Wyatt Walker has lived his life just on the edge between wrong and right, so when he volunteers to fix the town's iconic carousel, no one believes he will or can actually do it. Widowed Marilyn Sofitel returns to Wander with her twin daughters to get her bearings following her husband's death. The first place they go is to the carousel, where they encounter Wyatt. While Wyatt charms her girls, Mari knows that charm can hide many things that aren't so appealing. Her husband was a case in point.
When Mari takes her van to Wyatt for service and discovers the disorganization of his office, she decides that one way she can help him in return for his assistance is to organize his office. As they work together, Mari discovers that Wyatt is a much more honorable man than the persona he shows the town. She also discovers a man whose flaws make him someone she can relate to.
Wyatt and Mari have both sworn off relationships, each for their own reason. When Mari's reason becomes a tongue-wagging scandal throughout the town, will Wyatt step into the breach and take some of the heat onto his own broad shoulders? Can their friendship survive the secrets they've kept?
I loved this story so much. Mari is so wounded that all she wants is to be left alone. However, she has adorable twin daughters who don't understand the grief she feels, or the need she has to keep her secrets. Wyatt, too, has been wounded, first by parents whose expectations he failed to meet, then by nearly everyone in town who failed to see his antics as what they were, a cry for independence. He's a first rate mechanic whose birthright is to be a rancher. He has no desire to work with cattle (or cows, as he calls them to annoy his father) and has fought for the right to leave the ranch. Unfortunately, he sees the disappointment in his father's eyes every time he goes to the ranch, and he feels the pressure to return.
Sweet romance readers will love this story. Wyatt is definitely a swoon-worthy hero, and Mari is a classic "damsel in distress." Their Wander Canyon Wish is actually the second book set in Wander Canyon by Allie Pleiter. The first, Wander Canyon Courtship, is the story of Wyatt's brother, Chaz and Yvonne, and kind of sets the tone for how Wyatt is portrayed at the beginning of Their Wander Canyon Wish. Read both if you want the full family story!