Red's Hot Cowboy - Carolyn Brown (Sourcebooks Casablanca - Aug 2011)

Series: Spikes & Spurs (Book 2)

HE WASN'T LOOKING FOR TROUBLE...

But when the cops are knocking on your door, trouble's definitely found you. And this is where Wil Marshall finds himself after checking in to the Longhorn Inn. It could all be a big mistake, but Wil's not getting much sleep. Then the motel owner-who is drop dead gorgeous and feisty to boot-saves him from an even worse night behind bars. Now he owes her one, big time...

BUT TROUBLE COMES IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES...

Pearl never wanted that run-down motel, but her aunt didn't leave her much choice. And then this steaming hot cowboy shows up looking for a place to rest. Next thing she knows, she wants to offer him more than just room service. But if he calls her Red one more time, he won't be the only one accused of murder...

Sparks are definitely flying and before long, the Do Not Disturb sign might be swinging from the door...

Really fun book.  When Pearl inherited her aunt's motel she quit her fancy banking job and moved to Henrietta to run it.  She's full of ideas of how she wants to make it better once she's learned a bit more about the business.  On Christmas Eve an ice storm knocks out power to half the town and her motel fills up quickly.  She rents the last room to Wil Marshall and his dog.  He's really hot, but looks like a bad boy to her and she's had her fill of those and tells herself to keep her distance.  It only reinforces her belief when the cops come looking for him the next day.  But since she knows he has an alibi, off she goes to spring him from jail.

Wil finds Pearl really hot and loves her feisty attitude. He can't resist teasing her whenever he sees her during that long night.  He's grateful for her help in clearing his name and gives her a hand at the motel to pay her back for the hours she spent helping him.  She may be living and working in the small town, but he sees her as a city girl all the way, especially when he overhears the many calls she gets from men friends in the city.  He can't seem to stay away from her though, and keeps finding reasons to be with her.

I loved the teasing between these two.  Wil loves calling her Red, which he knows really irritates her, and does it just to see her fuss at him.  He's attracted to her, knows she's attracted to him, and is quite willing to pursue that attraction and see where it goes.  I loved the way he took her on dates, from going out to dinner to a romantic picnic in the barn loft so he can show her an awesome sunset.  He's cautious about having her over to his place for dinner, having been burned by a woman who tried to take over his life.  I loved seeing him call her at night so they could talk on the phone, especially if they hadn't seen each other during the day.  His sweetness and caring when he took care of her after she fell down his stairs was awesome.  I loved that he could tease her one minute and be sweet the next.  I also enjoyed seeing that they could be serious together also.

Pearl is a lot of fun.  She is definitely independent and has no trouble standing up for herself.  The Christmas Eve influx of guests to the motel shows her ability to think on her feet very well. The descriptions of the various guests were fantastic and I loved seeing her deal with the various crises. I loved seeing her give Wil a piece of her mind over his dog, but also save him from the teenage girls who were going to cause him trouble.  In spite of being worried about falling for a "bad boy" she took the time to make sure the cops knew he couldn't have committed that murder.  I loved seeing her put him to work cleaning rooms when he offered to help.  Even though she tried to keep her distance she just couldn't resist being with him.  I loved the way they kept trying to outdo each other.  The shots competition on New Year's Eve was hysterical.

I loved the development of their romance as they actually took the time to get to know each other.  They got pretty comfortable with each other before they pulled their families into the mix.  I loved the Sunday dinners that they had with the other's family.  Wil's family, especially his mother, were a little hard to like at the beginning.  I liked the way that Pearl held her own and the way his mom came around a few days later.  Wil's visit to Pearl's family was great.  I enjoyed her teasing him before they got there by exaggerating about her female relations and the slightly panicked look he gave her before she came clean.  I really liked the whole conversation Pearl had with them while Wil was with her father.  It was easy to see where Pearl got her attitude.  Especially loved the way she made Wil blush!

The secondary characters always make the books even better.  It was fun seeing more of Austin and Rye from the first book and getting their input on the relationship between Wil and Pearl.  One of the best characters is Lucy, the abused woman that Pearl hires to help at the motel.  I loved her back story and the way it highlighted Pearl's caring personality.  It was fun to see Lucy grow from nervous to outgoing and what a big part of the story she became.  I liked the way that she and Pearl made taking care of abused women such an important part of their lives. I loved some of the things Lucy said to Pearl and how she did her best to help things along with Pearl and Wil.