The Cowboy’s Make Believe BrideSearching for a new future… run for Sheriff… but convincing the townsfolk Fort intends to put down roots in the small community is going to take more than words. He needs a bride.
Running from the past…
Cori Walters realizes she will never become the photographer she dreams of being in the town where her father’s – former mayor turned cattle rustler – legacy taints everything she attempts to accomplish. When her friend offers her a temporary job posing as a fiancé, Cori decides going to Wyoming might be just the new start she needs. Until she realizes her pretend groom-to-be is someone she knows from high school… And hates her.
Somehow Fort and Cori have to put aside their family differences long enough to get Fort elected.
If they don’t kill each other – or fall in love.
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This story is wholesome and sweet. I loved the respect and chemistry they have. The ending was perfect too.
Cori has never been forgiven for what her father did. Most of the people where she lives despise her and treat her like a pariah. She can’t bear it any longer so when she sees an opportunity to get away, she just grabs it.
Fort has never been really accepted in the town he lives in. He wants to become the sheriff but she needs to get at least engaged so the people can vote for him.
Both characters had been marked by their fathers; one a cheater and the other a gambler. However, this makes them stronger and at the same time, give them the understanding they need for their relationship. Both having the feeling of not belonging to the place they live, and not being fully accepted by the people around them.
A beautiful story with beautiful characters who make you believe in the goodness of people.
Humor, mystery, suspense, and love, all together to make us enjoy a great story.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book.
Fortune “Fort” Besingame and Cori Walters grew up on adjoining ranches in Brewster, Texas. Fort’s father was a gambler who won the ranch and then lost it years later, both times in high stakes poker to Cori’s father. Cori’s father was an insurance agent, the mayor and a swindler. While he took care of his wife, before he went to jail, he left Cori, still a teenager to pick up the pieces, and sell off all their belongs to make restitution. Fort’s mother had divorced his father and remarried before his father lost the ranch and Fort spent his summers in Wolf Creek, Wyoming. After his father lost the ranch and disappeared, eighteen year old Fort escaped Brewster, joined the Navy and was an MP for 8 years. Five years ago he returned to his mother’s ranch to live with her, his step father and half brother.
Although Cori was still a child, the “good” people of Brewster have blamed her for her father’s crimes, despite her doing her best to make restitution. Finally she reaches her limits and decides to leave Brewster, when her best friend Sabrina, makes her an offer she can’t refuse.
When he returned from the Navy, Fort just wanted to be decompress, but the good people Wolf Creek kept trying to fix him up, so he claimed he had a girlfriend in Texas. Now the sheriff wants to retire and would like to see Fort run for the position, but the citizens feel he is a flight risk with his girlfriend in Texas, so will vote for his rival from their teen years, widower insurance agent Deke Sutton, who grew up in town. While the sheriff, his mother and others tell him if he would marry his girlfriend he would have a better chance to win the election.
He turns to his friend matchmaker Sabrina to find him a temporary wife. Knowing them both, Sabrina believes that they have shared interests neither is afraid of hard work and they are both looking for acceptance. She just doesn’t tell them who the other person is. Now it is up to them to find what they truly need.
I received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review. As she has in her other books, the author deftly develops the characters, beautifully describes the setting and weaves an election, a mystery and a romance to to lovely resolution.
I received a complimentary copy of this book and I am voluntarily reviewing it.
What a great book. This is the first book that I have read from this author and it was fantastic. It was just the kind of book that I love. The characters and plot were so realistic. The plot flowed beautifully.
I couldn’t stop reading. I loved the dual POVs; it helps me to identify with the character.
I will definitely being reading more from this author. I can see her becoming a favorite of mine. Highly recommend.
Fort needs a bride to run for sheriff in Wolf Creek, the little town where he lives. But he needs a bride in order for the townspeople to vote for him. Cori is trying to escape her past and all the wrongs that her father did. Can she be the bride for Fort when her father was the responsible for Fort’s father to lose everything? They have to figure it out while trying to solve a mystery in Wolf Creek. A very funny love story. I received an ARC copy of this book and I voluntarily reviewed it.