THE RANCHER'S SECOND CHANCE By Davalynn Spencer

 

The Rancher's Second Chance

 

The Rancher's Second Chance by Davalynn Spencer

I love a sweet romance with some edginess and I especially love one that brings childhood sweethearts back together for their happily ever after. From the beginning you are hooked by the mysterious cowboy with a limp and an eye patch coming to the rescue of a young lady in high heels struggling to pull up a for sale sign out of a pasture.

Laura Beth, our heroine, has returned home following the death of her mother and the betrayal of her fiancee. She finds that her childhood friend, Eli Hawthorne has already returned with war injuries that have left him battle scarred inside and out. They meet again under an Old Oak that has special significance from their childhood and will represent something even more important in the story.

While, Eli battles, cattle rustlers, Laura deals with a peeping Tom. She reaches out to Eli and Garcia, his long time friend and Ranch partner ministering with food and caring; while Eli, secretly harboring deeper feelings, can't help but appoint himself her protector.

Ms. Spencer took every day things and spun her story around them. For example, Laura Bell adopts kittens and then a dog. Many of us pet owners can identify. Eli takes Laura to the local feed store and then out to a local burger place to eat. The author's descriptions and dialog are simple but real making you feel a part of the characters and their story. Another example, when Eli can't think for obsessing over Laura Beth, he turns in his bed looking out the window in time to catch a glimpse of someone sneaking around outside Laura's residence--believable because most of us obsess over the one we think is the one and find ourselves striving for just a glimpse of them.

Because the hero and heroine had a history, you can believe that in a few months they could come to love each other. My most favorite part is the anticipation as Laura Beth watches for a letter in her mailbox. I kept wanting to see her find a letter in the mailbox...something we all can relate, the letter that never comes or the letter that surprises us. Well done, Ms. Spencer, you can be sure I will look forward to more by this author.