Diana Palmer

Abby inherits a ranch in the small town of Catelow and moves back there with her young niece Lucy after several years living in Denver. Her neighbor is the sheriff, Cody, who raged at Abby and Lucy just after the death of his wife because he blamed Lucy for giving her the disease that killed her. There's a lot of drama with a bank robbery and several attempted murders over inheritances by a con man.
Abby is a sweetheart, kind to everyone, and raising Lucy well. Cody, however, is one of the worst idiots ever meant to be the hero. He married his wife after two days. For the two years they were married before her death, she spent most of the time in Denver, leaving Cody behind in Wyoming except for a few days a month. She was cold to him and mostly ignored him, yet he mourned her desperately for the last six years. He's hot and cold with Abby, noting frequently that she's not attractive when compared to other women, and he takes up with the more attractive blonde trooper. He is also one of the most clueless men I've ever read in a book.
The writing is repetitive (one example is how often Lucy or Abby mention how awful Denver is because they couldn't have pets and the schools were dangerous). The mystery plot is very piecemeal, just all over the place, without much in the way of surprises. There are also many political inserts. I don't like that, whether red or blue, but if an author wants to do that, work it in so it makes sense. You can't tell me small towns are so much safer when you show me that both the central characters (among others) were abused by their fathers. You can't tell me that a small town has more good people when I'm shown that others or the church doesn't help the woman abused by her husband. There are other examples, but this was enough to ruin what little romance was actually there.… (meer)

From the back of the book:
"Gabriel Brandon had been her hero ever since she was a girl and he'd rescued her, an orphan, from sure ruin. And Michelle Godrey had loved him forever, the mysterious rancher with the dark eyes, her protector and guardian angel. Now she'd blossomed into a woman."
I really liked this read. Diana Palmer is one of my favorite authors. No bad language needed in her books. It was a time fast reading book from when Gabriel and Michelle met.
I gave it a 5 star rating. This is from a paperback I own and my second read of the book.… (meer)