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Laurel Glen #2
Silver Lining
ON A WING AND A PRAYER!
That's how Ross Taggert felt about his chances of survival when photojournalist Amelia Howard blasted onto his land, determined to do some kind of tell-all book about his horse farm! And Ross had a few secrets to hide -- especially from a person as warm and loving Amelia was turning out to be.
Ross Taggert had grumpiness down to a science, but Amelia knew that God could work wonders on even the toughest of His flock. Deep down, Ross had faith, and a lethal charm that had Amelia hooked from the day she drove onto Laurel Glen property. All he needed was a little love to bring his heart out of hibernation!
That's how Ross Taggert felt about his chances of survival when photojournalist Amelia Howard blasted onto his land, determined to do some kind of tell-all book about his horse farm! And Ross had a few secrets to hide -- especially from a person as warm and loving Amelia was turning out to be.
Ross Taggert had grumpiness down to a science, but Amelia knew that God could work wonders on even the toughest of His flock. Deep down, Ross had faith, and a lethal charm that had Amelia hooked from the day she drove onto Laurel Glen property. All he needed was a little love to bring his heart out of hibernation!
252 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2002
1 person is currently reading
81 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 28, 2024
Good, book in a good series, it was nice to see old characters and meet new ones.
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June 25, 2017Someone was watching the wedding of Hope Taggert and Jeff Carrington. Hope had survived the bales of hay falling on her and Jeff had survived the accident he had while trying to ride Ross Taggert's horse. The fall had left Jeff paralyzed for 6 months but he was on the road to recovery. He had gotten out of his wheelchair and walked down the aisle to get married. Those accidents were meant to harm Ross, not the other family members. He blamed Ross and Cole for Marley's (Ross's wife) death 14 years previous and they were going to pay.
Cole had been thrown from a horse and Ross was trying to get him back on. Marley had gotten on the horse to show him how it's done and she was thrown and killed. Ross blamed himself as well as Cole. Cole had gotten in trouble for joy riding in a cop car and landed in military school rather than face jail time. Cole resented his father but had returned home as a vet after finding out that his grandmother had died. Shortly after he returned home, the accidents started occurring.
After Marley's death, Ross had reached out to his sister and she left her pursuit of becoming an actress to come to the ranch, Laurel Glen, and assist in raising his children. She became the mother they needed. Meg told Ross that she had invited a photojournalist friend to come visit for awhile. Amelia arrived and Ross was worried about bad timing with all the accidents. Amelia found Ross attractive and Ross was similarly attracted to Amelia.
A couple of weeks after she arrived, he and Cole had a disagreement before dinner and Ross went outside to find his training arena barn on fire. Cole had left in a huff and was returning home when he could reach Meg by phone. Cole noticed smoke and used his cell phone to call the fire department. He called just in case the fire department didn't know about the fire and he was correct in his assumption. The call from the ranch never reached the fire department. They also tried to get water on the fire but the water line for the ranch had been tampered with too. Cole got burned trying to get to his horse only to find out after the fire was under control that someone had moved his horse to another stall. Someone was trying to make Cole look guilty of setting the fire. Ross knew it wasn't Cole but didn't know who hated him enough to go to this much trouble. Ross was kicked by one of the horses and his collar bone was broken.
Ross had married Marley right after high school. She was the richest girl in town and she had set her sights on him. Ross discovered that Marley was all about looks. She inherited her parents wealth when they died and the real Marley became evident. She was spoiled and faithless. He wasn't in love with her, just with what she allowed him to see. He had stopped going to church because he felt guilty about their relationship and they married when Marley became pregnant with Cole. He couldn't get past blaming himself for her death and couldn't allow himself to fall in love again. He didn't trust his judgment of women even after 14 years. He allowed Cole and Hope to believe what they thought of their mother. Cole knew that his mother and father had fought the evening before she died. At first, he thought his father had caused the death of his mother because he wanted the money her parents had left her. After he was sent to military school, he had time to think. He realized that wasn't true. He just didn't know how to talk to his father. Cole talked to Amelia about his concerns one night. That night happened to be after she went to see Ross in his offices in the barn and Hope had caught them kissing. Ross was flustered and she thought that he was ashamed and guilty for betraying Marley. She had run out of his office and gotten lost. Ross rode out to find her 6 miles from the house and with a sprained ankle. She woke up and went to the kitchen to get a drink early in the morning when Cole came in and they talked until dawn.
