HALLIE'S HERO

Harlequin Historical

January 2003

ISBN: 0-373-2924-22

When her father was dying, Hallie Ryan promised him that she would always take care of her younger brother Ben and that their ranch, Eden’s Canyon, would always stay in the family. Years have past and Ben is grown up and become a gambler and she is forever getting him out of trouble, she doesn’t have the money to run Eden’s Canyon any longer and the bank is going to sell it. On a trip into Paradise, the nearest town, Hallie comes across gambler Jack Dakota saving her brother from a gunfight. Hallie doesn’t like gambler’s at all. Her father was a gambler and she has watched Ben become one too, so it is grudgingly when she thanks Jack for helping her brother. After taking an instant dislike to Jack because of his gambling and Jack flirting and sweet talking her, Hallie soon learns that Jack has just bought Eden’s Canyon.

Gamblin’ man, Jack Dakota has come to Paradise to claim the son he never knew he had. Jack is determined to settle in one place and make a home for his son, Ethan. After meeting the intriguing spit-fire Hallie, Jack introduces her to Ethan and explains to her that he bought Eden’s Canyon to raise his son proper and makes her an offer he is hoping she can’t refuse. Jack offers Hallie a partnership, they will be partners running the ranch if she will teach him everything he needs to know about ranching. Knowing that she’ll never leave the ranch no matter who the owner is, Hallie agrees to Jack’s partnership.

Little do either Hallie or Jack know the fate they have both just gambled on........

This historical was a fantastic read. Nicole Foster does a superb job in creating the past with this story. I loved the dialogue, the descriptions of the fields and scenery around the ranch and the fiery, sweet and gentle relationship that Jack and Hallie develop. Hallie fights Jack every step of the way in the daily running of the ranch and they both try to ignore the heat and attraction they feel towards each other. The secondary characters, the hands that work at Eden’s Canyon, are delightful and are very protective of Hallie, but soon welcome Ethan and Jack into their family.

But someone has set out to ruin Jack and everything he holds dear. Someone begins sabotaging the ranch and trying to kill Jack. As Jack and Hallie come together to find the culprit and save the ranch, their relationship begins to flourish into so much more. Hallie begins to see Jack as other than a gambler and begins to trust him with the ranch.....and her heart. She has a difficult time believing that a handsome, charismatic man like Jack would care for her when she would rather be wearing men’s britches than ladies dresses. Jack is a strong, caring, faithful man that is surprised when he begins to enjoy ranching life and falling in love with Hallie. While Jack fights to connect with his son and keep the ranch together, he and Hallie find their own brand of Eden.

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