In His Reluctant Rancher, Desiree Burke has come to Twinridge to escape trouble at work and help the Gamble family.  They’re recovering from a tragedy – a horrible car accident that killed one son, left his father paralyzed, and gave a load of survivor’s guilt to everyone.  Zach Gamble is doing everything he can to shoulder the burden of keeping his family and their ranch going.  Bringing physical therapist Des in to help his father is a last ditch effort to save their home, but as the two work together around the ranch, their attraction may be more than they can handle.

This is part of Roxanne Snopek’s Three River Ranch series and there is some overflow from a previous story.  Des and Zach have met a couple of times before and flirted but nothing ever came of it.  Des is big city and Zach is all rancher.  I got the basics of their previous interactions as the story progresses so I don’t think it is necessary to have read anything else before giving this one a chance.

I really liked both Des and Zach.  Des has some commitment issues left over from growing up in foster care.  She learned early on to not open herself up and get attached, since everything was temporary. She’s sassy and fun, and it was a treat to watch her fall for Zach.  Zach has his own issues.  He was adopted and always felt a little on the outside.  Now, having been the driver when the natural born son died, but making it out without a physical scratch, he’s got some serious emotions scars.  It was heartbreaking to have him come to grips not only with the accident but also where he stands in the family.  There is a conversation with his father toward the end of the story that brought me to tears.

I think my only complaint is that not enough time was spent on the rehabilitation of Joe, the whole reason why Des is at the ranch.  She’s there as a hail mary to get him back on his feet but we see very little of the actual therapy.  There are a couple of sweet interactions between the two but I would really have liked to see much more.  The time, though, is spent on developing her relationship with Zach and I have to say that was very satisfying.  They make a very good match and I really enjoyed seeing the two of them interact.

His Reluctant Rancher is a fantastic story about healing, falling in love, and finding your footing again.