A Child Under His Tree

Return to the Double-C Ranch #12

by Allison Leigh

'Tis the season for second chances—and secrets!

Forget the mistletoe maneuvers. Kelly Rasmussen isn't planning on having that reunion kiss with Dr. Caleb Buchanan any time soon. Things had long ago gone south for these former high school sweethearts. Except for that one night six years ago—which resulted in an explosive secret Kelly's kept till this very day.

Now career and family have brought them both back to Weaver, Wyoming. Their unavoidable clashes—and instant chemistry—make them realize this town isn't big enough for the two of them. Or three of them—counting Kelly's son. Because there's something about that little boy… For one thing, he has Caleb's eyes… 

Genres: Romance, Second Chance

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 18, 2016

About the author

A frequent name on bestseller lists, Allison Leigh's highpoint as a writer is hearing from readers that they laughed, cried or lost sleep while reading her books. She’s blessed with an immensely patient family who doesn’t mind (much) her time spent at her computer and who gives her the kind of love she wants her readers to share in every page. Stay in touch at www.allisonleigh.com.

Reviews

[Frankie · Rating 1 out of 5]

SPOILER ALERT!!!

Plot: Caleb & Kelley were childhood sweethearts. They dated throughout highschool and made plans to marry one day. Then Caleb goes to College, meets and falls in love with Melissa (a fellow med student), dumps Kelley and asks Melissa to marry him who turns him down. Kelley heartbroken, tries to move on and forget him. Flash forward 2 yrs on, Kelley stops to help Caleb who is having car trouble and they have sex one last time in her car. She gets pregnant, leaves town and doesn't tell Caleb because she doesn't want him to marry her out of obligation. Five years later, Kelly and her son return home to bury her mother. She meets Caleb again who is now a small town doctor and he has no clue that her son is his because her mother told him that she had gotten married and had a son with someone else.

What I didn't like about this book is that the author never explained how Caleb who was supposedly in love with his childhood sweetheart Kelly all their lives, could fall out of love so quickly with her and in love with another! He was heartless in the way he originally dumped her and in his lame excuse years later (he told Kelly that they were "just kids" back then as his excuse for falling for another & dumping her!!!). We never learned WHY he fell out of love with Kelly in the first place (especially as there was no fight/argument) or why/what was so special about Melissa that at 21 yrs old he had to propose to her!

I also didn't feel any chemistry or romance in this book - nor any true love or remorse for the hurt he caused her. All in all, it was just a bland read for me that I couldn't wait to finish just so I could post my review. In fairness, I absolutely loath stories in which there is a 3rd party in the mix - especially when hero dumps/moves on with someone else! I received a free copy from NetGalley for a fair & honest review....

[Kiki]

I understand they “may” have an amicable relationship if she forgets about the past.
I’m sorry, and excuse me if it hurts you sensitive forgiving “insert whatever religious” belief, but does the heroine have rare case of early Alzheimer’s? Is that why she’s going to forget that this guy was supposedly in love with her, but the moment he found someone better than her he fell OUT of love with her, fell in love OW so hard that he PROPOSED to her?
The only reason that marriage didn’t happen because the OW had a good head on her shoulder and saw what a prize this hero was, not, and turned him down.
I hope she had a good life!

Read Fran's 1-star review of A Child Under His Tree by Allison Leigh
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[shms · Rating 2 out of 5]

well...that wasn't what I expected. Reading some of the reviews I expected all sort of ranty moments reading this book. I mean he'd dropped her for OW in the past. Can't get any more ranty than that but it's not really delved into, which was disappointing. What was also a disappointment was this book induced an over whelming feeling of boredom. We met the whole, the whole family, the whole town really. It seemed to be a catch up of many many other characters. The main romance could have been really engaging with plenty of angst but while the set up was decent, the execution was not.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good second chance story. Kelly and Caleb had been high school sweethearts, but when Caleb went away to college he ended his relationship with Kelly in favor of another pre-med student, breaking Kelly's heart. The book opens several years later. Kelly and Caleb had a brief encounter that didn't end well, and Kelly is pregnant. Her mother, a real piece of work and doesn't know about the encounter, wants Kelly to try to pass the baby off as Caleb's because "those people take care of their own" (meaning her). Kelly isn't about to force a marriage of obligation on Caleb, having suffered her mother's resentment all her life. So she packs up and leaves home, swearing to give her baby a better life.

Six years later she has come home to settle her mother's estate, bringing her son Tyler with her. An unexpected trip to the clinic brings Kelly and Tyler face to face with Caleb, who she did not know was back in Weaver. She is very nervous because she never told him about Tyler. Caleb is pretty oblivious because Kelly's mom put out the story that Kelly had eloped and had a baby after leaving Weaver. However, there are definitely some sparks flying between them, and it isn't all anger.

