Struggling to support five younger siblings, keep a roof over their heads, and fend off rustlers and thieves, lovely Molly Durant has no time for romance, despite her passion for the handsome and seductive Rubal Jarrett. Original.
Vivian Vaughan is the granddaughter of Texas ranchers and Texas Rangers. She grew up on the western edge of the Edwards Plateau, where there has always been a scarcity of water and grass – and an abundance of self-reliance, a place where people don’t take themselves too seriously and laughter comes naturally. Vaughan’s books reflect her love of the land, the people and their stories. Vivian lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband of fifty-four years, a retired NASA engineer. Their two sons, two lovely daughters-in-law (one from England; the other Mexico) and five of their 6 grandchildren live nearby.
I found myself loving this book! It had a few really silly cringe moments, but overall it was hard to put down. You start with Rubal, still obsessed with a girl he had what he thought was a simple fling with. He can't get her out of his mind, so he heads back to see his Molly, taking a job in his twin's place to give himself an excuse. He finds Molly, running her Mom's bed and breakfast, and trying to raise her siblings since her parents death. She's not having an easy go of it, with judgmental townspeople, no money, no customers, and rebellious kids. She pulls a gun at the sight of Rubal, not amused at his having left her after there night of passion. He lies, saying he's actually his twin brother Jubal. This is the part that made me cringe. First, I dislike the names. Second, of course this isn't going to end well when she finds out. Still, Rubal comes along, and helps to wrangle her siblings (he knows how, coming from a large and extended family) he is a brawny do it all man, so he fixes up the place, and he advertises for her business and brings in customers. All the time he's being an awesome macho alpha, Molly is still being independent and fiery. I love this combo! It has it's issues, but bottom line is I couldn't put this old paperback down. Fun times!