FOUR 'SO VERY LOVED' STARS!
This is the fifth book in Abbie Zander's fantastic Callaghan Brothers series. She has penned an absolute winner in this series about 7 Irish brothers, all former Navy SEALs, as they find and fall for their one woman, their croie - heart and soulmate. Along the way, she has given us action, suspense, passion, steam and deep, true love. It's fast become a favorite series for me.
This book is about the oldest of the Callaghan brothers, Kane, known as The Iceman for his cool, cold detachment, especially during a mission. Kane is the defacto leader of the family, aside from the father, patriarch Jack Callaghan. He always protected his brothers, saving the worst, most horrific assignments related to their covert black ops company for himself, thus saving his brothers the mental trauma and anguish. With 4 of his brothers now married or about to be married, he has scaled back the family operation a bit, as he doesn't want to responsible for one of his brothers not coming home.
While on a mission, he rescues, and is in turn rescued by, a woman, who, at first glance, he assumes is a nun. She is unlike any woman he has ever encountered. She does not shrink away from his scowl, she does not back down from his harshly delivered instructions to go on without him. She refuses to leave him behind, and she tends to his wounds, goading him to gather his strength and lean on her so they both can get out of there. Once they get to safety, she surprises him by not getting in the vehicle to get to the safety of their base. No, she gets him in the vehicle, turns and runs back into danger to try to help whomever may still be alive. He is furious, but she is already gone.
Rebecca Harrison, former heiress, has been an aid worker for the last 12 years, traveling to dangerous, poverty stricken places and having left her life as an extremely wealthy debutante long behind. She has seen more than her fair share of horrible, soul-marking things in her travels. Running from gunmen who raided the impoverished, remote village where she and the nuns worked to offered whatever aid they could, Rebecca is saved by Kane, and then, almost immediately, turns around returning the favor by saving him. She leaves him safely with his brothers, thinking she will never see him again. Months later, on the way to visit her brother, Aiden, Lexi Callaghan's boss and friend of the Callaghan family, she shows up in Pine Ridge during a major flooding event just as they're setting up an evacuation center in the local school. Becca immediately rolls up her sleeves to help. Hours later she gets the shock of a lifetime when she turns around and Kane is there. They begin a beautiful friendship that soothes and heals them both. These two just get each other in a way that no one else does, and they need each other. Becca needs Kane's darkness as much as Kane needs Becca's lightness. Becca is in love with him, and he with her, but Kane will not allow himself to love or be loved. He is too dark, and mistakenly, he believes he needs to protect her from his darkness. When Becca finally draws the courage to take that first step, Kane shuts her down, humiliatingly, devastatingly, cruelly so. Later that same night, Becca is horribly assaulted, and her brother and friends watch with increasing concern as the vibrant woman she once withers away as she is overcome by the pain of losing Kane and fear following her attack. It is during this time that Kane realizes what he has found, and let go of, in Becca. She is his "one," his croie - his heart, his soulmate.
I have come to truly adore this series, and this author. Abbie Zanders is a very talented storyteller. She has created a fantastic series here that is well written, with interesting, intense and intriguing plots, characters that you can't help but pull for and true, soul deep love stories. I can't say enough about this series! Zanders is without question a one-click author for me! I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for book 6!!