The Texas Renegade Returns - Charlene Sands (HD #2288 - Mar 2014)

Series: Texas Cattleman's Club: The Missing Mogul (Book 9)

Having recovered from amnesia, Alex del Toro has a new mission -- expose his kidnapper, and regain his fiancée's love. Though he moved to Royal, Texas, under false pretenses, there's nothing false about his feelings for the ravishing Cara Windsor -- who also happens to be his business rival's daughter.

Cara's instincts tell her to stay away from a man who lied to her, who tried to steal her family's company. Except she has a secret, too -- she's pregnant with his child.

Very good conclusion to the series.  Now that Alex has his memory back, he wants to know who was behind his kidnapping.  He also wants a chance to show Cara how much he really loves her.  Cara was devastated by his disappearance and then the revelation about who he really is.  She's really not sure if she can ever forgive him for what he did.

One of the things I liked best about Alex is that he took full responsibility for his actions.  Now that his memory has returned we are finding out more about what happened.  Alex had undergone the initial deception willingly, first as a way to gain his father's approval, but also to get out on his own and away from his father's overprotectiveness.  Once he had met and fallen in love with Cara he knew he had to tell her the truth, but he was kidnapped before he could.  He understands her anger but he is determined to win her back.  I loved seeing him use his memories of their time together to find ways to woo her again.  He also tried to respect her wishes when they were together and not push too hard.  Alex is not normally a patient man but he tried his best with Cara.  His happiness when he found out about the baby was just what Cara needed.  I loved seeing the things he did for her to show his love.

Cara is still having a hard time dealing with what happened with Alex.  Her feelings of betrayal when she found out who he was ran very deep.  Now that she's pregnant she doesn't know what to do.  She finally agrees to see him and is surprised when he takes her to see where he had planned to build their home.  She listens when he tells her about why he had come to Royal, what he had planned to do and what happened to him.  She was horrified by what he had gone through, but she still isn't ready to trust him again.  As she spends more time with him, through her friendship with his sister, her attitude starts to soften.  Having him be there to support her during a crisis makes her realize that her love for him is still there.  Just as she is ready to open herself up to him again, something happens to test that trust.  She has to decide what she is going to do.

Both Alex and Cara had fathers who were less than acceptable in their actions.  However, both had spent most of their lives trying to earn their fathers' approval.  Alex's arrival in Royal had been part of that attempt, but the time away from his father's control enabled him to mature and gain the confidence to stand up to him.  I loved what Alex did at the end to make his point to his father and show Cara that she was the most important thing in his life.  Cara had also spent her life trying to live up to her father's expectations.  She went against him when she fell in love with Alex, but wondered if he had been right when she found out the truth about Alex.  I loved seeing her confidence in her own abilities at the end.

I enjoyed the resolution of the mystery of the kidnapping.  The culprit wasn't a huge surprise, as I had my suspicions by the end of the previous book.  I did like finding out the details and the description of his arrest was satisfying.

Beneath the Stetson - Janice Maynard (HD #2276 - Jan 2014)

Series: Texas Cattleman's Club: The Missing Mogul (Book 7)

Millionaire rancher Gil Addison does not need Bailey Collins. She is far from the sweet homemaker he thought he wanted. But she is a beautiful woman with a badge, hot on the heels of a kidnapper in Gil's club. And Gil is hot for her!

Bailey can't let her career get sidetracked by the cowboy and his son. She's here to do a job, not find a family. Bailey won't stop till she gets her man in cuffs…. Trouble is, Gil won't stop till he gets this woman in his bed!

Very good continuation of the series.  As president of the TCC, Gil has to deal with Bailey and her investigation into Alex's kidnapping.  As a man, he has to deal with his intense attraction to her.  She's not at all what he had in mind for a future wife and mother for his son, but he can't seem to keep his distance.

I really liked both Gil and Bailey.  When his wife died, Gil decided that he would do everything in his power to give his son all the love and attention he needed.  He has turned most of the day to day work on his ranch over to his foreman.  While he has no regrets about making Cade the center of his life, he does admit to himself that it can be rather lonely.  He would like to find a woman who would be a good match for him and mother for his son, thinking that a traditional sort of woman would be perfect.

The story opens with Bailey arriving to do yet another interview with Gil, who still resents her poking around in the lives of his friends.  This time she meets Gil's son Cade, who gives Bailey a whole new perspective on Gil and what makes him tick.  

