May Contain Spoilers

Review:

I am a sucker for cowboys and veterinarians, so when I saw that The Heart of a Cowboy had both, I instantly borrowed it from my local library.  While parts of the story had me rolling my eyes, overall, I thought this was a good read.  Lots of soul searching from both protagonists, a dark secret that’s been entrusted to Natalie, and genuinely likable supporting characters had me finishing this off in less than an afternoon.

Natalie’s alcoholic father reveals the terrible secret he’s been hiding for twenty years, and a death bed promise has her driving from Kansas to the small town in Texas where her family used to live.  When she was a young girl, her parents uprooted the family, packing them into the family car and moving all the way to Kansas, all without an explanation.  When Natalie learns the reason for her family’s flight, she is sickened and ashamed.  Her father got behind the wheel when he was drunk and killed Natalie’s best friend’s mother.  Now it’s Natalie’s duty to let the Brody’s know what really happened that awful night, all those years ago.

Natalie is understandably struggling with her promise.  She doesn’t want to tell the Brody’s what happened, afraid of how it will alter their feelings for her.  With her father dead, there’s only her mother left to turn in for her crime of silence.  She’s also afraid that by bringing up the past, the Brody’s happiness will be destroyed.  Being a person of her word, though, she reluctantly heads back to Blue Falls to face the ugly past that her father left shattered behind him.

Garrett, now the only unwed Brody sibling, wonders why he hasn’t found a woman to settle down with.  All he wants is the love of a good woman, a family of his own, and the satisfaction of improving the cattle ranch that has been in the family for generations.  When Natalie comes back to town, he’s drawn to her beauty and kind nature.  He senses that she’s troubled and hiding something, but he can’t figure out what it might be.  When he finally learns the truth she’s been burdened with, he doesn’t think he can ever forgive her for lying by omission. 

I enjoyed The Heart of a Cowboy.  While I wondered at the work comp issues behind her injuries after helping out the small town vet (as well as who was going to foot the medical bills), and found her discharge from the hospital so soon after being trampled by a bull (I know, I know – NITPICKING, but after all my insurance issues and the medical crisis in my family, it made my eyebrows raise)questionable, but it did earn her a guest room at the Brody ranch, so she could feel even more emotional turmoil about the secret she just doesn’t have the courage to divulge. With a father more attached to the bottle than his children, and a stressed out, distracted mother, Natalie felt more at home with the Brodys than her own family, making her task even more difficult.  Mr. Brody is so kind to her that I could easily understand her reluctance to tell him the truth about his wife’s death.  Natalie’s father really was a coward, and I had a hard time accepting her loyalty to him. 

The romance is sweet and developed convincingly.  Even when Garrett’s anger and sense of betrayal at Natalie boils over, he’s easy to forgive because it is a shocking and heartbreaking revelation.  I enjoyed it, and I’m looking forward to reading more books in the Blue Falls, Texas series.

Grade:  B / B-

Review copy obtained from my local library

WHAT IS SHE HIDING?

Of all the Brody boys, Garrett would have been voted most likely to settle down. But somehow, the right woman never came along. Until now. Veterinarian Natalie Todd left Blue Falls when she was a kid, but she seems to fit right in. Her old friends are there and she has a job with the local vet if she wants it. Every kiss tells Garrett she feels the same way he does. So what’s holding her back?

Natalie can’t say, and every kiss just makes it harder. She came back to fulfill her father’s dying wish, and found a happiness even greater than she remembered. The secret she carries will destroy everything, plain and simple. That’s why she can’t tell him. Not yet. Maybe not ever.