The next day, Meg found their old horse handler, Georgie, had been hit on the head and their horses were out. Amelia called the police and asked for an ambulance and the police to come to the ranch. The detective nearly arrested Cole because the tire iron from his car was left nearby with Georgie's blood on it. Amelia told the detective that Cole was with her and Ross was jealous. He accused them of doing other things than talking. Cole agreed that Ross was right and started to leave the room. Amelia told Cole to apologize because she wouldn't allow her reputation to be ruined that way. Then she sent him to his room, Cole was 30 yrs. old. Ross chuckled at that. Amelia didn't let Ross off either. Amelia had spoken to Ross about staying on to do another book about ranch life and Ross had agreed to let her stay on indefinitely. Amelia made Ross promise to start going back to church with her for as long as she was there.
Amelia found out that her car wouldn't start and noticed Harry Donovan, the ranch foreman, working on one of the tractors. She mentioned to him that she couldn't get her Jeep to start and he told her that he would take a look at it. He had worked on that type of car before and she left him the keys.
Ross and her talked about Marley and Amelia told Ross what she had told Cole about her own childhood. She had run away from home when she was 16 and didn't return until she was 20. She wasn't happy about her choices and lived on the streets doing what she had to survive for 4 years not thinking about the pain she was causing her parents. Ross explained to Amelia that Marley had asked for a divorce the evening before she was killed. She didn't want to live any more and took advantage of the horse having a bad reputation to put herself in harms way. She apologized as she was dying and made Ross promise not to tell her children about the affair she was having. Ross never knew who that was only that he was more willing to give his time to Marley and she planned on leaving with him because she wanted more adventure in her life. Ross had spoken to Marley's friends and gotten a totally different picture of her than the one she had let his family see. Ross was holding on his promise to Marly by not talking to Cole. Amelia told him that Marley was dead and the lies were hurting his relationship with his children. Ross still wouldn't agree to tell them what their mother was truly like.
He was showing Amelia around a few days later and Ross was explaining how carefully they have to feed the horses when Amelia noticed that a bag of feed had been left open and the small horse that Cole had learned to ride on was eating it. He went immediate to the pony and had Amelia get Cole. Cole came and treated the horse. They managed to save the pony.
Amelia ran into Donovan the next morning as she was petting one of the horses. She didn't notice that he was there and she jumped. He noticed that she was afraid of the horse and asked her if she knew how to ride. They talked some and she found out that he one of the few who was still around when Marley was alive. Ross made her jump too when he showed up. He asked her if she wanted to go riding and she told him that she had never ridden. Ross then began giving her riding lessons.
Small accidents were occurring almost on a daily basis now. Ross found hatpins in the horses saddles, his trophy room had been destroyed and other things. One morning Amelia couldn't sleep and went out early. She noticed someone sneaking around in the dark and went to get Ross and then Cole. She snuck back into the barn to find someone holding a gun on them. Amelia got to a rifle and shot out the light at the same time that someone shot the person holding the gun. All Ross and Cole knew was that the man mentioned that he had been hired and their troubles weren't over yet. Ross decided that he had to convince Amelia to leave for her own safety and he had to get other peoples horses off his land before they were hurt.
Amelia was hurt that Ross was asking her to leave but determined to let him know how she felt about him before she left. She literally ran into Ross as she was leaving and papers flew out of a file she was carrying. It was a file that she had made about everything that had been happening at the ranch. Ross accused her of collecting the information to write an article that would destroy his business and stormed off. Amelia told him that she wasn't a reporter and left without taking the file. She told him to go through the information to see if he could find anything helpful in what she had gathered. She got in her Jeep and drove off. The road was windy and steep. Amelia soon discovered that she had no brakes.
Ross went back to his office and Cole came in and asked him what happened with Amelia. He had seen her drive off in a hurry. The stood up and Cole looked outside and saw Donovan coming out of the open garage door. The two of them both knew that he shouldn't be there and that he was the one causing all the trouble. They tackled Donovan and Cole called 911. Cole was there when Donovan admitted to having an affair with Marley and that they were planning on running off together. Marley had felt bad when she saw the two of them fighting the next morning and she got on the horse to get them to stop arguing. Then she had fallen off and gotten trampled and died. She had regretted her decision to leave and was willing to stay and make the best of things. Ross realized that he had not given Marley what she needed in their marriage. He was infatuated with her but not in love with her. He had been more worried about making money to give her what she wanted than the time and attention she needed. He blamed himself for her turning to someone else to get that.
