Review: Short but Sweet
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 13, 2012
Laura is her father's pawn in getting his hands Jake Evans money. So her father, Hugh, sets a trap for Jake. He makes it seem like Jake got so drunk that he violated Laura. Jake wakes up to find himself entangled with a naked Laura in his bed. He assumes that he has violated her. Then Hugh busts through the door and threatens to turn Jake into the Marshall for what he did to Laura if he doesn't marry her. Jake believes that Laura and Hugh have concocted the scheme but agrees to marry her. Laura goes on with her life before she married Jake, that means returning to work in town. She passes her grandfather-in-law on her way in town and he tells Jake that he saw her leave. Jake is furious that she would return to work all because it embarrasses him that the town sees his wife working when she doesn't need to. He feels it's bad enough that the town is talking about him being tied to a marriage he didn't want. He drags her out and causes her to loose her job. What is she to do? She has worked everyday for so long, and now she has no job to go to. She stays at home and tries to make it work, but Jake is hardly ever seen. One one think that he was avoiding her. He life was moving on, as lonely as it was. Jake's grandfather intervenes a lot and sets Jake straight. He shows him that Laura may not be the gold digger Jake thought at first. They get to know one another and the relationship builds. When Jake takes Laura to bed he realizes all along she never was using him and she confesses that she has always loved him. He has had feelings for her but hid them behind his stubbornness. Their HEA is almost short lived when Laura is kidnapped by Hugh. He wants money, lots of it. He takes her out into the blizzard, he wants to get far enough away before he releases her. Forget that it's snowing, she could die and she's your daughter. Anyway, Jake finds out goes looking for them. He finds Laura after she was able to escape Hugh. They find out later that he died. The situation as a whole makes Jake realize that he never wants to let Laura go and she feels the same.The author wrote an entertaining story that was easy to read even for those who do not read a lot of historicals. The dialog was easy to follow and and not overly filled with outdated terminology.The characters are likable, all except for Hugh. I'm sorry but there really is no excuse for selling your child or threatening to do so. When Hugh met his untimely end, I was happy he was no longer around to torment poor Laura.I am not usually a big fan of historicals, let alone westerns, but I enjoyed this book.  I can not wait to read the other Bandit Creek Books. The book was a short read, but I think it suits it best.