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Men of the West #36
The Cowboy's Christmas Lullaby
He'll sing a new tune this Christmas!
Divorced and raising two boys on her own is a far cry from the big family Marcella Grayson always imagined. Then she meets tall, dark and delicious Denver Yates—and the attraction is overwhelming! Still, Marcella is cautious. It takes a lot of man to date a single mom, let alone build a relationship…or a family.
After losing his wife and unborn child, Denver has sworn off the family life—especially kids. Yet lovely Marcella and her boys find a way into this cowboy's heart. But when their passion lights up the plus sign on the test stick, Denver is stunned. Is this a snare set by Marcella? Or is it the Christmas wish they've been too afraid to make?
Divorced and raising two boys on her own is a far cry from the big family Marcella Grayson always imagined. Then she meets tall, dark and delicious Denver Yates—and the attraction is overwhelming! Still, Marcella is cautious. It takes a lot of man to date a single mom, let alone build a relationship…or a family.
After losing his wife and unborn child, Denver has sworn off the family life—especially kids. Yet lovely Marcella and her boys find a way into this cowboy's heart. But when their passion lights up the plus sign on the test stick, Denver is stunned. Is this a snare set by Marcella? Or is it the Christmas wish they've been too afraid to make?
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published November 22, 2016
40 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Stella Bagwell
448 books87 followersAt seventeen, Stella married her high school sweetheart: Harrell, and they had a son Jason. She began her writing career almost by accident. She was a hairdresser and worked in her sister's beauty shop. Ironically, Stella developed a severe allergy to hairspray and was forced to resign. With time on her hands, Stella wanted to do something creative. She remembered a high school English teacher telling her she could be a writer if she wanted. Although she always loved reading romances, she never thought to write one herself. Armed with that now notion and an old, manual typewriter, she went to work, attempting to create a story similar to those she liked reading. The result‚ her first book, purchased by Mills & Boon and issued under the Harlequin imprint. After that, she became a full time writer and today, has close to forty published novels. Her for the future is to continue writing romance novels as long as there's an audience to enjoy her work.
Next to writing, traveling is one of her most favorite activities. Yet, because the southwest is dear to her heart, she sets most of her books there in rough, rugged ranch country. She feels it's essential to know a place before writing about it; that philosophy gives her more reason to plan trips! The marriage has always lived in southeastern Oklahoma. But, they purchased a portion of a twenty-two hundred, acre ranch; they now make their home there. Before moving onto the ranch, she had a swimming pool in her back yard and spent most of her summer evenings in the water. Her husband has promised to put in another pool, but for now she has to make do with the creek that runs through their property. The closest town of three thousand is fifteen miles away; she says she loves the seclusion, living among the woods and horses and wildlife. The only thing she doesn't like is making the thirty mile round trip to the post office or grocery store. Worse still, is the eighty-five mile trip to get office supplies!
One of her greatest joys was to see Jason, her only son, graduate from college with degrees in math and physical education. He now lives in Port Lavaca, Texas, where he teaches high school algebra and geometry and coaches football and weightlifting. Family has always come first with Stella and she enjoys spending time with her son when he visits Oklahoma. Sometimes, she and her husband drive down to the Texas coast to see him. However, her mother, step-father and siblings all live nearby and they have routine get-togethers. In her spare time, she enjoys practicing violin and guitar, both of which she can play by ear. She claims to need years of practice before calling herself a musician. Stella also enjoys gardening and being outdoors.
Next to writing, traveling is one of her most favorite activities. Yet, because the southwest is dear to her heart, she sets most of her books there in rough, rugged ranch country. She feels it's essential to know a place before writing about it; that philosophy gives her more reason to plan trips! The marriage has always lived in southeastern Oklahoma. But, they purchased a portion of a twenty-two hundred, acre ranch; they now make their home there. Before moving onto the ranch, she had a swimming pool in her back yard and spent most of her summer evenings in the water. Her husband has promised to put in another pool, but for now she has to make do with the creek that runs through their property. The closest town of three thousand is fifteen miles away; she says she loves the seclusion, living among the woods and horses and wildlife. The only thing she doesn't like is making the thirty mile round trip to the post office or grocery store. Worse still, is the eighty-five mile trip to get office supplies!
One of her greatest joys was to see Jason, her only son, graduate from college with degrees in math and physical education. He now lives in Port Lavaca, Texas, where he teaches high school algebra and geometry and coaches football and weightlifting. Family has always come first with Stella and she enjoys spending time with her son when he visits Oklahoma. Sometimes, she and her husband drive down to the Texas coast to see him. However, her mother, step-father and siblings all live nearby and they have routine get-togethers. In her spare time, she enjoys practicing violin and guitar, both of which she can play by ear. She claims to need years of practice before calling herself a musician. Stella also enjoys gardening and being outdoors.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 20, 2017
I’m really surprised this book is rated so high.
There seems to be an ongoing theme of books being called “Christmas” but not actually having anything to do with Christmas. This one starts with Halloween and the epilogue ends on Christmas morning so it’s really more of an autumn book.
Big issues for me were the ongoing sexist undertones throughout the book, these mostly came from the heroines two sons. They were things like “men can’t cook” “his dishes are dirty because he doesn’t have a wife to wash them”. Hello this is not the 1950s! Speaking of the 1950s the author wrote these two boys who are 10 & 11 like they’re satires from the 1950s with all the “gosh”es you can stomach thrown in. These boys don’t act like two tweens being raised by a highly educated (nurse) single mom in 2016 (when the book was published).
