James Killian learns the hard way that smaller towns are full of bigots. When he comes out to his father he is not only kicked out of his home but off the Quadruple J where he works as the ranch foreman. With nowhere to go and little money, his savior comes in the unlikely form of his older brother’s best friend, the man he’s been in love with for over half his life.
Ethan Whitehall is a successful rancher and a well respected man in his community. His ranch the Tin Star has been in Ethan’s family for generations and affords him a certain prestige and power in the small town he calls home. Ethan knows without a doubt that all of that could shatter if his sexual orientation were to ever become public. But when he learns his best friend’s younger brother’s banishment and the reasons behind it, Ethan can’t help but get involved. He’s always had a soft spot where Jamie Killian was concerned, and it may very well be his downfall.
Our book begins with Ethan at his home. His best friend, John, drives up and starts getting drunk. He eventually tells Ethan that his younger brother, James aka Jamie, told he and his dad that morning that he was gay. John really doesn’t have a problem with it but their dad, who never had favored Jamie anyway, kicked him out of the house.
Ethan is Jamie’s friend so he immediately calls Jamie and offers him not only a place to live but a job as well. Since he had been the foreman at his families ranch Ethan knows that Jamie is a hard worker and will do a great job at his place, The Tin Star. Jamie has more than a bit of trouble the first day with a couple of the other ranch hands and Ethan ends up moving Jamie into the main house rather than the bunkhouse.
Now, Jamie thinks that maybe he shouldn’t have come out of the closet but he knows that he shouldn’t have to hide who he is just to make other people happy. Ethan’s not sure he agrees with Jamie but eventually tells Jamie that he, too, is gay. One thing leads to another with the two men and they start a relationship. Ethan had always admired Jamie but couldn’t quite get past him as John’s little brother and since there is an 11 year age difference that was a bit of an issue as well. Jamie has always been a bit more than infatuated with Ethan but had absolutely no clue he was gay. Once the men start falling in love Ethan soon sees that Jamie is right and that he shouldn’t have to stay in the closet and live his life as a lie.
Many people in the town, including Jamie’s father, don’t believe that Jamie should even live in the same town as they don’t want to be “tainted” by his gayness. They’re very vocal about their thoughts and soon accidents and injuries at The Tin Star make Jamie and Ethan see that there’s more to this than just dislike – this is all out hatred and their lives may be in danger.
This is the first book in Ranch series and it’s a good one. I loved Ethan and Jamie together as they just seemed to mesh perfectly. There wasn’t a lot of inner angst in the relationship and the angst in the book came from other’s prejudices toward them – initially just Jamie and then Ethan. There was a lot of support for the two men as well and I really liked that Langley threw that in there to even things out.
I thought that the part of the book that dealt with Jamie’s father as well as the person who was wreaking havoc on the men’s lives was well done. I had a clue as to who was causing all the trouble but didn’t know for sure until the end. I love a good whodunit!
This was a lovely romance, a hot sexy story and a well done suspense story that I very much enjoyed reading.
Rating:3.75 out of 5
This was one of the early m/m I read. It's still a fave. I loved enthusiastic Jamie and more sedate Jamie. You should try the little short The Christmas Tree Bargain. Holy smoking hot and kinky. 🙂
This is somewhere buried in my TBR. I tend to avoid those cowboy books…
Tam- Yeah, Jamie was pretty great. I'll have to look into that short.
Chris – They're not my fav but I do like them from time to time. 🙂
Tracy, this is one of my first MM Romance reads. It's still a nostalgic favorite because of that reason — plus I love cowboys. *g* Jamie's character seems to be a favorite among fans. My favorite, however, is the follow-up to this book, The Circle H. 🙂
Hilcia – I may have to read Circle H again. I read it a few years ago and it didn't do all that much for me. Maybe it will hit me differently this time. 🙂