Single Cowboy Seeks Perfect Match! Rust Creek Ramblings Everyone knows Rust Creek Falls is a good place to find love, but handsome ranching man Zach Dalton is not leaving anything to chance. His classified ad in the Rust Creek Falls Gazette has the whole town buzzing. The offer? No less than lifetime commitment…for the perfect pie-baking, domestically inclined long-haired bride. One woman … bride.
One woman who definitely does not fit the job description is Gazette assistant editor Lydia Grant–curly-haired, independent and admittedly useless in the kitchen. Yet we here at the Gazette have seen definite sparks between the marriage-minded cowboy and the girl who is so not his “type.” Could Zach Dalton have already met his Mrs. Right? Clear your calendars, dear readers. We’re convinced there’s another wedding on the way!
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Good book, though there were times I wanted to smack both Lydia and Zach. Zach, his four brothers, and his father recently moved to Rust Creek Falls. They are looking for a fresh start after their mother died in a wildfire. For Zach, the only thing that he feels will fill the void is a wife and family of his own. Normal dating hasn’t gotten him any closer to what he wants, so he decides to put a classified ad in the newspaper. He has very definite ideas of what he wants, and won’t accept anything less.
I liked Zach. He is charming, sweet, and has that whole cowboy mystique going on. He is also a bit clueless when it comes to women. He’s looking for a domestic goddess that will fulfill all his dreams of a wife like his mom had been. I had to laugh at his complete seriousness when he was dictating his ad to Lydia, and his surprise at her disbelief.
Lydia is the daughter of a single mom. Her father had deserted them when she was little, leaving her mom bitter about the uselessness of men. She’s spent her entire life listening to her mother’s opinions about how a man will let you down every time. Lydia sees herself as the woman that guys want to be friends with, but not the type they want to take out or marry. She sees herself as plain and doesn’t see any sense in trying to pretend otherwise.
I enjoyed the development of Zach and Lydia’s relationship. There’s an instant connection when they meet, but since Lydia doesn’t match any of his requirements, he treats her like a friend. Lydia, on the other hand, develops a quick crush on Zach but doesn’t see any chance of something coming of it. I enjoyed seeing Lydia tease him about the boxes and boxes of responses he gets from his ad. Zach finds it incredibly frustrating that there are so many women that seem to fit his requirements exactly, but all he can think of is Lydia. Some of those dates were pretty amusing, and I kept waiting for someone to tear into him about his chauvinistic requirements. But the closest anyone came was the woman who thought he was kidding and just using the ad as a way to find women to date. It seemed as though every time Zach had one of those dates, he needed to spend time with Lydia to get over the frustration. I liked seeing them spend time together, and it was pretty obvious that he was falling for her and just couldn’t see it. I ached for Lydia, who knew she was falling for Zach and could only see heartache in her future. It was very satisfying the night they were both at the bar watching The Great Roundup and Lydia had too much to drink. Zach got very protective of her and insisted on taking her home. At the same time, the alcohol loosened Lydia’s tongue and she let him know what she really thought about what he was doing. Both of them were blown away by the kiss that followed, and the passion that exploded between them. The problem was, Zach’s eyes were opened, but Lydia was determined to protect her heart. I felt like Zach got a bit of what he deserved, and I was happy to see that he had to work to make Lydia believe in his feelings. His big moment at the end was very well done and I loved how he pulled it off.
I also enjoyed the various reactions of family and friends. Zach got a boatload of teasing from his brothers, which makes me look forward to their stories. I ached for him when he didn’t get the hoped-for support from his father. Some of the best parts were the various entries from the Rust Creek Rambler and the way they stirred up public opinion. Lydia wasn’t entirely immune either. She had her own problems with her mother and her mother’s attitude. I was happy to see their relationship start to improve by the end of the book.