With his rugged good looks, vast wealth and family name, hell-raiser Hutch Carmody is still the golden boy of Parable, Montana. But he's done some growing up—making peace with his illegitimate half brother and inheriting half of Whisper Creek Ranch, which should have been all his. These days, Hutch knows there are some things money can't buy: like the heart of loving, ladylike divorcée Kendra Shepherd.

Kendra's quiet mansion reminds her of what she wants most—a devoted husband and the pitter-patter of little feet. She can't get Hutch Carmody out of her mind. But a rough-and-tumble cowboy like Hutch, coming home for family dinner? Seems crazy! Then again, crazier dreams have become reality under the vast Montana sky.

Before I get into my review, can I just say that Hutch Carmody as seen on the cover of this book is freaking delicious? I want to eat him up! I’ve cut back on the amount of cowboy books that I read because the last few books that I tried just weren’t that memorable. They didn’t grab me the way that other cowboy books have, that made me want to devour all things western but this book ended up being a good read. I’m glad that I read it.

This is the second book in the Parable, Montana series by Linda Lael Miller. I’m thinking that I should have read the first book first because far too often, throughout this book, I felt like I was missing something. More than once, I was thrown out of the story because something was mentioned and I thought, “I should have read the first book” but even with those few instances, I enjoyed Hutch and Kendra’s story.

Hutch and Kendra have a history. This is a story of second chances and Kendra was real wary of giving Hutch a second chance because she didn’t think she’s survive another heartbreak. They used to be together but broke up and Kendra ended up marrying an unfaithful lout and Hutch almost married someone else. The story starts off when Hutch calls his wedding off…on his wedding day. His almost bride, Brylee is steaming mad and her friends start up a Down with Hutch website and he becomes the town villain. Even with everyone mad at him, Hutch doesn’t regret stopping the wedding. He knew that it wasn’t right and over the course of the book, you see just how right he was.

Kendra is now single with a young daughter in tow. Her daughter’s name is Madison and they’re moving out of the big mansion that they live in and are downsizing since it’s just the two of them and their mansion is too much house for two people. Kendra was married to a titled gentleman who had a daughter with someone else and when the mother of his child takes off, Kendra steps in and becomes young Madison’s Mom. Kendra has a big heart and that big heart is scared to let Hutch Carmody back into her life because it’s not just her anymore. She has Madison to think about and she just doesn’t want Hutch to storm into their lives if he wasn’t going to stick around.

I really enjoyed getting to know both Hutch and Kendra. To be honest, I enjoyed getting to know Hutch more than Kendra because there were times when I wanted to punch Kendra’s lights out for always assuming things but in the end, I came to like Kendra a lot and admired the way that she was with Madison. Madison was lucky to have Kendra in her life and when Hutch comes along, he completes the picture and I really liked seeing the three of them together.

I am completely curious about Boone and am hoping against hope that his book is next. I just know that him and Tara will end up together and I’d love to read about him getting that stick out of his ass and bring his boys home, where they belong. I’d like to get to know Boone’s boys better and to meet his sister and her husband who are taking care of his boys. I think I’d enjoy seeing Boone come into his own and get over himself. I’m actually looking forward to it. I’m also wondering if Walker will get his own book in this series as well because I would totally love to read that book. His little storyline with Casey could be a good one, especially since he has two kids with her and they’re not even together. There’s a story there and I’m all about reading it.

Overall, this book was a good, solid book but there were times when the story dragged. It took me a few days to get past the first few chapters because I kept waiting for something to happen already but as I got deeper and deeper into the book, I grew comfortable in the world that Miller created for these characters and in the end, I was glad that I stuck with it. It was good.

Grade: 3 out of 5

This book is available from HQN. You can buy it here or here in e-format.