WINTER AT MUSTANG RIDGE - Jesse Hayworth
Mustang Ridge Series, Book 2
Signet Eclipse
ISBN: 978-0-451-41915-8
February 2014
Contemporary Romance

Wyoming - The Present

Professional photographer and camera operator for a reality show set in Belize, Jenny Skye has returned to her family's cattle and dude ranch in Wyoming. Her twin sister, who kept the ranch afloat through her dude ranch idea, needs six weeks away to take some classes and have a vacation. It is winter and frigid cold at the ranch, which Jenny isn't used to, yet she feels she owes Krista for keeping the homestead in the family. She promises to fill-in for Krista while she is away. Mustang Ridge is home, a place for the globetrotting and adventuresome Jenny to return whenever she needs to, but she seems reluctant from the very start. When she finds a stray and starving dog on the ranch's road, Jenny seeks out the new vet.

After a stint in Africa with his former fiancée, Nick Masters wants to build a place for himself through his vet practice. While the local women do not interest him, Jenny does. She offers him a no strings attached relationship while she is in Wyoming. He is wary of long-distance relationships, feels they are doomed, and he does not want that type of heartache again. He still accepts Jenny's suggestion, promising himself not to let romance snare him into another losing situation.

Things have changed at the ranch, and with Krista away, Jenny finds her work aggravating, which is mild compared to her recently retired mother's driving need to redecorate. Jenny has snarky thoughts about her circumstances and her family, especially her mother. She will find challenges coming her way, but the Wyoming wilds call to her artistic spirit. Her family has accepted her for who she is, something Jenny still has to learn; however, can she leave love behind? She might not have a choice. Beautiful scenery and believable characters fill the pages and make WINTER AT MUSTANG RIDGE a delight to read.

Robin Lee