Saturday, May 24, 2014

The Baby Truth - Stella Bagwell (HSE #2339 - June 2014)

Series: Men of the West (Book 28)

She couldn't be pregnant...
Except apparently she was Still, Sassy Matthews was a woman on a mission. She'd come to Carson City to find her biological parents--not to faint in the arms of the lawyer who'd met her plane Of course, finding out she was going to be a mommy didn't exactly fit into her plans either. Now what was a girl to do?

Jett Sundell wanted to keep an eye on Sassy--and not just because her new "family" suspected her of being a gold digger. Sassy captured his interest from the second she fainted into his arms, but she was pregnant with another man's child Jett knew he might be able to provide Sassy with the link to her past, but she might just be the key to his future.

Sassy's life is in quite a bit of turmoil. Her boyfriend recently died in a rodeo accident and she's just discovered she's pregnant with his baby. She's also just found out that she was adopted and is in search of information on who she really is. Her boyfriend had noticed her resemblance to a friend of his and now she's been invited to meet his family and see if they can find out if there's a connection. Fainting into the arms of lawyer Jett Sundell is not exactly the start she had in mind. 

Jett expects that Sassy's arrival is going to cause some turmoil of its own, as she is a dead ringer for one of the Calhoun brothers. He has also developed a fierce protectiveness for the beautiful redhead. This is as unwelcome as it is unexpected. Years ago Jett had been married to a woman whose love had turned to obsession and by the end of the marriage he was convinced that love is an illusion. Now he has shut himself off from any emotional entanglements. 

Sassy doesn't want to cause any trouble for the Calhouns, she just wants to see if they know anything about her parents. The Calhoun grandfather's violent reaction to her appearance creates suspicion in Jett and the other Calhouns that he knows something important. As Jett and the others investigate, he convinces Sassy to stick around. This puts the two of them in far more close contact than either is comfortable with.

Both Sassy and Jett are fighting their feelings really hard. Sassy feels that she has far too much going on in her life now to add a relationship to it. Jett is flat out afraid to risk his heart again and keeps reminding Sassy (and himself) that he no longer believes in love. I really enjoyed seeing Sassy get involved in life on Jett's ranch. Everything she does brings her closer to Jett. He likes having her there on his ranch and is happier than he's ever been. When the attraction between them overcomes their reservations, each believes that they can keep their emotions out of it and walk away unscathed when the time comes. When Sassy realizes she's in love with Jett, she has to decide if she's willing to settle for less or stand up for her own needs.

I also enjoyed the mystery of Sassy's connection to the Calhouns. I liked seeing Jett convince Sassy that it was worth pursuing, not because of any gain, but because he knew she would always wonder if she didn't. Sassy really worried about whether her presence would cause trouble among the family members. I liked the encouragement she received from Jett and the younger Calhouns. There was an interesting twist to the solving of the mystery, but it made the ending very satisfying. I loved the epilogue as an update on how things turned out for Sassy and Jett. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the Calhouns.

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