Series: Texas Cattleman's Club: The Missing Mogul (Book 8)
When it comes to the Texas Cattleman's Club, what a
rancher wants, a rancher gets...
Nothing's come easy to Chance McDaniel since his best
friend betrayed him. And when the deception explodes into a Texas-sized
scandal, his best friend's sister, Gabriella del Toro, shows up to pick up the
pieces. Now Chance's luck is about to change. He wants this innocent beauty,
and seducing her has become his top priority.
Gabriella's sheltered upbringing has always left her
wanting more. Now, with this rich rancher, she sees a chance to break free. But
will the web of deception her family has woven ensnare her yet again?
Very good book. Chance is still dealing with the fallout of Alex's disappearance and reappearance. Even though Alex was his best friend, many people consider Chance to be the number one suspect. All Chance wants is the opportunity to talk to Alex and try to clear his name. When he goes to Alex's home, he doesn't see Alex but he does meet his sister Gabriella. He is immediately attracted to her and the feeling appears to be mutual.
I really liked both Chance and Gabriella. Gabriella has come to Texas from her home in Mexico along with her father to take care of her brother Alex. It also gives her a chance to get away from her home estate where she is practically a prisoner. Because her father worries about kidnapping she always has a bodyguard with her plus she is not allowed to do anything on her own. At the age of twenty-seven, Gabriella is desperate to experience a normal life. She's hoping to be able to get out and about in Texas, but so far she has been stuck in Alex's house. That changes when she meets Chance, who besides being incredibly good looking, is also the main suspect in Alex's disappearance. She decides that spending time with him would be a good way to find out if he had anything to do with the kidnapping. It doesn't take long for her to realize that Chance was completely innocent of the accusations. That doesn't stop her from continuing to spend time with him. I loved seeing the way that his attentions give her the boost of confidence she needs to start standing up for herself. She has never had someone work so hard to take care of her and take the time to discover what her hopes and dreams are. Her love for him grew the more time they spent together and she really wanted to believe that a relationship between them would work. Her inexperience and insecurities showed at the end when there was a misunderstanding between them, but she also had the courage to seek out the truth. I loved the relationship she had with her bodyguard and the way she would get him to help her do things against his will. I did not like her father at all and his actions at the end were horrible.
Chance is still reeling from all the things he is finding out about Alex, the man he thought was his friend. He doesn't understand how someone who claimed to be a friend could have told him so many lies. Alex's disappearance put Chance on the hotseat as a suspect which made him even madder. I felt so bad for him with the way people were treating him, even though law enforcement had cleared him. One day he finally has enough and storms over to Alex's house to confront him. He doesn't get near Alex, but he does meet Gabriella. He's very attracted to her, but he's not sure he can trust her since she could be as big a liar as her brother. I loved seeing him get her to his ranch so that they could get to know each other. He thinks getting closer to her could get him a chance to find out what's going on with Alex. As he gets to know her he is disturbed by the way she seems to be held prisoner by her father. I loved the sweetness and sensitivity he showed as he took her riding, out to dinner, and gave her the chance to work with metal the way she did at home. I loved his determination to give her whatever she wanted. Their growing closeness made him dream of what it would be like to have her in his life permanently and he tried to think of ways they could still see each other if she went back to Mexico. I loved seeing the way he jumped into action at the end when Gabriella appeared to be missing and then when the truth was discovered. The ending for the two of them was fantastic.
The mystery involving Alex himself is starting to come together. It appears that his memory loss isn't as extensive as he has been portraying. It looks like he may have a plan of some sort that will become clear in the next book. I don't like the way his actions are hurting Chance and feel like he could have told him what was going on. There were a couple of things in the book that gave me an idea of who might be behind Alex's kidnapping and I'm looking forward to seeing if I am right.
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