Cole noticed the brake fluid and Donovan admitted that he was going to lose his woman like he had lost Marley. Ross knew then that he had tampered with Amelia's car. Amelia was trying desperately to keep her car on the road but knew that she was going to die. Ross jumped in Cole's car and sped after her. He caught up with her and got in front of her. He called her on her cell phone and told him that he was going to use Cole's car to slow her down. She was to follow him onto a gravel road that led to a sandy beach and a shallow lake. They did that and her car stalled in the water. Ross went and got her out. He told her that he was sorry and she told him that she loved him. He admitted that he loved her too but didn't trust his judgment after marrying Marley. He asked her to marry him and she said yes.
They were married a few months later. It was a small ceremony with his children, son-in-law and Meg in attendance. Meg was sad that the son she had given up the day he was born wasn't there. No one other than herself knew about his existence. Her child's father had died in the Vietnam war.
Cole had been thrown from a horse and Ross was trying to get him back on. Marley had gotten on the horse to show him how it's done and she was thrown and killed. Ross blamed himself as well as Cole. Cole had gotten in trouble for joy riding in a cop car and landed in military school rather than face jail time. Cole resented his father but had returned home as a vet after finding out that his grandmother had died. Shortly after he returned home, the accidents started occurring.
After Marley's death, Ross had reached out to his sister and she left her pursuit of becoming an actress to come to the ranch, Laurel Glen, and assist in raising his children. She became the mother they needed. Meg told Ross that she had invited a photojournalist friend to come visit for awhile. Amelia arrived and Ross was worried about bad timing with all the accidents. Amelia found Ross attractive and Ross was similarly attracted to Amelia.
A couple of weeks after she arrived, he and Cole had a disagreement before dinner and Ross went outside to find his training arena barn on fire. Cole had left in a huff and was returning home when he could reach Meg by phone. Cole noticed smoke and used his cell phone to call the fire department. He called just in case the fire department didn't know about the fire and he was correct in his assumption. The call from the ranch never reached the fire department. They also tried to get water on the fire but the water line for the ranch had been tampered with too. Cole got burned trying to get to his horse only to find out after the fire was under control that someone had moved his horse to another stall. Someone was trying to make Cole look guilty of setting the fire. Ross knew it wasn't Cole but didn't know who hated him enough to go to this much trouble. Ross was kicked by one of the horses and his collar bone was broken.
Ross had married Marley right after high school. She was the richest girl in town and she had set her sights on him. Ross discovered that Marley was all about looks. She inherited her parents wealth when they died and the real Marley became evident. She was spoiled and faithless. He wasn't in love with her, just with what she allowed him to see. He had stopped going to church because he felt guilty about their relationship and they married when Marley became pregnant with Cole. He couldn't get past blaming himself for her death and couldn't allow himself to fall in love again. He didn't trust his judgment of women even after 14 years. He allowed Cole and Hope to believe what they thought of their mother. Cole knew that his mother and father had fought the evening before she died. At first, he thought his father had caused the death of his mother because he wanted the money her parents had left her. After he was sent to military school, he had time to think. He realized that wasn't true. He just didn't know how to talk to his father. Cole talked to Amelia about his concerns one night. That night happened to be after she went to see Ross in his offices in the barn and Hope had caught them kissing. Ross was flustered and she thought that he was ashamed and guilty for betraying Marley. She had run out of his office and gotten lost. Ross rode out to find her 6 miles from the house and with a sprained ankle. She woke up and went to the kitchen to get a drink early in the morning when Cole came in and they talked until dawn.
The next day, Meg found their old horse handler, Georgie, had been hit on the head and their horses were out. Amelia called the police and asked for an ambulance and the police to come to the ranch. The detective nearly arrested Cole because the tire iron from his car was left nearby with Georgie's blood on it. Amelia told the detective that Cole was with her and Ross was jealous. He accused them of doing other things than talking. Cole agreed that Ross was right and started to leave the room. Amelia told Cole to apologize because she wouldn't allow her reputation to be ruined that way. Then she sent him to his room, Cole was 30 yrs. old. Ross chuckled at that. Amelia didn't let Ross off either. Amelia had spoken to Ross about staying on to do another book about ranch life and Ross had agreed to let her stay on indefinitely. Amelia made Ross promise to start going back to church with her for as long as she was there.
Amelia found out that her car wouldn't start and noticed Harry Donovan, the ranch foreman, working on one of the tractors. She mentioned to him that she couldn't get her Jeep to start and he told her that he would take a look at it. He had worked on that type of car before and she left him the keys.
