“Counting on a Cowboy” by Debra Clopton

Will She Always Say Goodbye to Love? 

Welcome to Wishing Springs, Texas, a place brimming over with small town charm, and home of the most eligible bachelors, at least that is what the latest hype says.  But a relationship is that last thing newcomer Abby Knightly wants.  She has just moved to town, and brought lots of baggage–most of it the kind that can’t be seen.

A young widow still recovering from her loss, Abby wants a fresh start.  She hopes to move forward from the night a drunk driver caused the death of her husband, and stole her dreams for the future.  Abby has spent the past two years so full of regret and grief that she hasn’t been able to function.  Moving to Wishing Springs is her last chance to get her life back.

Love is everywhere when you don’t want it!

Abby runs into rancher Bo Monahan, literally, as she is coming into town.  That chance encounter causes Abby to be with Bo when he has the surprise of his life.  A baby is left on his front porch, with a note claiming he is the child’s father.

All these events set into motion entanglements that Abby wants no part of.  She made this move to help herself heal.   Instead she finds a baby that is working his way into her heart, and a cowboy who desperately wants her to give him a chance.  Abby also discovers her landlord, Rand, is an alcoholic.  She finds herself directing all the anger she has for the drunk driver that killed her husband towards Rand.

Counting on a Cowboy also has the side-story of Pebbles and Rand.  The two fell hard for each other in high school, but Pebbles pulled back because of Rand’s fast lifestyle.  After that, Rand left town for decades, but never stopped loving her.  Since coming back and finding that Pebbles is a widow, he has been he has been relentlessly pursuing her.  However, Pebbles refuses to have a relationship with him because of his alcoholism.

Run, don’t walk, from starting a relationship with pain attached.

This is a great story that covers lots of topics but does it well, and keeps the reader’s interest.  Alcoholism and it’s tragic consequences are woven throughout the story.  Abby’s tragedy is the result of a drunk driver.  Rand is a raging alcoholic which is preventing Pebbles from ever considering him as a love interest.  This story does not sugar coat the tragedies, and lost opportunities that drinking creates in people’s lives.  But there is also love, humor and some quirky characters peppering the tale.

This is book two in the Four of Hearts Ranch Romance series, but this story stands on its own.  I highly recommend this 5-star book to anyone who enjoys realistic romantic stories told from a Christian viewpoint.

The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of Counting on a Cowboy through The Thomas Nelson Publishing BookLook Bloggers Program for the purpose of review.   I have not been compensated in any other manner.  All opinions expressed are my own, and I was not required, or influenced, to give anything but an honest appraisal.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Author’s Website:  http://debraclopton.com/

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