Holly Harte

1.5 stars

“My name is Delana Wyatt, and I have a proposition for you."

The start of the year's #TBRChallenge theme was Starting Over, so I chose a story that has been on my tbr since 2006 and had a synopsis saying the heroine is trying to leave town until she turns twenty-one and can get her inheritance and not be forced into marriage by her step-father. She has to leave her wealthy but miserable life with a controlling step-father and, wait for it, start over. Delana chooses a cowboy she's never seen before, thinking he won't be in cahoots with her powerful connected step-father and asks him to take her out of town.

He stared at her for a few more seconds, then exhaled heavily. “Yeah, I'll get you out of town, but you have to do something for me in return.”

It's Austin, TX 1886 but thankfully not an HP, so Texas Ranger Blu Cahill has a more innocent request, if Delana leaves town with him, she has to pose as his, platonic, wife. Blu is about to go undercover to try and get evidence on a wire-cutting gang in Brown County. The whole wire-cutting angle was pretty interesting as I had to go read about when the law was introduced and how the pro-free range vs the wire war began and went on. A little less interesting in this as Blu had it pretty easy with his investigation.

So our merry gang of two set off and already Blu thinks Delana is a mighty pretty filly but Blu's dad was an abusive alcoholic after Blu's mom died when he was five, it caused Blu to leave home at fourteen and make The Vow. You romance readers know what I'm talking about, he's never going to marry or have children because he's scared his father's blood runs in his veins and he will also beat his kids. Only saloon gals for our Blu, sorry Delana. But Delana has also made A Vow, but the heroine's version, she's never going to marry because she doesn't want to lose her independence. As they travel the five or six days to get to Brownwood in Brown County, their hormones start to hormone.

Delana stared, unable to tear her gaze away from the spellbinding sight across the yard. A half-naked Blu. She hadn't meant to watch him, but as she finished sweeping the floor, she had passed one of the windows and caught a glimpse of him chopping wood.

I told you all last year, get to chopping wood! Works every time. At this point, Delana knows Blu is undercover but not he's a Texas Ranger or that he's looking to bust up a wire cutting gang. In Brownwood, they meet the boarding house owner who Delana likes and considers a very wise and experienced woman because she's the old, old age of thirty-five and the sheriff who instantly wants to know Blu's thoughts on putting wire (I'm talking fencing here, in case there was confusion) up. There's only one bed! at the boarding house but Blu had already purchased a ranch in anticipation of coming to Brownwood and they don't stay long at the boarding house. I had some questions about an undercover assignment that Blu thinks will last three months at probably the most and he's buying a ranch, later, putting up a barn, and then thinking corrals. I was like, “How much does Rangering pay??” but then towards the end there was a brief line about him having credit from the Rangers and I was like, “Oh, makes sense.” Just kidding, I was like “How much of a budget do the Rangers have??”

At this point, it's 30%, yeah, the story dragged but the hormones have been hormoning in the background all along and we get passions flaring and Delana starting to become the aggressor, woman wants it. But Blu knows that finger-banging in the kitchen leads to marriage and he still thinks he will instantly turn into his father if he has kids. He tries to shut down the touchy but, again, woman wants it.

She'd fallen in love with Blu Cahill.

At 50% Delana has decided she that she loves Blu and the amazing wire-cutting gang just kind of go up to Blu and throw out hidden meaning questions like, “You putting wire up?” “You want to join our gang and go out and cut wire?”, they are real crafty about not getting caught. Blu has a friend (former Ranger) drive some cattle up to his, what is looking like a few weeks, undercover ranch and the friend has a completely off page secondary romance with the wise “old” boarding house owner. Oh, and Delana gets it and Blu has this lovely speech after they wake up in the morning: “We had a deal when we left Austin, and I intend to keep my end. I'll protect you as long as we're here, and when my work is done, I'll take you wherever you want to go. Then I'm out of your life for good. If you're in a family way before we leave here, or find out later, I want nothing to do with the child.” He paused to let his words sink in, then added, “Are we clear about that?" Dripping with charm this one.

He cupped her delicate jaw with his palm, then brushed his thumb across her full mouth. Lowering his face toward hers, he whispered, “I reckon I'll regret this one day."

At 65% Blu admits to himself he is in love with Delana but still fears the morphing into dad and works himself to the bone during the day for the undercover ranch so he's too exhausted to have sex with her at night. But Delana touches his chest when he gets into bed and well, how can a mere mortal stand against such power. 70% Blu comes home in steer blood (the wire-cutters also kill cattle) and he spills the beans on being a Ranger and going after the wire-cutting gang to Delana. Delana decides that she must help him and I was like, oh no, TSTL is about to happen. But Blu volunteered to take stolen horses (the wire-cutter also steal horses) to a few towns over to sell but he's really getting the evidence he's collected to his Ranger boss (I forget his name, lol). On the way he happens upon an old Ranger friend, he quit the Rangers because of some mysterious reason, the dude is obviously being set-up for a second book in series, and the Ranger friend says he looks tired and he'll take the info to boss. Blu agrees but then decides to go back to Brown County early because he misses Delana so much. The reunite, they have sex, fight as Delana says she's probably pregnant, and Delana's must help consisted of talking to the wives and girlfriends and she learns some details about the sheriff's location that Blu needs as he suspects the sheriff is the leader of the gang.

The ending has a Rangers vs wire-cutters shoot-out and my feared TSTL, where out of nowhere, Delana rides into a confrontation between Blu and the sheriff. At 97% Blu says he'll marry Delana and the only thing about this story I really liked was how horny Delana became and stayed, she responds with: “Hmm. Well, if it isn't my money you're after,” she gave him a wide-eyed, innocent look, “why do you want to marry me?"
“Because, darlin', I'm head over heels in love with you."
“That's a pretty bold statement,” she said, then ran her tongue over his lower lip. “One that I think requires some proof."
He shivered. “Yeah? Got something in mind?"
“Uh-huh. How about going someplace private so you can prove exactly how much you love me?"
Another chuckle rumbling in his chest, he hauled her closer against him. Just before his lips captured hers, he whispered, “There ya go." Woman wanted it and woman got it, respect.… (plus d'informations)