BIG SKY SECRETS - Linda Lael Miller
Parable, Montana Series, Book 6
HQN
ISBN-13: 978-0-373-77831-7
January 2014
Contemporary Romance
Parable, Montana – Present Day
When Ria Manning bought a flower farm near Hangman's Bend, she never expected to be held captive in her own home by no less than a huge brown buffalo! The animal is bent on destroying Ria's cash crops by tramping through her flower fields! She can't believe her next door neighbor, the sexy Landry Sutton, bought the creature, let alone named her Bessie! Sutton has some hair-brained idea about raising buffalo, but Ria just wants the man to pack up and get back to Chicago where he belongs. A self-made millionaire, Landry actually employs a butler! No cowboy in his right mind would be caught dead with a butler, but Landry is new to Parable, and so is Ria, so who is she to judge? Besides, Landry's butler, Highbridge, is one of Ria's best friends. Without him running interference, she might have strangled Landry Sutton months ago...
Landry would like to get to know the icy Ria Manning better, but the woman does not like him at all. She's always nagging him about his buffalo, and Highbridge always takes her side in everything, leaving Landry wishing she would move away. But that thought only lasts for a few seconds. Ria Manning is the most beautiful woman he's seen since he's been in Parable. Landry heard she's a widow, and she's still wearing her wedding ring. So Landry backs off. That's one line he won't cross, especially since Ria is blatantly not over the death of her husband yet. Heck, it took him years to give up on his own failing marriage, so Landry knows what it is to persevere. It was just a few months ago when he thought about selling his half of the ranch back to his brother Zane, but now he's beginning to actually like living in Parable.
When Ria's seventeen-year-old niece, Quinn, shows up at a nearby truck stop, Ria rushes to rescue the child. Quinn ran away and hitchhiked all the way from Portland, Oregon, where she left her mother, (Ria's half-sister), after Meredith decided to send Quinn to camp for the summer. Along the way, Quinn attached herself to an abandoned stray dog that she names Bones, who now has a new home with Ria and Quinn. When Ria calls Meredith to tell her Quinn is unharmed, all she gets for her trouble is Meredith's anger. She doesn't have time for her daughter right now, so Ria tells her half-sister that Quinn will be staying with her and hangs up the phone. All too often, the career-driven Meredith thinks only of herself. Ria is beyond angry about that, but she swallows her bitterness against Meredith and puts on a happy face for Quinn, who isn't really fooled about her mother after all.
Ria and Landry have a lot of puzzles to solve on their road to happiness. Landry is still working out problems from his father's abandonment and reappearance whenever the man needs money. Ria is not sure she can trust a man once again; her husband cheated on her not long after their marriage, and she is not wanting to travel that road again. Even with all their reservations, neither one is looking for a long term relationship, but they can't deny the chemistry whenever they are within touching distance.
BIG SKY SECRETS is the sixth novel in the Parable, Montana series, and, sadly, I've heard this is the final book about Parable. I am hoping that Ms. Miller is returning with a new series for these characters. I believe there are still stories here to be told, and I would love to see additional books in the future. Meanwhile, all the BIG SKY characters from the previous books make their appearances in this story, bringing lots of laughter and a few tears along the way. BIG SKY SECRETS stands alone on its own merits, but you won't want to miss the entire series if you haven't read it; it is a keeper! (See lindalaelmiller.com for titles)
Whatever you do, don't miss BIG SKY SECRETS. This heartwarming novel is full of great characters, lots of critters, love and passion, and a bit of mystery too.
Diana Risso
