ONE NIGHT WITH A QUARTERBACK - Jeanette Murray
Santa Fe Bobcats, Book 1
InterMix (Digital)
ISBN-13: 978-0-698-17110-7
June 2014
Contemporary Romance

Santa Fe, New Mexico - Present Day

Cassie Wainwright has just come to Santa Fe with her best friend Anya Fisher to meet the father she never knew about for twenty eight years.  When her mother was diagnosed with cancer she told Cassie the truth about her father, who is now the head coach of the Santa Fe Bobcats professional football team.  After her mother told her father, DNA tests were made and she is meeting him tomorrow, but for one night Cassie wants Anya to go party with her at the nearest bar and let off some steam.   Cassie and Anya are having fun dancing on a platform above the crowd, and meeting her father seems in the distant future.  When they get down a tall, well built man starts a conversation with Cassie and invites her out for something to eat.  Cassie is pretty sure a one night fling might be just what she needs before the trauma of meeting her father, stepmother and two half sisters the next day.  What follows is beyond her wildest expectations, but she gives no information to the man and realizes part of her life may be over for awhile.

Trey Owens is the quarterback of the Santa Fe Bobcats, and he is with his friend Stephen at the bar, carefully disguised in the dark with a fake pair of glasses, and so far no one has noticed him.  Trey hates the media, and staying in his house suits him best, until his friends start to call him a monk.  Trey is drawn to the two girls dancing on the platform, especially the brunette who is having a blast and not just making sexy moves to get attention.  He must admit though, she is an awful dancer.  After the night in Cassie's room, he is definitely interested in her, but she is careful about not giving him any details of whether she will stay in Santa Fe or not.

Cassie meets her father's wife Tabitha, who is very strait laced and stern, and her two half sisters Irene and Melinda.  Irene is the spitting image of her mother in every way, and Melinda is perhaps the most apt to be a little more adventurous.  Her father invites her to stay in his pool house, but his rules include going to all charity events for awhile until the publicity department discovers how the ultimate "family" man endorsing "family values" can explain an illegitimate daughter.  She must not have a boyfriend, and must have meetings with the PR department to mold her style, words and clothing into what is fitting for the coach's family.  When Trey happens upon her on the street, they start a clandestine affair that may blow up in their faces, especially when Cassie finds out he is the quarterback of her father's team and there could be all sorts of consequences due to the they are trying to create for her.

Jeanette Murray has crafted a fun, intelligent and compassionate story of two people trying to hide themselves from the other.  Cassie knows there will be a furor when it is revealed who she is, as her father is big on the family and family values in his city.  Trey knows most women are after him for the notoriety, and wants to keep his identity out of their relationship too.  But when they start seeing each other, they can't seem to stay away from what they ought to do.  Written from each of their points of view, Cassie is yearning for a father and the family experience she never had, especially with two step-sisters.  Trey is just starting practice for the new football year, and knows he should be concentrating more on that than Cassie and her troubles.

Secondary characters fill the book with fun and heartbreak.  Anya is Cassie's best friend, always there for her. Stephen is one of Trey's best friends, but a problem with alcohol comes near to breaking his career and Cassie and Trey's relationship.  Cassie's step-sisters are Irene and Melinda, two teenagers who are being raised as clones of their mother Tabitha, and as with all teenagers, rebellion is about to ensue.

ONE NIGHT WITH A QUARTERBACK sparkles with everything that makes a novel great;  interesting characters, hidden identities, a woman finding her father, and the relationship between players on a football team and how their comradeship makes them and the team better.  This is the first in the Santa Fe Bobcats series, and book 2 is coming this fall, highlighting the kicker of the team.  There are not any  football games or dialogue in the story if you're not into that sport; it's more a discovery of friendship and love between the characters.  I found this to be an outstanding read for June, and recommend everyone grab it as soon as it comes out.

Carolyn Crisher