Blurb:

She isn’t supposed to care about a ranch.
She definitely isn’t supposed to fall for the foreman.
And his six-year-old son is absolutely, definitely not supposed to capture her heart.

Lainey Brown is not ranch material. She’s a city girl who landed on the legendary Wallace Ranch to give the place a fresh coat of branding—and get her career back on track. She’s got no interest in cowboys, cattle, or the infuriatingly gorgeous foreman who clearly wants her gone.

Colton Wallace has spent every day since losing his wife building something worth leaving his son: a spotless reputation, a thriving operation, and a life with no room for complications. The last thing he needs is a firecracker from Austin with a sketchbook full of big ideas and a smile that makes him forget every reason he swore off wanting things he can’t keep.

But somewhere between their very first fight and a Texas night sky that stretches on forever, something shifts. Lainey stops counting the days until she can leave. And Colt stops pretending he wants her to.

The ranch has always been the Wallace legacy. But Colt is starting to wonder if the best thing that’s ever happened to it—and to him—just walked in wearing city shoes.

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Narrated by: Vanessa Edwin & Aiden Snow

*****

Review:

There were parts I really enjoyed and some parts that I wished we could have seen a little more of. I appreciate that Lainey came to terms with her family dynamic but I felt like maybe we need some actual resolution with them together. She accepts herself and what that means in relation to how different she is from her parents but I really wish there’d been a conversation at least with her mom. I do like that both Colt & Lainey have a therapist because I think that positive mental health rep is important in these kinds of situations. But I feel like we don’t really know where she stands now with her family.

You can’t beat the positive example that the Wallace’s show her on a healthy family interaction tho. They love each other big but that includes fighting big too. And then making up. Because even when they are hurt by each other, it make take a little bit, but they come back together to address it. Which reinforces that disconnect that Lainey already feels with her own family.

Colt has some hurt that he is carrying still. Those that read Ryder know how upset he was by his sister’s relationship with his best friend (although it isn’t really required reading because we get enough of Colt’s side to understand) and it takes him a little bit to come to terms with it. But that’s because he’s been lied to and betrayed in the past and that’s a pressure point for him. Totally understandably so and it makes him react poorly at first. His past also makes him prickly sometimes and unfortunately Lainey gets most of the fall out from it.

Lainey isn’t one to take it lying down tho and she goes toe to toe with the super hot, super grumpy cowboy. It is more dislike than enemies and there’s definitely a sense of foreplay to their interactions because as much as they argue they also are enjoying it. Sometimes a little too much … a little hate f-ing sure does seem to do them good 🙂 But before long, that dislike turns to something more as they spend time together and start to share a little of themselves with each other.

This is a slow slide from butting heads to lust to falling in love. Loved the banter between them, their version of flirting, and the way that they carry that through even once their feelings start to change. Peterson definitely brought the spice with this one but she also gives readers cute moments & emotions as well. I’m looking forward to the rest of this series and seeing the other Wallace’s get their HEA.