Bailey has been working hard on her investigation.  She is determined to find out who is responsible for Alex's kidnapping.  To that end she lets Gil know that she needs access to the membership records at the TCC.  This ends up requiring them to spend a lot of time together, and brings the sizzling attraction they feel for each other to the surface.  Bailey doesn't want the attraction to distract her from getting the job done, but being around Gil and Cade makes her realize that there is something very important missing from her life.  She has spent so long depending on no one except herself that allowing Gil to get close to her and leaning on him is a scary idea for her.

One of the things I liked most about the relationship between Gil and Bailey is that they are very aware of the effect it could have on Cade.  Gil knows that Cade has been on the lookout for a new mother and doesn't want to give him any ideas that could then cause him to be hurt.  Bailey's own experiences of having lost her mother at a young age gives her great empathy with Cade and allows her to relate to him very well.  There are some wonderful scenes of the two of them together that also make Gil realize what a wonderful mother Bailey would be.

Gil worries a lot about Bailey and her job.  With the kidnapper still unknown, he fears that she could be in danger as she moves further along in her investigation.  When she is attacked his fears for her are overwhelming.  The identity of the attacker was a very interesting twist that I did not see coming.  

What a Rancher Wants - Sarah M. Anderson (HD #2282 - Feb 2014)

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.

It Happened One Night - Kathie DeNosky (HD #2270 - Dec 2013)

Series: Texas Cattleman's Club: The Missing Mogul (Book 6)

Josh Gordon has no intention of funding the Texas Cattleman's Club day-care center, even if sexy Kiley Roberts is the one asking. Neither has forgotten the explosive night they spent together three years ago. The temptation to mix business and pleasure is undeniable, but it's Kiley's devotion to her daughter that has Josh dreaming of a family of his own. But when Josh questions who the little girl's father really is, will the truth drive them apart or bring them even closer together?

This is the sixth book in the Missing Mogul series.  Alex is back, but still has no memory of who he is or what happened to him.  We don't see much of him in this story.  I'm really looking forward to finding out what happened.

Josh starts out as being a bit of a butt head.  He has no intention of giving Kiley the added funding and barely pays attention to her presentation.  It isn't until he discovers she's the woman he mistakenly slept with three years ago that he comes up with another idea.  He offers her an extra month's funding so that he can observe the center and she can convince him that the day care is actually worth it.  Kiley isn't exactly thrilled with the idea of him popping in and out.  The attraction between them is even stronger than it was and she doesn't want it to affect her job.  Josh would really like a chance to get to know her for real this time.  I loved his surprise at finding out she had a child and how quickly he adapted his plans so that Emmie was included.  He was really out of his comfort zone when he was around her, but he had a really sweet way of acting with her.  It didn't take too long for him to get really comfortable with her.  Josh has always been the carefree bachelor type of guy, but being around Kiley and Emmie has started to change him.  I thought he was coming around to being a really nice guy.  He realized that his feelings for Kiley were different than for anyone else he'd been with, but he really fought the idea that he was in love.  When he found out about being Emmie's father he didn't handle the news well and I really wanted to shake him.  I liked what he did at the end as a way to make amends, it was definitely a "go big" moment.

Kiley had been divorced from her husband for a long time.  He had signed away all his rights to Emmie and acted like they didn't even exist.  Kiley is very independent and works hard at being able to support Emmie on her own.  The director job is perfect for her because she can have Emmie there with her.  When she first talks with Josh he isn't aware of their history because they had not actually seen each other that night.  She isn't happy about telling him, but knows she has to.  She really doesn't expect their attraction to be so strong.  I found the idea that she hadn't realized the true paternity of Emmie a little strange until it was explained, but it added an extra twist to the story.  As her suspicions grew she spent a lot of time watching the way they interacted and it changed the way she had thought of him before.  Kiley spent a lot of time trying to figure out the best way to tell him and feared what his reaction would be. Her inner struggles with how and when to tell him showed her love for him, but also her insecurity about what he felt for her. Though their relationship began because of simple attraction, Kiley's love for Josh grew quickly.  I think it was really enhanced because she saw how wonderful Josh was with Emmie and how sure she was that he would be good to her.  

There was some satisfaction at the end when the identity of the day care vandal was discovered.  I admit that it was exactly who I thought it was.  I really enjoyed the discovery and the way the vandal is going to be dealt with.