Choosing between his heritage and his heart… Will a longtime family secret keep them apart? Despite their family feud, Spencer Navarro is determined to help his neighbor, Lindsey McClement, when she comes home to save her family ranch. And Lindsey returns the favor by allowing him to house his foster rescue horses in her empty barn stalls. But when the generations-long strife threatens their … generations-long strife threatens their forbidden friendship, Spencer must choose between a new love and his family.
From Harlequin Love Inspired: Uplifting stories of faith, forgiveness and hope.
The Ranchers of Gabriel Bend
Book 1: The Rancher’s Family Secret
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Author Myra Johnson’s first book in her new Ranchers of Gabriel Bend series is an engaging introduction to the characters and the interesting setting of a small town in central Texas.
I enjoyed the romance between Lindsey McClement and Spencer Navarro. Lindsey has left her job at a financial firm to help her widowed aunt save the family ranch from an unpaid tax sale. With her return, she comes face-to-face with Spencer, the man she was attracted to as a teen, but who crushed her heart years ago because of the riff between the families. In addition to working on his grandfather’s quarter horse ranch, Spencer, volunteers to save rescue horses. His loyalty to his stubborn grandfather is challenged when events bring him closer to Lindsey.
Animosity clouds the relationship between the two neighboring ranch families. Lindsey and Spencer’s situation is somewhat reminiscent of the feuding families of Romeo and Juliet, though with a happily-ever-after ending. I love how Myra Johnson, a skillful author, gives the reader a satisfying romance with a unique epilogue to perfectly complete the story. The Rancher’s Family Secret is a great start to a Texas romance series. I’m already looking forward to reading all the next books!
Favorite quotes:
“Wherever God places us, we will survive—and thrive.”
Was this the neon sign she’d prayed God would send her? A message from the past to restore hope for the future?
THE RANCHER’S FAMILY SECRET by Myra Johnson is heart-warming story of Lindsey McClement, Spencer Navarro and the long running feud between their families.
Lindsey moved back to Gabriel Bend, her home town, to help her Aunt Audra find a way to save her families ranch from going under. Evidently after her uncle’s death, her aunt had been in denial over the finances. Paying only parts of bills and maxing out credit cards while selling off livestock all to stay afloat. With her business training and sense along with her determination, she has to turn things around. Her plan was to do just that and then find herself a “real” job. Little did she expect to fall in love with the ranch and to find where she wanted to put down roots was right where she was.
Lindsey had had a crush on Spencer even back in school. Even though he had embarrassed her horribly so way back then at the July picnic, she still couldn’t help but find herself more drawn to the more mature, bearded man he had become. Spencer had always had feelings for Lindsey, but being the shy, more tongue-tied twin, he’d never felt that he was good enough, popular enough or what was best for Lindsey. Then with the age old family feud lurking, he couldn’t show his true feelings or he’d be considered a traitor by his domineering father. That was why he had spouted off all those years ago regretting his words even as they came out of his mouth.
Spencer has been helping Audra as much as he could already. With Lindsey there, he’s determine to continue to do that – if she will let him. Lindsey knows she needs a lot of labor help if she is to even think about making the ranch a money making event/wedding destination. She finally has to concede that she needs Spencer’s offer of help in the form of physical labor. In exchange, when Spencer’s Dad started to balk at the recue horses being kept on their ranch alongside their thoroughbred horses, she offers their barns (which also need repaired) for his recue horses. With her love of animals, that wasn’t a big concession on her part.
How will they both react when they not only have to face each other, but actually work together? Will the attraction intensify or fizzle out? Can Spencer convince Lindsey to have faith in herself – to follow her dreams? Can Spencer learn to speak up for himself when pleasing others doesn’t seem to be working either? Will they get to the root of the family feud? Will they pick family or love or can they have both? Will they find a way to end the feud in order to have it all?
Myra Johnson weaves this inspirational story so well that reading the words on the pages turned into a movie in my mind as I watched the characters develop and the town come to life right before me as I turned the pages. You can’t help but be pulling for Lindsey and Spencer from the first chapter and give a big sigh of happiness on the last page. She takes us along an amazing journey and along the way there are people you feel good thoughts towards and few you want to wring their neck – as with the way in life. Hoping to see some of the characters branch off in upcoming books. She shows us never to give up on a dream, but all good things require some good honest hard work to go with the imagination to turn dreams to into reality.
THE RANCHER’S FAMILY SECRET is a book that I would whole-heartedly recommend to anyone that that loves a feel good book with a faith thread, that also shows honor to family, respect for our elders, compassion to those we love even when they are wrong, and where love will find a way to win out – through distance, time and family feuds. It gets a big 5+ stars from me!
The family feud between the Navarros and the McClements has gone on for so long, does anyone really know what happened to cause the split? Spencer Navarro, despite the feud, is determined to help neighbor Lindsey McClement when she comes back home to save her family ranch. She in turn offers him empty stalls in her barn for his foster rescue horses. Will Spencer and Lindsey be forced to choose between family loyalties or their forbidden friendship? I found this to be an uplifting story of faith and forgiveness, and it did not hurt that one of the main characters was a hunky cowboy! You will not be disappointed and like me will be eager to return to the ranchers of Gabriel Bend.
I received a copy from the author. The opinions are my own.
Will their love be able to overcome a family feud spanning generations?
The family feud kept them apart as teens and shaped who they are today. Lindsey’s back home to help the failing family ranch and Spencer’s just as attracted as he was as a teen. Can they overcome the hurdles of hurt feelings and a generations-old family feud to find their way back to each other?
Myra Johnson writes about the angst, the love and the trials of family and friend relationships in a way that draws the reader in. I highly recommend her books.