Series: Gold Valley (Book 10)
Will Gold Valley's most honorable cowboy finally claim
the woman he's always wanted?
For as long as brooding cowboy Ryder Daniels has known
Sammy Marshall, she has been his sunshine. Her free spirit and bright smile
saved him after the devastating loss of his parents and gave him the strength
to care for his orphaned family. Only Ryder knows how vulnerable Sammy is, so
he's kept his attraction for his best friend under wraps for years. But what
Sammy's asking for now might be a step too far…
Something has been missing from Sammy's life, and she
thinks she knows what it is. Deciding she wants a baby is easy; realizing she
wants her best friend to be the father is…complicated. Especially when a new
heat between them sparks to life! When Sammy discovers she's pregnant, Ryder
makes it clear he wants it all. But having suffered the fallout of her parents'
disastrous relationship, Sammy is wary of letting Ryder too close. This cowboy
will have to prove he's proposing out of more than just honor…
I have mixed feelings about this book. The theme is one
of my favorites - friends to lovers. Ryder and Sammy have been friends for
seventeen years. Ryder was her refuge from her abusive father, and Sammy
brought light to the darkness of his life after his parents' deaths. Their
friendship gets complicated when Sammy decides she wants to have a baby and
asks Ryder to be the father.
Both Ryder and Sammy have some deep-seated issues working
against a successful relationship. Ryder gave up all his plans for the future
when his parents died so that he could care for his younger siblings, cousins,
and friend. He instantly became a father to them all, plus having to run the
ranch. The responsibility was overwhelming, but he stepped up and did it.
However, as the years went on, Ryder decided that marriage and children weren't
for him. He'd done his bit and wasn't interested in starting again. Looking
even deeper, Ryder saw that opening himself up to love would open him up to the
same devastating feelings of loss if/when something were to happen.
Sammy is all about maintaining control over her life. She
says what she wants to say, not caring if it shocks those around her. In her
interactions with men, she always holds part of herself back. She's proud of
her independence but doesn't see that she has allowed her past to control her
present. Sammy's latest confrontation with her mother makes her realize that
she wants more from her life, and she thinks that having a baby will fill that
hole.
The development of the relationship between Sammy and
Ryder was volatile. It quickly becomes apparent that Ryder has been attracted
to Sammy almost since the beginning. He's an honorable man and has kept his
attraction buried rather than take advantage of her. His protectiveness and a
bit of jealousy pop up when she starts talking about finding a father for her
baby. Sammy doesn't take well to Ryder's comments and challenges him to do the
job himself. She didn't expect the combustibility of the first time he kissed
her and freaked out at the loss of control she experienced. Over the next few
weeks, the physical connection between them grew, but both of them fought
against admitting their feelings for each other. Their confrontation after
Ryder finally confessed his feelings was heart-wrenching. Sammy was terrified
that he mistook obligation for love and could only envision a repeat of her
parents' marriage. I ached for her as she ran from those fears and rooted for
her to face them and overcome them. I hurt for Ryder too, because he finally
knew that he wanted it all, only to have Sammy turn down his love. He also had
some self-examining to do and was a bit surprised at what he learned about
himself. Once they each faced those issues, they were ready to embrace their
feelings fully. The ending was good, but I would have liked to get through the
baby's birth.
The problem that brought the book from 4 stars to 3 stars
was the amount of page-space spent inside Ryder and Sammy's heads. I think
their interactions would fill maybe three or four chapters. It felt as though
most of the rest was spent inside their heads. And most of that was thinking
the same things over and over and over. By the last third of the book, I found
myself starting to skim whenever this happened. I may have missed some things
because of it, but it was too repetitive to hold my interest.
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