Kelly and Caleb have a lot to overcome before they can have a future together. Kelly still holds a lot of anger and hurt over the way that Caleb had dumped her all those years ago. She had been waiting at home for Caleb and he had been with another girl. It didn't help that Kelly's mother was always down on her, telling her that she wasn't good enough for him. Now she also feels guilty that she didn't tell him about Tyler. Caleb has his own guilt that he has to deal with. Now that he's older, he realizes what a jerk he had been and how badly he had behaved. His reaction after their truck encounter also left him with another reason to feel guilty.

I did enjoy seeing Kelly and Caleb get to know each other again. Kelly's fears had her trying to keep Caleb at a distance, but Weaver is a small town and they see each other frequently. I loved seeing the connection between Caleb and Tyler (right down to their mutual dislike of carrots), which made it more difficult for Kelly to avoid him. There were some really sweet scenes between Caleb and Tyler. Every time he and Kelly meet, the attraction burns a little hotter. Caleb, especially, remembers the things that drew him to Kelly to begin with, and her new confidence and maturity make her even more attractive to him. I liked those times when Kelly could forget the past and allow herself to enjoy Caleb's company. However, the secret of Tyler's birth began to wear on her and she finally blurted out the truth.

This is where Caleb lost me a bit. I understood his initial shock and anger. That was logical and believable. But then he turned controlling and threatening, not even attempting to look for a compromise. I so wanted to grab him and shake him, especially during the confrontation at the hospital. It was so sweet seeing Tyler stick up for his mommy. I ached for Kelly with the solution that Caleb finally arrived at, because she never wanted to be an obligation, and that's all she could see. But she wanted what she thought was best for Tyler, so she put her own needs aside. There were some sweet scenes with Caleb and Tyler, but I continued to want to pound both of Caleb and Kelly because they constantly believed the worst of each other. I liked Caleb's big moment at the end, when he finally figured out his feelings and what he had to do to make things right with Kelly.

[Palabasalibro · Rating 4 out of 5]

** received a copy in exchange for an honest review **

The first few chapters really sucked me in - and what a way to start a story too! Then as the chapters progressed, I got fond of the little boy and the characters around them.

The only problem I had were the two main characters. I wish more of their history together was in the book so that we could get a glimpse of how they fell in love and what really happened when they broke up. Half-meant excuses just wouldn't cut it especially when you dump your girl for someone else. However, I did see a lot of chemistry between them. All that angst would show a lot of pain, and there's no pain if it didn't really matter.

I also had the feeling that the story here isn't done yet. I don't know why, but things were left open-ended that leaves us readers wanting more. Maybe it's because this was part of a series? If so, I haven't read any other book in this series yet besides this one, so if there are more books for this series after this one, I do hope this couple would get a good old happily ever after.

This book is about family, love, friendship and second chances. It is a bittersweet romance which will tug at your heartstrings for sure.

[Existentialboredom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite liked this. I really liked the h - she had issues and insecurities, but wasn’t a dick. Usually I really hate secret baby tropes where the h runs away pregnant for stupid reasons. In this, I could kind of understand it and the H’s mother puts him straight about it:

“If she’d cared about me, she would have told me before he was born!” His mother’s lips formed a firm line. She pushed to her feet and propped her hands on her hips. “Now you sound like you’re ten years old and in a snit. Put yourself in her shoes for a moment, Caleb. That girl never had one single thing handed to her. She didn’t have the opportunities you had. She certainly didn’t have a family who stood behind her no matter what. You broke her heart when you were twenty years old!”

Her reasoning for keeping the baby secret seemed more like a trauma response in a way, but the way her actions were written were almost understated so it was never like this big dramatic martyrdom or anything.

The H was a little more annoyingly circumspect. He never fully addresses his screw up when they were 20. He says sorry, and then also acts impatiently about when is she going to forgive him. They’re like 30 by that point, so I can kind of understand how what he did when he was 20 would feel a little less explosive by that stage. But we never do get much more info about his proposal to another woman. I wanted to know if he cheated on the h (I think the implication is that he did), and I would have liked to hear him reflect a bit more on whether he actually loved the OW.

Otherwise, kind of a nice read.

[Monica Cardoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good read that I enjoyed reading. I see that I have a lot of books in this series that I have to read. These were great characters that deserved a happily ever after. Kelly and Caleb needed to clear their past up so they could be able to be a happy family. I know that Kelly did wrong by not letting Caleb know that she was pregnant with his child but she was hurt. All she wanted to do was to provide for her son and that was it. Now as for Caleb he knew that he did wrong by letting her go but it was too late for him. When he tried looking for Kelly she was long gone he did try to look for her but to no success. She is going to have a lot of explaining to do and when Caleb find out he will be so mad. He has the right to know that he has a child the right to also raise him. Kelley and Caleb are going to have to put their differences aside so they can co-parent their child. The other thing that Caleb needs to remember is that Tyler loves his mother and he will not stand for Caleb to yell at his mother.

