LONE HEART PASS - Jodi Thomas
A Ransom Canyon Book
HQN Books
ISBN: 978-0373789214
May 2016
Contemporary Romance

Crossroads, Texas - 2009

Jubilee Hamilton's candidate has lost, which pretty much means Jubilee has lost too. Plus her boyfriend has up and moved out, letting her know in no uncertain terms that her dedication to her job over their relationship is the cause. Having alienated her parents when she didn't show up to her older sister's wedding, and knowing that Destiny, that same older sister can't stand her, Jubilee doesn't have a lot of choices. When she finds an envelope in her pile of unopened mail hand-addressed to her, she is stunned to open it and find that her great-grandfather had died two months ago and left her his ranch in Texas. Not having any other opportunities, Jubilee packs her apartment and moves to Texas. She has nothing but loving memories of her summers spent there with the old man, and Jubilee is determined to do things right this time.

Charley Collins missed finishing college by a few months when he had to get married. Now divorced and a single father, he scrapes along working where he can. His little daughter, Lillie, is his life, and he will do anything for her. When Jubilee Hamilton comes to Crossroads to claim her inheritance, she hires Charley to help her get the ranch back up to snuff. Charley isn't interested in anything but putting money aside to buy his own land, but his new boss sure is a looker! She has made it perfectly clear that she's not interested in anything about him but his skill and knowledge of ranching. He moves onto the ranch with Lillie, taking over a small cottage near the main house. Jubilee wants to learn everything, and Charley first needs to teach her how to leave the city girl behind and become a country girl.

Fourteen year-old Thatcher Jones has been more or less on his own for years. His mother shows up every so often with a new man, and then disappears again, leaving Thatcher alone in the run-down shack in the Breaks, a community of people who avoid life in general. Thatcher is with Sheriff Brigman when a family comes in to report finding a body. And it's a pretty good chance that the man lived in a place similar to Thatcher and his mother's.

The Ransom Canyon characters from previous books come together in this latest story in the series. Jubilee and Charley must learn to work as a team and to try and put their family histories behind them. Both have trust issues, and neither is looking for love. Thatcher yearns for someone to lean on, and to be useful, and he finds both with Charley and Sheriff Brigman. The sheriff's daughter, Lauren, is at loose ends as she finishes college, and helps her good friend Tim O'Grady with his search for the killer of the unknown man. Why was he killed? And, more important, who was he? No one is prepared for the dangers that lurk ahead.

LONE HEART PASS is another character-driven, romantic tale with a bit of mystery and adventure. Each person is intimately drawn, and it's difficult not to care for them. As in real life, no one's family is perfect, not everything goes as expected, and curve balls can change anyone's plans. Depicting small town life in Texas is Jodi Thomas's forte, and LONE HEART PASS shouldn't be missed.

Jani Brooks