New York Times bestselling author Catherine Anderson takes readers to a quaint wilderness town, where a man and a woman find a second chance at life—and love… proposition when he seeks out the most dangerous man in town to heal his sick puppy. Chloe has been warned to stay away from Ben Longtree. But there’s something about the gentle, untamed loner that intrigues her…
Long ago, Ben accepted his role as town outcast. Rumored to have once killed a man, he lives in splendid isolation with his forgetful mother, secretly employing his skills as a veterinarian to heal the wounded animals that mysteriously come to him. Now, Chloe’s sunny warmth and brave tenacity arouse desires he has long denied. And although Ben is notorious for his healing touch, it is Chloe’s hands—and heart—that have the power to save his battered soul.
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This was a beautifully, sensitized and amazing tale of a town outcast and a traumatized woman. A very slow-burn romance which expresses a relation to any being which can be cherished. This book is going to be automatically liked by animal lovers for the character personality here openly described for his devotion to animals.
Triggers: barbaric injuries done to animals and one brutal descriptive death of an animal.
“It’s always been that way for me with wild things. They just come.”
Looking for a fresh start Chloe Evans and her six-year old son came to one corner of the country where life was very different from her abused past. Of timidity and courage she feared for her sons safety and worried that he won’t get a normal life. Adopting a puppy made her son feel happy but that phase didn’t last long for the puppy became deadly sick.
Ben Longtree was a surly man who has deep layers and layers of secrets. A half Indian by birth, his father was a drunken, abusive man who verbally and physically abused his mother and him. Ben has a special quality that brings the animals to him and he nurtures and takes cares of their injuries.
“If only we’d met a hundred and fifty years ago, I’d snatch you up, toss you over my horse, and ride off with you into the sunset.”
“I would have been a very uncooperative captive.”
A murder and charged with wrong accusation pushed Ben away to live in a desolate area by himself with his sick mother. He is also a veterinarian who takes cares for all the wild animals that seeks him out when injured. When a little boy comes to him requesting to treat his puppy Ben first rebuked him but “those big brown eyes that appealed to him in a way that defied explanation” and fearing the towns another made up calumniate accusation Ben relented for “there was no love quite so innocent, no devotion quite so absolute as that of a boy for his dog”. Chloe doesn’t escape the towns rumors and doesn’t care about it only wants to stay clear of Ben. When Chloe panicks in search of her son and reaches his home to finds her son slurping a glass of lemonade and Ben treating the puppy she comes across a different side of Ben that the town didn’t know. The story then picks up and we find someone is trying to frame Ben by killing/injuring the animals. Chloe suffers the burnt of the psychotic intruder for getting along with Ben. The story is so wonderfully narrated. Chloe’s son is such a sweetheart. I enjoyed his moments with both Chloe and Ben. I lived among these characters. Loyal, tenderhearted of loving nature Ben’s devotion to the animals makes me want to cry and hug him. The characters were properly evolved.
Catherine Anderson stories takes time and opens little by little. Amongst reading we start feeling for the characters and have happy feels. Only By Your Touch – the title holds a meaning. In this wilderness both Chloe and Ben find second chances with a little bit of comanche magic.
This is one of my all time favorite reads by Catherine Anderson, and I have re-read it more times than I can count. Magical, mystical, and mesmerizing are words that come to mind when describing the hero of this exceptionally memorable story. Ben Longtree is a big, tall man of mixed heritage, a quarter Shoshone Indian and has for many years been an outcast in his own hometown. The target of malicious gossip and vicious rumors, he walks tall with dignity and honor always, but he walks alone. Along comes Jeremy Evans, his mother Chloe, and a dying puppy named Rowdy, and Ben’s life changes more than he ever bargained for; just maybe for once in his life he will be accepted and loved without having to hide the very essence of who he is. Don’t miss out on this one and keep your handkerchief handy!
One of my very favorites by this author!