Jake Walkers Wife

by Loree Lough

LOVE HAPPENED TO OTHER PEOPLE...

...not a man wanted--dead or alive! For ten long years, Jake Walker has been on the run from murder, marshals, and bad memories. But now he has found Bess Beckley, whose caring heart and boundless soul could stopy any man in his tracks.

Two young brothers and a grieving pa were the only men in Bess's life. Knowing they needed her was enough...until the day tall Texan Jake Walker rode onto the ranch and awakened dreams of impossible things...like love and a life of her own!

She is determined to take away the haunted look in Jake's eyes and make him hers--forever.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Fiction

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

About the author

With the upcoming release of the books in her new Kensington series, bestselling author Loree Lough will have 121 books on the shelves (8,000,000+ copies in circulation). Her writing style has been compared to Nicholas Sparks and Mary Jo Putney, and readers and reviewers often call her “a gifted writer whose stories touch hearts and change lives.”

With a long list of industry awards, it isn't likely this prolific author will ever retire...not even to her cozy li'l cabin in the Allegheny Mountains. She loves to hear from her readers and personally answers every letter sent to http://www.loreelough.com/.

Visit http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B000APRS7S to see some of Loree's available titles.

Reviews

[Janet Marie Dowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

W.C Atwood was accused of a murder he did not commit. He worked as a foreman on various farms during the ten years he was running from the law. When the law would get close, he would pack up and leave again until he started working for Bess's father. So many times we all run from things, problems, and relationships and we really should face them head on. The longer we avoid stuff, many times, the worse it gets.

After he is sentenced to be hanged, he is transported back to Lubbock, TX but on the way the wagon wrecked and W.C escaped. When he reached the nearest town he meets Bess Beckley's father. He changes his name to "Chance Walker." He hires Chance as a worker on his ranch. When he gets to the ranch, he meets Bess..........and it is love at first sight.He lets his guard down and falls in love with the family. He stays with this family longer than he did the others. When the law catches up to him while he is staying with the Beckley's, he doesn't want to leave but feels like he has to in order to protect them.

To find out if the true killer is found and if Chance & Bess get married, you have to read the book! Happy Reading!
.

[JoAnn McGowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

Great book- loved the characters! The book had mystery, murder, faith and of course love! It was really a good book!

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book last evening and read it thinking I wanted to read a sweet, clean romantic story about a handsome cowboy dude and his lovely gal. In fact, I did like the characters of both Jake and Bess in this book. Jake Walker has been on the run for ten years - since he was age 18 because he was tried and convicted of a murder in Lubbock, Texas, which he did not commit. On the way to his hanging, he had the opportunity to escape so he took advantage of this situation and ran. During the ten years since his escape, he has been on the run from US Marshalls, bounty hunters and various other law enforcement officials who want the $500.00 reward hanging over his head. There are also wanted posters everywhere with a pretty accurate drawing of his handsome face. He can never stay in one place for any length of time. During his travels, he often works as the top hand for ranchers and is an excellent cowboy and all round person. Finally, he winds up at the Beckley ranch in Maryland where he meets the industrious, sweet, lovely Bess who has taken care of her Dad and twin brothers for many years since the death of her mother.

My primary issue with this book is that so many "details" which would normally be filled in are just missing:

#1 - Bess meets a detective, Mr. Steel, on the train to Texas where she is traveling to take care of business on behalf of her father. She talks with him, has dinner with him. Why was he even introduced? Nothing was done with his character. I thought Beth would at least hire him to find out about Jake and help him be declared innocent of the charges against him.

#2 - *Spoiler* When Jake takes his return trip to Lubbock to face the murder charges, along the way, he apparently has a lot of experiences including the time he stops to work for a lady who obviously is the owner of a cat house? But after some brief words about her and her gals, no other details about Jake's time there is given?

#3 - **Now comes a major spoiler so don't read any further if you don't care for spoilers.** By the time Jake returns to Beth - apparently more than a year has passed since he was cleared of the murder - not counting the months and months he spent traveling to Lubbock - again, a little vague on the timing. During these many months, apparently Jake hasn't communicated with Beth via telegraph, letter - NADA!!? Again - not enough details. When he sees Bess, she has a baby? Yes, the details about the baby are eventually explained, but my issue is: Jake takes a look at the baby and wonders if it could be his but then he realizes the baby is too young? What did I miss here? The book never indicated they were intimate - or did I buy the wrong version?

This is one puzzled reader - it was as though after two-thirds of the book was written, the author thought, "Let's get this story finished - forget the details."

[Lisa C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story line was a little different, which was refreshing. I really enjoyed the two main characters.

I could only give it three stars, though, because there were a lot of holes and unexplained things. Still not sure what the significance was of the Pinkerton man on the train. He never appeared again in the story. There were several others but I don't want to risk giving away too much.

Good descriptions in books are really important to me but this one was way overdone. I had to speed read quite a few times to get back to the story line. It could have used an editor or proofreader.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The version I read was a Kindle version released in 2012. Not sure if the author re-wrote it and released it that way, but by the description it is the same book. The Mass Market version is from Harlequin, so I would definitely say it has been re-written for the 'inspirational' market! It was a sweet and clean read.

[Natalija · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 22%

I struggled to connect with this one because the characters were just too goody-goody. They lacked the flaws and complexities that make a story feel real, and their constant perfection made it impossible for me to get invested in their journey. I need my leads to have a bit more edge or at least some human fallibility.

[Skeeter Jorgensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

GOOD!

[Connie Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book. I enjoyed the characters and their interaction. The suspense and resolution were very satisfying. An enjoyable book.