title: Courting Abby
Author: Rita Hestand
Publisher: Writers Exchange E-Publishing
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publication date: 2003
ISBN: 1-920741-44-5
Page Count: 100
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewer: Christine Ventura
Clint Travers was a rodeo cowboy. One of the Travers men, he had loved being a rodeo cowboy until he was injured and finally realized that there was more to life than the thrill of the rodeo circuit. He knew that he had to begin putting his roots down. And he did. Living as a rodeo cowboy taught him that there shouldn’t be any regrets in life. Live for the moment. That was a motto that he believed in. But there is one thing he still regrets, he regrets letting go of the woman he loved: Abby Martin.
Abby Martin had been in love with Clint Travers since she was young. They had become best friends and Clint always came to her for advice. But one night, nursing a broken heart, Clint came to her and they had made love. The day after things went terrible wrong. She never saw Clint again. And her father sent her away because she'd found out she was pregnant.
Now Abby is back in town. Her father had recently died and she had to be there for her mother. Already engaged, she knows that Clint Travers can no longer touch her heart or hurt her ever again. But Clint Travers has never been known to give up easily and now that the one woman he has loved had come back, he has also decided to begin Courting Abby.
A very nice and heart-warming story, Clint Travers and the other Travers brothers shine in their signature style as a set of brothers who will always be there for each other through thick and thin, whose blood run with the loyalty and love that only family can ever evoke. Abby Martin is an interesting heroine. A woman who has grown up and been hurt, she is both strong and delicate at the same time. She is slightly cynical and hardhearted on the outside, but soft and truly warm-hearted on the inside. I recommend this book for those of you who are looking for a great read. With a cup of hot chocolate, the air conditioner turned on high and snuggled in your bed, this book is as fuzzy and warm as it can get.