Blurb
When county sheriff Cab Johnson gets a hunch, he’s learned to trust it, and his hunch tells him Rose Bellingham is in a peck of trouble. Bad enough he’s in love with her, bad enough she’s already engaged to Jason Thayer. He’s got to figure out what she’s hiding before he loses her for good.
Rose can’t stand one more person meddling in her business, even if that person is a handsome, eligible sheriff. She’s been controlled for far too long. But since her fiancé’s father is both her boss and landlord, she can’t dump Jason until she’s got somewhere to run. She’s found the perfect place: a patch of forest outside town. But with Cab watching her every move, she’s hard pressed to finish her hideaway so she can make her escape. Meanwhile, she’s not the only one with problems. Can she find a way to help her friends, too?
Just when Cab solves one mystery, more pop up. Where does Rose keep disappearing to? What’s wrong with Mia Start? Why is Hannah Chatham lying to her fiancé? At least he’s let Rose know he’s interested. And if he’s not mistaken, she’s interested, too.
Rose’s hideaway is perfect, until her friends invade it to escape their own troubles. Can she trust them to keep its whereabouts a secret? Does she want to hide from Cab anymore? Now that Jason’s out of the picture, is it safe to follow her heart?
When two unexpected visitors arrive with secrets of their own, Chance Creek must brace for its deadliest night ever. Can Cab figure out the connections between all the mysteries fast enough?
Or will Rose and her friends pay the ultimate price?
Review
In book five in the Cowboys of Chance Creek series, Rose Bellingham is engaged to her high school sweetheart whom she no longer loves. She works at her fiancé’s father’s jewelry store and lives on the elderly man’s property, and she always puts other people’s needs—especially men’s—before her own.
Sheriff Cab Johnson is smitten with Rose, but since she’s engaged, she’s off-limits. That doesn’t stop him from dreaming about her or stop his friends from pushing him and Rose together.
I love these characters and their chemistry—WOW! My favorite scene was their pool game, which was both hilarious and sexy.
Rose is a such a surprisingly strong woman. Even though she had a history of kowtowing to men, she quickly matured and developed a backbone.
Cab is the strong, silent type. He wants nothing more than to protect Rose, but he was man-enough to ease up and let her live her own life.
Unlike the other books in this series, so far, there is a third main character with scenes in her POV. Fila is an American who was kidnapped and held captive for years in Afghanistan. After she finally escaped with the aid of Aria’s House—an organization that helps girls and women escape unwanted arranged marriages—she made her way to Montana. I enjoyed these scenes just as much as the main story line, but the action finally revved up once the lines merged. There are a few unanswered questions dealing with Fila and the men following her, so I hope they’ll be wrapped up in future books.
As for the editing, sometimes a character’s dialogue and another character’s thoughts were in the same paragraph, which led to confusion and re-reading.
Jake and Hannah’s story is up next, but I’m really looking forward to learning more about Fila.
4 Stars
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