Janet Tronstad

Good book. Emma married Junior Rosen in good faith, only to discover upon his death that he was already married and a father. Though her unborn child could inherit half the family ranch if its paternity is proven, Emma looks at it as charity and declines the test, leaving her almost destitute. Her pride carries her through the funeral, where she refuses to fall apart.

Joshua, a ranch hand at the Rosen ranch, wants to help Emma after seeing her at the funeral. Several months later, at the behest of Bailey Rosen (the real wife), he tracks down Emma to invite her to come to the Rosen ranch. With a past that haunts him, Joshua looks at helping Emma as a chance for redemption.

Joshua and Emma are two people with deep-seated trust issues. As a child, he spent years bouncing around various family members and foster care, learning how to use a glib tongue to get what he wanted. After using those same "talents" as an adult, he turned his life around but still has trouble trusting others. Emma grew up with a mother and grandmother who constantly hammered home how untrustworthy men are, and Junior's actions proved it. Their situations sometimes forced them to accept charity, something they found personally repugnant. Now alone in the world, Emma is almost phobic about anything that smacks of charity.

Horrified by her living conditions when he arrived at her home, Joshua was determined to get her to the ranch. Considering her situation when he arrived, Emma's denials of her need made no sense to him. Convincing her to go was an uphill battle until an emergency with her seven-year-old stepbrother tipped the scales in Joshua's favor. I loved Joshua's reaction and how he jumped right in to help.

I liked seeing the relationship between Emma and Joshua develop. Once Emma and Tommy arrive at the ranch, a whole new world opens for them. Joshua wants nothing more than to fix things for them, but Emma's pride often gets in the way. Despite the occasional conflict, Joshua and Emma become friends, each of them eventually sharing their painful pasts. As she gets to know the residents of the ranch and town, Emma slowly loses some of her distrustfulness. The scenes between Emma and Joshua are sweet, and it's easy to see the feelings that spring up between them. I loved the surprise he prepared for her and his determination to make it perfect. I loved the scene at the hospital and held my breath when it looked like miscommunication might spoil things. But Joshua's former sweet-talking ability reappeared enough for him to show Emma the depth of his love. The epilogue was terrific and a nice wrap-up for the book.

The secondary characters were wonderful. I loved Max and his parrot Cupid. Ma's protectiveness of Emma at the beginning came through until he got Joshua's measure. He and Cupid provided some fun moments that helped relieve some tension. I loved that Mark and Bailey didn't blame Emma for what happened and encouraged her to feel part of the family. The two kids, Rosie and Tommy, were adorable. Rosie seems the type who could rule the world, and I'd love to see her with her own book twenty years down the line. Tommy was a sweet boy, and I loved the sensitive portrayal of his Down Syndrome.… (meer)