The Cowgirl's Secret by Laura Altom

The Cowgirl’s Secret is an emotionally-charged story with so much anguish that it completely distracted from the romance.  I’ll be very honest: if you’re a survivor of any kind of sexual abuse, this story could be triggering, and at the very least, painful to read. 

Daisy Buckhorn left Weed Gulch, Oklahoma ten years ago, pregnant and fearing for the safety of herself and her unborn child.  For years, Daisy was molested by a trusted family friend.  And as any truly evil child predator will do, he put a fear so deeply into her soul that she had no choice but to run without telling anyone.  She’s made a new life for herself as Julie Smith, a successful lawyer in San Francisco.  She yearns for home and the people she left behind.  Most especially she misses Luke Montgomery, her high school sweetheart.

The Buckhorn family has never stopped looking for Daisy.  Luke follows-up on one of the leads, finding himself face-to-face with the woman who broke his heart so long ago.  Luke wants answers that Daisy is having a hard time giving him.  She wants to trust him with what happened to her, but the shame she still feels is so heavy that she can’t.  When Daisy’s son, Kolt, arrives suddenly, Luke realizes she took much more from him 10 years ago than he ever would’ve guessed.  To Daisy’s credit, she doesn’t try making excuses for not telling Luke she was pregnant.  Her apologies were that of a woman who’d spent many years feeling guilty for what she’d done.

Daisy returns home to Oklahoma without Kolt the first time.  She wants to clear the air with family and she needs them to know her secret.  Everyone assumes the secret is that she was ashamed of a teen pregnancy.  Luke is blinded by the pain he felt when she abandoned him, and now the added loss of missing out in his son’s life.  There were times his words were downright cruel. Despite everything, Daisy makes the decision she and Kolt will move back home to Oklahoma.  This isn’t an easy task.  On top of all the anger from everyone, the man who molested her still lives on her family’s ranch.  Her days are spent dealing with the guilt everyone is doling out at her for leaving and keeping Kolt away; while she’s consumed with fear over seeing her molester again.  If she had to say “I’m sorry” one more time to Luke or any of her family, I thought I’d cry in desperation for her!

It takes coming face-to-face with her molester for Daisy to find the courage to speak.  And once her secret is out, I hoped to see Luke and her family rally around her.  They did to a point.  Luke’s reaction was hard for me to take.   While the pieces seemed to fall into place, and he suddenly recognized all the signs he missed, it stopped there.   He couldn’t look past his own feelings of betrayal to understand that he had nothing to do with her leaving.  I had to remind myself that he was hurt, too, but I really expected much more from him. 

 

I don’t want to be too hard on Luke.  He spent a lot of time after Daisy left wondering if he did something wrong.  There were many countless hours of wondering if she was alive or what horrible thing had happened to her.  The same feelings her family experienced.  I’m not saying any of their emotions are wrong.  Her family loves her deeply.  Luke loves her deeply.  I just wish I’d been able to see more of that in the book and less ridicule. 

The Cowgirl’s Secret gets an A+ for the spot-on emotional portrayal of child molestation.  However, this is a romance, and honestly it pains me to say, but I found it lacking greatly in that area.

GRADE: B

Dancing in the Moonlight by RaeAnne Thayne

"She knew she was no great heroine. But perhaps she could live with being a loyal soldier, a loving daughter and a pretty darn good person."

Lieutenant Magdalena Cruz was being too hard on herself. She’s an extraordinary heroine, who for 5 months, has dealt with the horrors of life as a wounded soldier. Returning home from Afghanistan missing part of one leg, she’s physically and emotionally exhausted. Prior to deployment she worked as a nurse in Phoenix and was engaged to a brilliant young surgeon. That all came crashing down the minute she saw rejection in her fiancé’s eyes. Now she’s back home in Pine Gulch, Idaho to nurse her wounds and heal.

Jake Dalton is more than a small town doctor. The level of care he gives to his patients is a direct reflection on the type of man he is – kind, loving, sympathetic, strong. It’s safe to say I fell in love with him. He’s, of course, handsome, but his outer beauty really doesn’t hold a candle to his inner. I couldn’t have dreamed up a better guy for Maggie! But Jake has more to contend with than Maggie’s resistance to relationships and intimacy. She’s spent years blaming Jake’s father for the death of her dad, and believes all Dalton’s are no better. I could understand her pain, even if her rejection of the Daltons came from a place of childhood anguish. And Maggie’s mother, Viviana, is best friends with Jake’s mother, Marjorie. I didn’t get to see much of Marjorie in this book, but the strength of their friendship was obvious.

This is such a sweet and tender romance. I loved Jake’s compassion in the face of Maggie’s bitter resentment. His actions spoke of his feelings for her. When Viviana has a heart-to-heart with Maggie about the night they found out she’d been injured, I couldn’t hold back the tears as she spoke of Jake’s reactions. Jake’s heart has always held a place for Maggie.

Maggie fights Jake at every turn. She won’t allow herself to see that he’s different. Once her mother sets her straight on what really happened with Maggie’s father, I think that last piece of her heart she’s holding back breaks free. Poor Maggie tried everything to keep from falling in love with him: holding on to past angers, comparing Jake to her ex, and even trying to convince herself that no one could love her.

The story crests when Maggie and Jake can no longer hold back their attraction. Her fear had my heart racing, but I knew Jake wouldn’t reject her. The terror consumes her, and she pushes him away, only to see the pain and hopelessness in his eyes. I read a lot of books – sweet ones, sexy ones, erotic ones – but it’s been a long time since a love scene has wrapped me up in that much emotion!

DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT is an inspiring love story. This is the first book I’ve read by RaeAnne Thayne, but I know it won’t be the last! The Cold Creek Cowboys all have their own books! The secondary characters in this story are what they should be – interesting, fun, a little eccentric, and proud. The pride they have for Maggie helps to heal her. I can’t wait to return to the quaint little town of Pine Gulch.

GRADE: A+