Hatlow, in West Texas, and 10 Miles Away on the Lazy P Ranch, the Present

People are always telling Joanna Walsh she doesn't need to save the world; she should let them fix her up with a likely man instead. But Joanna cannot see anyone in need without offering to help. Joanna does worry about herself, though; she's thirty-five and has put dating behind her to concentrate on making sure she can continue to make her own way. Joanna has used her beautician's license to build a business, Joanna's Salon and Supplies. She's expanded her retail business to include janitorial supplies, thus filling a need in Hatlow and other small towns around. The nearest city of size is Lubbock, seventy-five miles away.

One of Joanna's friends is an older widow who inherited a ranch. Clova Parker Cherry -- most likely because of her own loneliness -- talked Joanna into starting an egg business on the ranch. So now Joanna must go out to the Lazy P twice a day to gather and wash the eggs and care for her free-range hens.

Dalton Parker couldn't wait to get away from the Lazy P and his bastard of a stepfather. He left for the Marines the day after high school graduation. Since then, he's traveled the world's hot spots as a photojournalist with several books to his credit. Dalton is just back from Iraq when "a friend of his mother's" (Joanna) leaves messages informing him that his younger half-brother Lane ran his truck off the road and is in bad shape and his mother needs him to come home. Eventually his conscience bothers him enough to send him back to Texas. Dalton doesn't call any place home, but he can't help feeling nostalgic as he nears the ranch; he loved it until his mother married Earl Cherry. As he gets closer, he anticipates seeing cows and calves in the home pasture, but what is the first thing he sees? Chickens! Chickens on a cattle ranch!

Dalton has a hard edge to him. If he has any softness left after personal betrayals and the world's cruelties he's seen and photographed, it is buried deep, deep inside him. He's never let a woman get under his skin, but sex is always good, and his eye lands on Joanna, the chicken lady...and his mother's friend.

The scene is set for an entertaining, yet emotional battle between a man who distrusts all women but has never had a problem getting any one he wanted and an exhausted, overworked woman who immediately recognizes him as a dangerous heartbreaker. Joanna is a wonderfully caring human but no pushover; she's determined to squelch all those long dormant sensuous feelings that Dalton keeps stirring up.

SWEET RETURN is warm and endearing, but definitely not fluff. There is a good story to go along with a challenging relationship between two unusual people. Joanna has character. She's not just a hard worker with a soft heart; she's intelligent, logical and fair, loyal and forgiving. Dalton is just as complex, but not as immediately lovable. Both Dalton and Joanna possess depths of character that ring true to life. Other characters support the plot and serve to showcase our hero and heroine. I highly recommend SWEET RETURN as a great read. You'll love what getting to know Joanna does for Dalton.

Jane Bowers