A Child under His Tree was a good read. I loved the storyline in this read. I loved the characters and loved their happily ever after. The chemistry between Kelly and Caleb was sensual. I can’t wait to read the first 14 books in this series.

I totally recommend this read!!

Received ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an Honest Review

[charmaine White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice Read

An easy going story a comfortable read.Not a whole lot of action or excitement.But still a good read,for a quiet day.

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story about a woman not telling the father of her child that she has his son. She wants his love rather than to marry him because she has his child.

[Mary Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the basic plot line of this novel was too much like the basic plot line of the previous book in this series. There were a few variations. Allison Leigh is a good writer; I have been reading her books since she published "Stay" many years ago and have followed the family in Weaver through more than one generation.

[Avid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Kelly and Caleb. High school sweethearts and then he goes to college while she stays home waiting for him. He meets fellow med student Melissa and dumps Kelly for her. He's surprised and shocked when Melissa rejects his marriage proposal at the age of 21. Caleb gets a flat tire on a visit home for Christmas and Kelly pulls over to help him. He gets into the warm cab of her truck and they end up having sex. She then throws him out because "now it was her turn to say goodbye".

Flash forward five weeks later and Kelly is pregnant due to contraception failure. She leaves town because she feels she can't raise her child with the small town gossip she grew up. She doesn't want to marry Caleb because he feels obligated. Kelly's mother treats her like an unwanted obligation and it left some emotional scars on Kelly.

Flash forward eight years later. Kelly gave birth to a son and became an RN. They come back to town to bury her mother and sort through her affairs. Kelly's son Tyler needs to see a doctor and she takes him to the local pediatrician office. Surprise! Caleb is the local kid's doctor and not in a surgery residency like she thought he'd be at this time. He thinks Kelly married another man and had his child thanks to Kelly's mom lying to the whole town. Kelly never saw her mother after she left, but did send occasional letters or pictures.

I understand Kelly's actions. She was waiting at home for Caleb and he was messing around with another girl. Her mother did an emotional number on her self esteem and confidence. I'd have liked to hear more about Caleb. I can understand a long distance relationship not working out. But to propose to Melissa at the age of 21? Would he have longed to have Kelly back if it were not for Melissa rejecting him? Why did he switch from a specialty of surgery to pediatrics?

Over all an enjoyable book.

[Books and Spoons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forgiveness and second chances are some of the most difficult things to give since trust will never be that same after you once break it. This story hits to the core of the forgiveness since both Caleb and Kelly have deeply hurt each other, and both are in need of absolution, compassion, forgiveness.
The story is an emotional roll-a-coaster, I was in tears several times because the hurt and pain they are inflicting on each other are touchable.
I wish there would have been more Caleb side of the story. Why he broke up with Kelly in the past, that I understand: they were both young, and trying to do a long distance relationship is never easy, not to mention for a college freshman, but did he really love the person he left Kelly for and was it only her rejection of Caleb that made him return to Kelly? The present day conflict needed more of a solution, in my opinion. I was left wanting more feelings, deeper emotions, and most of all more communication of those emotions between Caleb and Kelly.
But there were things that filled my heart with joy, as well. The connection between Tyler and Caleb was immediate, warm and caring. But as well was Tylor protective of his mother, and stood up when he felt the need for it. Those scenes were so real and raw, they overwhelmed me with emotions.
I loved how the family was so thick, undivided, and linked to each other. The support they showed, the acceptance and concession from them was heartfelt.
The story undeniably brings out the emotions. It makes you think and ponder what and how much would you be willing to forgive and accept if needed.
An ardent and earnest story about love, family, grace, mercy and forgiveness
~ Three Spoons with a teaspoon on the side

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: Return to the Double C

A whole lot of forgiving has to happen by both Kelly and Caleb. Reading this one was an emotional journey. ~ Kim

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its the holiday book which is pretty much what drawn me to this book. For some reason while reading this book I just wasn't into it. I didn't like Dr.Caleb much because he was pretty pushy when it came to Kelly. I didn't like that he kept trying to rush things especially when he thought that she would jet, yea she should jet just with the ways pushing things way to fast. I thought that this book was nice, not great. It's pretty generic, I mean there are a bit of tweeks with some differences between this and many others with the same storyline but not enough to make me want to read this book again or recommend it to others. Also with a title and over that screams holiday I wished that there was more holiday themes events that were going on or that they could do. I remember one event but I was under the impression it was a Halloween sorta event thing, maybe I understood it wrong. Overall this was an ok book but I wish that there was more to make it stand out.