HEALING A HEART - Amy Lillard
Cattle Creek, Book 2
Berkley Sensation
ISBN:  978-1-1019-9095-7
February 2017
Contemporary Romance

Cattle Creek, Texas - Present Day

Jake Langston lost his wife five years ago and returned home to raise their baby alone, but with the help of his extended family.  He's done just fine without a wife, thank you very much, but today, he's going to throttle his sister-in-law, Jessie.  Sweet Jessie is so much in love with his brother Seth that she just can't leave well enough alone; she had to publicize the fact that Jake is one of the most eligible—and wealthiest—bachelors in Texas!  So instead of ranching, Jake has spent most of his recent days chasing off women who just show up itching to become the next Mrs. Jake Langston.  And here's one more, driving up in a VW bug, dressed like a hippy in sandals.  But there is something familiar about this particular woman, and although Jake can't place her, he knows he has seen her before . . .

Bryn Talbot doesn't want to marry Jake Langston, far from it.  She's just here to deliver her news, then be on her way.  But when Jake's Grandma Esther ushers her into the house, Bryn has only one option, she blurts out her news:  she's pregnant!  Jake snaps back at her, telling her to "get rid of it," all within the hearing of his mother Evelyn and Grandma Esther.  And of course, they invite Bryn to stay awhile.

Jake has always been upstanding and straight laced.  Yes, he lost himself in a bottle for a time after his wife died, but then he righted himself and stayed strong for his daughter Wesley.  Until that one night in Austin, when he let himself go, straight into the arms of a beautiful woman: Bryn.  How could he have been so stupid?

Bryn wants nothing from Jake, but after losing first her parents, and then her only sister, she feels an obligation to at least inform Jake about the baby.  Jake offers to marry her, Bryn turns him down, but the Langston family won't let her get away; they can see the attraction between these two even if Jake and Bryn choose to ignore their feelings.  A tangled set of problems presents many obstacles to their happily ever after.  Will Jake and Bryn be able to work things out?

HEALING A HEART is a wonderful book!  It's the second novel in the Cattle Creek Series , following LOVING A LAWMAN (May 2016), which is Seth and Jessie's story.  Dynamic secondary characters populate these books, but each story stands alone.  Although I don't have information on future books, I am sure more stories are in the works for the remaining brothers, Chase, Tyler, and Mav.  Ms. Lillard's novels are always a treat for the soul; don't miss HEALING A HEART!

Diana Risso