The hero (and I use that term loosely) had some major issues. It’s been 12 years since his wife died and he’s still “not over it” for lack of a better phrase. It’s unclear if he’s been celibate fir these past 12 years or not but if he hasn’t been sexual encounters have been few and far between. Anyone still having problems processing a loss after 12 years seriously needs to seek out therapy (there is nothing wrong with getting help, it’s the healthy thing to do). This of course put the unfair burden on our heroine and her two impressionable sons.
Denver (the hero) starts out nice if not overly exciting (he points out himself how dull he is, more than once, every readers dream. NOT!) But he’s a jerk when he finds out about the baby. I get so tired of this in these books. I get being scared, or shocked when the birth control fails but does every guy (seemingly mature) have to become an asshole as soon as his girlfriend gets unexpectedly pregnant? I mean what thirty-something woman in real life is going to put up with that BS? She is going to expect her man to be an adult just like she is.
The heroine isn’t the best either, she gets a little too defensive too quickly. She should know that the news is going to shock him, that’s no surprise from the get to. From the beginning of the book we had she knew know what he want/doesn’t want so it’s hard to see her act without putting that knowledge at the forefront.
Oh and who is telling the whole town she’s knocked up within days of her finding out? What about waiting until after the first trimester? If this were real life and someone was going around telling friends, family, people I work with without my consent I’d be so pissed off.
I guess if you want a quick read that about a ranch hand with issues this book is for you.
I probably won’t read others by this author unless I already own them.
There seems to be an ongoing theme of books being called “Christmas” but not actually having anything to do with Christmas. This one starts with Halloween and the epilogue ends on Christmas morning so it’s really more of an autumn book.
Big issues for me were the ongoing sexist undertones throughout the book, these mostly came from the heroines two sons. They were things like “men can’t cook” “his dishes are dirty because he doesn’t have a wife to wash them”. Hello this is not the 1950s! Speaking of the 1950s the author wrote these two boys who are 10 & 11 like they’re satires from the 1950s with all the “gosh”es you can stomach thrown in. These boys don’t act like two tweens being raised by a highly educated (nurse) single mom in 2016 (when the book was published).
The hero (and I use that term loosely) had some major issues. It’s been 12 years since his wife died and he’s still “not over it” for lack of a better phrase. It’s unclear if he’s been celibate fir these past 12 years or not but if he hasn’t been sexual encounters have been few and far between. Anyone still having problems processing a loss after 12 years seriously needs to seek out therapy (there is nothing wrong with getting help, it’s the healthy thing to do). This of course put the unfair burden on our heroine and her two impressionable sons.
Denver (the hero) starts out nice if not overly exciting (he points out himself how dull he is, more than once, every readers dream. NOT!) But he’s a jerk when he finds out about the baby. I get so tired of this in these books. I get being scared, or shocked when the birth control fails but does every guy (seemingly mature) have to become an asshole as soon as his girlfriend gets unexpectedly pregnant? I mean what thirty-something woman in real life is going to put up with that BS? She is going to expect her man to be an adult just like she is.
The heroine isn’t the best either, she gets a little too defensive too quickly. She should know that the news is going to shock him, that’s no surprise from the get to. From the beginning of the book we had she knew know what he want/doesn’t want so it’s hard to see her act without putting that knowledge at the forefront.
Oh and who is telling the whole town she’s knocked up within days of her finding out? What about waiting until after the first trimester? If this were real life and someone was going around telling friends, family, people I work with without my consent I’d be so pissed off.
I guess if you want a quick read that about a ranch hand with issues this book is for you.
I probably won’t read others by this author unless I already own them.
July 2, 2017
***4.25 Stars***
I found this book quite good and it was a relaxing and enjoyable read.
Marcella Grayson is a thirty-three-year-old single mother who is an ER nurse at the local hospital. Between her long shifts at the hospital and raising her two sons she has little time for a social life.
On her way home after taking the boys to a Halloween party at the ranch of her good friends, her car breaks down and she is rescued by Denver Yates. He is a handsome, single man who helps run the ranch, but he is pretty closed off. It's been twelve years, at the age of twenty-four, that he lost his wife from severe diabetes. She did something dangerous behind his back, betraying his trust, and died from complications. He has nothing to do with women any longer, living a life alone for the past twelve years. He has vowed to never be in a relationship, love, marry, or have a child.
That situation slowly changes when he meets Marcella and her two sons. He fights it tooth and nail and makes horrible accusations and says hurtful things that crush her when she tells him she is pregnant.
A good read that I recommend.
I found this book quite good and it was a relaxing and enjoyable read.
Marcella Grayson is a thirty-three-year-old single mother who is an ER nurse at the local hospital. Between her long shifts at the hospital and raising her two sons she has little time for a social life.
On her way home after taking the boys to a Halloween party at the ranch of her good friends, her car breaks down and she is rescued by Denver Yates. He is a handsome, single man who helps run the ranch, but he is pretty closed off. It's been twelve years, at the age of twenty-four, that he lost his wife from severe diabetes. She did something dangerous behind his back, betraying his trust, and died from complications. He has nothing to do with women any longer, living a life alone for the past twelve years. He has vowed to never be in a relationship, love, marry, or have a child.
That situation slowly changes when he meets Marcella and her two sons. He fights it tooth and nail and makes horrible accusations and says hurtful things that crush her when she tells him she is pregnant.
A good read that I recommend.
December 14, 2017
I struggled to like this book. Denver and Marcella are all wrong for each other, and while I liked Marcella, I thought Denver was a jerk who didn’t deserve her.
Read
December 1, 2016Miniseries: Men of the West
December 29, 2016
This was a good book
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews