EVERGREEN SPRINGS – RaeAnne Thayne
Haven Point Series, Book 3 – Print, Digital & Audio Formats
HQN Books
ISBN: 978-0-373-78859-0
October 2015
Contemporary Romance

Haven Point, Idaho

On a quiet night in the emergency department of Lake Haven Hospital, substitute attending physician Devin Shaw is practicing her knitting when an obviously pregnant woman is wheeled in. She had fallen and injured her ankle. Devin recognizes her as Tricia Bennett, an old friend from high school who had left the area. She's accompanied by a large man and two anxious kids. That large man is Cole Bennett, Tricia's brother, and the kids are his…finally. His divorce was unfriendly, to say the least, and his ex-wife kept the kids from him. But a recent accident took her life, and now he's a single father. He loves Jazmyn and Ty and only hopes he can be a good father. In his younger days as a rodeo cowboy, he partied hard with women and drink until a bar brawl he can scarcely recall sent him to jail for a time. It was a wake-up call. He went into rehab and is now back on his ranch concentrating on his kids and training horses. This lovely doctor, though, is enough to make any man lose his concentration.

Tricia came from California to visit for Thanksgiving and decided to stay for Christmas. There's trouble between her and her husband; he doesn't want children! It's just as well Tricia's staying; she's having premature contractions at only thirty-three weeks and is carrying twins. Devin does all a good doctor should, doing tests and calling on colleagues with the specialties Tricia will need. An arriving snow storm soon fills the ER.

In the following days, Devin's big heart goes out to Cole's children who have recently lost their mother and come to live in a strange place with a father who's somewhat of a recluse. She helps where she can, staying with—and playing with—Jaz and Ty when needed. When she learns that Cole lost two housekeepers in a row, she rallies the town ladies who make upa group called the Helping Hands. They either make or gather from their own freezers a large collection of frozen meals for the little family. It's that kind of community.

EVERGREEN SPRINGS is filled with warmth, humor, and caring, but also with deeply emotional scenes that concern scars from unhappy pasts and broken relationships within families. The people and beauties of the area play large parts in making this book an entertaining and riveting read. It stands well on its own, but the Haven Point area is also the scene of two previous books, SNOW ANGEL COVE and REDEMPTION BAY. Check them out at http://www.raeannethayne.com/ .

Jane Bowers