Ross and her talked about Marley and Amelia told Ross what she had told Cole about her own childhood. She had run away from home when she was 16 and didn't return until she was 20. She wasn't happy about her choices and lived on the streets doing what she had to survive for 4 years not thinking about the pain she was causing her parents. Ross explained to Amelia that Marley had asked for a divorce the evening before she was killed. She didn't want to live any more and took advantage of the horse having a bad reputation to put herself in harms way. She apologized as she was dying and made Ross promise not to tell her children about the affair she was having. Ross never knew who that was only that he was more willing to give his time to Marley and she planned on leaving with him because she wanted more adventure in her life. Ross had spoken to Marley's friends and gotten a totally different picture of her than the one she had let his family see. Ross was holding on his promise to Marly by not talking to Cole. Amelia told him that Marley was dead and the lies were hurting his relationship with his children. Ross still wouldn't agree to tell them what their mother was truly like.
He was showing Amelia around a few days later and Ross was explaining how carefully they have to feed the horses when Amelia noticed that a bag of feed had been left open and the small horse that Cole had learned to ride on was eating it. He went immediate to the pony and had Amelia get Cole. Cole came and treated the horse. They managed to save the pony.
Amelia ran into Donovan the next morning as she was petting one of the horses. She didn't notice that he was there and she jumped. He noticed that she was afraid of the horse and asked her if she knew how to ride. They talked some and she found out that he one of the few who was still around when Marley was alive. Ross made her jump too when he showed up. He asked her if she wanted to go riding and she told him that she had never ridden. Ross then began giving her riding lessons.
Small accidents were occurring almost on a daily basis now. Ross found hatpins in the horses saddles, his trophy room had been destroyed and other things. One morning Amelia couldn't sleep and went out early. She noticed someone sneaking around in the dark and went to get Ross and then Cole. She snuck back into the barn to find someone holding a gun on them. Amelia got to a rifle and shot out the light at the same time that someone shot the person holding the gun. All Ross and Cole knew was that the man mentioned that he had been hired and their troubles weren't over yet. Ross decided that he had to convince Amelia to leave for her own safety and he had to get other peoples horses off his land before they were hurt.
Amelia was hurt that Ross was asking her to leave but determined to let him know how she felt about him before she left. She literally ran into Ross as she was leaving and papers flew out of a file she was carrying. It was a file that she had made about everything that had been happening at the ranch. Ross accused her of collecting the information to write an article that would destroy his business and stormed off. Amelia told him that she wasn't a reporter and left without taking the file. She told him to go through the information to see if he could find anything helpful in what she had gathered. She got in her Jeep and drove off. The road was windy and steep. Amelia soon discovered that she had no brakes.
Ross went back to his office and Cole came in and asked him what happened with Amelia. He had seen her drive off in a hurry. The stood up and Cole looked outside and saw Donovan coming out of the open garage door. The two of them both knew that he shouldn't be there and that he was the one causing all the trouble. They tackled Donovan and Cole called 911. Cole was there when Donovan admitted to having an affair with Marley and that they were planning on running off together. Marley had felt bad when she saw the two of them fighting the next morning and she got on the horse to get them to stop arguing. Then she had fallen off and gotten trampled and died. She had regretted her decision to leave and was willing to stay and make the best of things. Ross realized that he had not given Marley what she needed in their marriage. He was infatuated with her but not in love with her. He had been more worried about making money to give her what she wanted than the time and attention she needed. He blamed himself for her turning to someone else to get that.
Cole noticed the brake fluid and Donovan admitted that he was going to lose his woman like he had lost Marley. Ross knew then that he had tampered with Amelia's car. Amelia was trying desperately to keep her car on the road but knew that she was going to die. Ross jumped in Cole's car and sped after her. He caught up with her and got in front of her. He called her on her cell phone and told him that he was going to use Cole's car to slow her down. She was to follow him onto a gravel road that led to a sandy beach and a shallow lake. They did that and her car stalled in the water. Ross went and got her out. He told her that he was sorry and she told him that she loved him. He admitted that he loved her too but didn't trust his judgment after marrying Marley. He asked her to marry him and she said yes.
They were married a few months later. It was a small ceremony with his children, son-in-law and Meg in attendance. Meg was sad that the son she had given up the day he was born wasn't there. No one other than herself knew about his existence. Her child's father had died in the Vietnam war.
April 17, 2020
kept my interest but didn't really care if i read it.
dnf
January 3, 2026no longer interested
August 27, 2023
Great! 12/01/2010
January 26, 2009
This was a really good book.
April 23, 2020
Nice quick read. Christian romance novel.
Want to read
September 5, 2016I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14180873
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14180873
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews