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Shelby McCoy is a 21st century woman, soured on romance. Still single and having reached a milestone birthday, she’s off to visit the ranch her sister and brother-in-law are resurrecting as a dude ranch. But instead of finding her sister at the ranch, she encounters the original settlers, the St. Clouds—from 1886! They claim she’s their new cook and that a relative has sent her. A relative? Turns out they are referring to her great-great-great grandmother. How could this be?
Naturally, they find her a bit eccentric, from her clothes to her feisty manner. And bewildered doesn’t begin to describe her state of mind. Especially when it comes to one hunky cowboy, Ruckert St. Cloud. He avoids speaking to her and instead talks to her dog or his horse to make his point. Yet he watches her with a focus that seems to see right inside of her. He’s an enigma, and an arrogant one she’s too darn attracted to.
She may be bewildered but no one is more befuddled than Ruckert St. Cloud. He’s lived a lonely life, not by choice, but due to his lifelong inability to express himself without the humiliation of stuttering. Yet he craves a normal life, one where he could communicate all his hopes, his dreams, his feelings to a special someone—a woman who could see past his stuttering to the man he is. Shelby attracts him like no other, perhaps because she’s out of place, just like he is. But it’s of no matter since he’ll never risk her ridicule by speaking directly to her—he’s got too much pride for that. Shelby might say whatever is on her mind, but Ruckert has no such freedom. And as a result, he’ll never be able to tell this unique woman what is in his heart.
Shelby, however, is trapped in the 19th century, a time she had only imagined, and adapting to the situation isn’t easy—but it has its comical moments. Still, she must protect her true identity as well as her heart from a frustrating man who is able to tell her more than he realizes by just a glance. Because even if they could break through each other’s protective shields, how could either accept the truth of their circumstances or what the future undoubtedly holds.
Lisa Norato has written a funny, emotional and memorably romantic book that will be read again and again. It’s the kind of special book with passages you share with others because they touch you, or make you laugh, or pleasantly surprise you. A well-plotted time travel that will keep you guessing right to the end and a tortured hero that will open your heart to the power of love. Well done!
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