Forced to flee her abusive fiancé, Cassandra Shay’s disappearance into Montana territory is delayed when she discovers her fiancé and uncle’s plot to murder her illegitimate brother and another innocent cowboy.
Ty Bishop hates the Shays, but accompanies Jake Curtis to meet Jake’s newfound uncle, Derrick Shay. Ty’s suspicions are confirmed when he and Jake are imprisoned and left to drown. After Cassie frees them, the men travel with her for her own protection.
When they arrive in Montana, the locals are horrified to discover a Shay in their midst, but Ty is drawn to Cassie like no other and is determined to win her heart. Despite her strong attraction to Ty, Cassie knows she must keep her distance to protect him from the hired guns the Shays send to retrieve her.
But their love will not be denied, and they must fight for justice before forging their future together.
In book one of the Safe Havens series Jake Curtis finds out that he is part of the Shay family of San Francisco. They are very wealthy but his father was an evil man. In this book Jake gets “summoned” to the Shay holdings in SF and he heads out from his home in White Pines, Montana with his best friend Ty Bishop. When they arrive they find that they aren’t welcome and the Shay family is soon attempting to murder them both. The two men are saved from certain death by a woman who ends up being Cassie Shay. She is actually Jake’s half-sister but she doesn’t share that bit of information with anyone. She is running away from her life and an arranged marriage to an abusive man twice her age. Ty is immediately drawn to Cassie and takes it upon himself to protect her.
Ty and Cassie soon make it to White Pines and Cassie believes she’s found her home. She loves everything about the town except that Ty’s adopted family doesn’t exactly welcome her with open arms – actually the opposite. They know that Ty’s attached to the woman but all they see is the Shay family dynasty coming down on their heads when the Shay’s try to take Cassie back.
There are many different suggestions as to how Cassie can permanently get away from her family but in the end it’s Ty who come through for the woman he loves.
The premise of this book is one that I’ve read before – woman trying to escape her controlling family and an arranged marriage…man protects her – but I have to say I really liked Ms. James’ spin on the whole thing.
Ty Bishop was just a guy. He was a man who worked on a ranch and had gotten his circumstances changed by a twist of fate. He was lucky that Adam Morgan had taken him and Jake Curtis under his wing and Ty worked hard at Adam’s ranch. He was a simple man with simple needs and I loved that he didn’t try to put on airs for Cassie. He knew she was educated but when she used words he didn’t know the meaning of he wasn’t afraid to ask what it meant. It may have pinched a little in the pride area but he was who he was and I appreciated the fact that he was written to be a regular guy. I did have an issue with Ty when he figured out he loved Cassie and instead of wallowing in the joy of it he acted out and got mad at Cassie – like it was her fault. Why he didn’t do that later in the book was a little confusing but I guess he couldn’t be obstinate for the rest of his life. lol He learned. 🙂
Cassie Shay had been raised in wealth but certainly not in love. Her father was an evil man and had locked her and her mother in the closet on a regular basis. Her uncle tried to control her and control her grandfather’s money and that’s why he was trying to marry her off to his “business” partner. That didn’t really work out for him in the end – which was fantastic.
The story flowed very well and was an easy read. Ms. James has a way of weaving a tale that pulls you in and makes you want to keep reading. It’s a good thing I had some time on my hands. 🙂 This was a very good western historical that I would recommend.
Rating: 4 out of 5
I'm so pleased you enjoyed it. This was such a fun story to write! Thanks!!
Glad it was as fun to write as it was to read, Sandy. 🙂 Thanks again.
Sounds like an interesting story. Thanks for the review!