Too Hot to Handle
Merry Kade, best friend of Grace Barrett in Dahl’s Close Enough to Touch (2012), has landed a job as curator of Providence, a ghost town outside Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Since Merry loves history, she’s ecstatic to be able to immerse herself in the restoration of the town while living with Grace in a building nicknamed the Stud Farm because of all the gorgeous men who live there. Merry’s only concern is that her job hinges on a lawsuit contesting the will of the ghost town’s donor, but that concern is overshadowed by meeting hunky Shane, the quintessential love-’em-and-leave-’em type. Since Merry doesn’t want a serious relationship and Shane is a carpenter, they seem to have a match made in heaven. She’s enjoying regular sex, and he is helping shore up the town. But what starts out as straightforward turns messy when sex turns to love and Shane’s hidden agenda is exposed. Dahl adds her signature hot sex scenes and quirky characters to this lively mix of romance in the high country. --Pat Henshaw