PREGNANT WITH THE RANCHER'S BABY – Kathie DeNosky
The Good, the Bad and the Texan – Book 5
Harlequin Desire #2411
ISBN: 978-0-373-73424-5
November 2015
Contemporary Series Romance

Twin Oaks Ranch, Texas – Present Day

Fearful of commitment after a painful childhood, rancher and rodeo star Nate Rafferty has avoided relationships despite his off and on affair with nurse Jessica Farrell. But one day Jessica shows up at his ranch to inform him that she is five months pregnant. Nate should be relieved that she doesn't want anything from him, but he realizes he wants more. He offers to marry her, but she turns him down. Is there any way he can be a part of his child's life if she doesn't want him to be?

Jessica has always been independent, but found herself falling for Nate each time he came back into her life, only to have him leave when things got serious between them. She has debated for months whether to tell him she's pregnant, but decided he had the right to know, even though she plans to raise this child alone. When he offers to marry her, she knows she can't lose her heart again to the cowboy. She does agree to stay on his ranch for a couple of weeks, but hopes it won't lead to more heartbreak.

Nate and his brother, Sam, found themselves without parents when they were young teens, and the brothers got into trouble while trying to subsist on their own. They were sent to a ranch for wayward teens, which found them cleaning up their act and turning into upstanding citizens. But the scars of their childhood have left marks that resulted in Nate declaring that he will remain single forever. He hooked up with Jessica a couple of years ago, but broke it off with her several times trying to avoid going further than an affair. But the news of her pregnancy has Nate thinking he should do what's right, even though Jessica turns down his proposal of marriage. Will he realize that he needs to look to the future rather than live by the mistakes of the past?

In PREGNANT WITH THE RANCHER'S BABY, Jessica is very capable of raising her child alone, but wanting to do the right thing in telling Nate of her pregnancy drove her to let him know. He's a charmer, and after losing her heart too many times to him, she intends to avoid heartbreak again. Temporarily living with Nate on his ranch, Jessica soon finds herself falling for him again. But things are going to have to change between them before she can even consider marrying him. Is giving up his career in the rodeo part of that change?

Part of The Good, the Bad and the Texan series by Kathie DeNosky, PREGNANT WITH THE RANCHER'S BABY could be read as a standalone, but numerous characters from prior books do appear. Check the author's website for a list of the four prior books. There's still at least one Texan left, so readers will have something to look forward to.

Painful pasts shape the future for Nate and Jessica in PREGNANT WITH THE RANCHER'S BABY, and readers will be rooting for them to find their happily-ever-after. Their chemistry sizzles and helps make this tale one I highly recommend.

Patti Fischer