Two Pretenders (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781512788457)

This story is down-to-earth weaving a beautiful tale of ranch life in the 1950's. Widowed, JoAnn Cobb, her three children, and her Grandpop's old side-kick, Rusty, are full of hope to begin a new life on her Grandpop's horse ranch. Obstacles block her path: Gabe, a holdout from her teen age past, will capture your heart, for he is still there, single, and ready to lay down his life to help any way he can. To add to the intrigue, and located on the next ranch, is an insensitive slaughterhouse, where horses are butchered for the international market.

JoAnn has good justification to quit at the get go, to protect her children, but she has a promise to keep to her Grandpop, whose ranch she inherited, hence, with a late seasonal start, she hires cowboys and farm hands to plow and plant the fields, prepare the pastures, mend fences, and renovate buildings.

Gabe will capture your heart in a romantic twist, for he is around at every turn just as honorable and respectful as ever. He is there when horses get sick or hurt, buildings catch fire, and rustling of her stock begins. He is there when the action propels this story to unexpected places. Will he still be there if she can ever overcome the memories of her former husband and the barriers she has built up to keep her children safe, or, will she simply yield to the pull of her heart?