Title: Texas Homecoming
Series: Book 2 of the Ryan Family
Author: Carolyn Brown
Publisher: Forever
Format: Paperback
Published On: Jan. 25, 2022
Author’s website: CarolynBrownBooks.com
Genre: Western Romance
Set In: Honey Grove, TX
A blizzard makes the roads impossible to travel in Honey Grove, TX. That leaves people stuck in their homes and stops Cody Ryan from getting to his destination. His planned reunion with his family on Sunflower Ranch will have to wait. When he avoids hitting a deer, it puts his truck out of commission. Because he wasn’t far from Max Hilton’s barn, he heads that way for shelter during the cold weather. The wood stove is a gift from heaven and there’s food. He also has the company of a mama cat and her kittens. Cody, a Doctors Without Borders doc, decides to stay put and wait until the roads are clear.
Then fate comes knocking when Dr. Stephanie O’Dell, the local vet and his former girlfriend, enters the barn for the same reason. But “Stevie” isn’t alone. She has a newborn alpaca with her. Before the storm hit, she was on her way to Sunflower Ranch, hoping that the cria would be adopted by a female alpaca.
Being stranded together was quite a challenge. Both clearly still have feelings for each other. But Stevie wasn’t happy being alone with the man who broke her heart in her senior year of high school. He had chosen to care for the global community over a long-term relationship. Though their time together meant they had to work together for comfort and needs, it allowed them time to talk about their feelings and to share their experiences.
Even before the roads were cleared, Cody’s family comes to their rescue. Like a comfortable quilt, the Ryans offer Stevie food and shelter until she can go home. Since the death of her mother, Stevie has been alone. She’s drawn to Cody’s family and loves being with them. And, yes, the cria is accepted by a female alpaca and settles in nicely. As Cody and Stevie spend more time together, they reach an agreement to be friends. But you know how that always works out.
TEXAS HOMECOMING is about a couple’s second chance at love. What it’s like for one of them to have strong family ties. Also, important life-changing decisions that need to be made. Can you pick up where you left off in a relationship? Even though this is fiction, it’s interesting how fate pushed Stevie and Cody into the same barn making them realize that they still loved one another. Cody’s career led him to dangerous regions and an ocean away from the woman he loved. But what was stopping him from having a wife and children and helping with the family business? He was.
The book is told from multiple points of view, which I prefer. It grabbed my attention from the first paragraph. There’s a quote in the book that is totally true: “You’ve got to have some rain before you can fully appreciate the rainbow.” How many of us finally realize that?
Carolyn Brown is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author and RITA Finalist who has sold more than four million books. She presently writes both women’s fiction and cowboy romance. She has also written historical single title, historical series, contemporary single title, and contemporary series. She lives in southern Oklahoma with her husband, a former English teacher, who is not allowed to read her books until they are published. They have three children and enough grandchildren to keep them young. For a complete listing of her books (series in order) and to sign up for her newsletter, check out her website at CarolynLBrown.com or catch her on Facebook/CarolynBrownBooks.
Four baby alpacas out of five
Denise Fleischer
gottawritenetwork.wordpress.com
March 24, 2022