REVIEW: The Pines of Winder Ranch by RaeAnne Thayne

In The Pines of Winder Ranch: A Cold Creek Reunion by RaeAnne Thayne, Chief of the local fire & rescue team, Taft Bowman has come a long way in the past decade since losing not only his parents in a robbery gone wrong, but having his fiancee leave him as well shortly after. Losing Laura has eaten away at him and Taft has always wanted to apologize for ignoring her when he needed her most. When she unexpectedly shows back up in Pine Gulch with her two adorable children, he learns she recently lost her husband and is moving in to the Cold Creek Inn to help her mom run it. The few awkward interactions Taft has with Laura makes him think she has no lingering feelings for him, unlike the unrelenting emotions he still has. But he soon realizes that she’s just better at hiding it. And he knows that if he can prove to Laura that he truly cares about her–and that he won’t let her down again–he might have a chance at that future with her he’s dreamed of for so long.

“You’re virtually a stranger to me after all this time. I don’t hate you. I feel nothing at all for you. Less than nothing.”
He moved closer to her, inhaling the springtime scent of her shampoo. “Liar.”
The single word was a low hush in the room and he saw her shiver as if he had trailed his finger down her cheek.

Coming back to her hometown was a risk, but Laura would take that chance again if it means keeping her children safe and happy. Staying in Madrid after her husband died wasn’t really an option. Plus, she misses her mom and looks forward to getting the Inn back in tip-top shape. The one thing Laura wasn’t sure of was what her reaction would be when she came face to face with Taft again. She was hoping the attraction would have faded over the past ten years but unfortunately it’s still there, not wanting to go away any time soon. Try as she might, Laura can’t ignore the connection she still has with Taft. Or the bond that forms seemingly overnight between him and her two precious children, Alex and Maya. It makes her remember the dreams she had of her and Taft having a family of their own, building a beautiful house together, making memories they could treasure for years to come. But has too much time passed? And is there still too much hurt left between them to make it all a reality?

‘She realized that love wasn’t always a linear journey. Sometimes it took unexpected dips and curves and occasional sheer dropoffs. Yet somehow, despite the pain of their past, she and Taft had found their way together again.’

Who doesn’t love a sweet second chance romance, right? And that certainly describes A Cold Creek Reunion, which was an emotion-packed reissue from RaeAnne Thayne that had its fair share of heart, healing, as well as a touching HEA.

‘He loved these kids already. How had that happened? Alex, with his million questions, Maya with her loving spirit and eager smile. Somehow when he wasn’t looking, they had tiptoed straight into his heart and he had a powerful feeling he wasn’t going to be able to shoo them out again anytime soon.’

RaeAnne Thayne is truly one of my favorite authors when it comes to deeply emotional romances that also test the bonds of family and pulls in the issues of living in a small town. And this particular story being a second chance romance meant that the hero and heroine, Taft and Laura, had a long history–and a world of hurt–to work through in order to see if they had a chance at a future together. I found that I really liked their backstory. They began as friends back in school and didn’t get romantic until their late teens. But it was their breakup, and how Laura handled things, that had me scratching my head a bit.

Don’t get me wrong. I liked Laura and thought she had a right to stand up for herself when Taft was mired in the depths of his grief after he lost his parents and kept pushing her away. However, they were literally days from being married at that point and I honestly felt that she should have tried harder to convince him to delay the wedding instead of her completely breaking things off. Even if it meant going to his siblings for backup help. It just seemed like Laura ran away and played the victim a bit more than I think was warranted. The situation she found herself in once in Madrid kind of backfired, though, meeting up with a not-so-nice man. But she did get two wonderful children out of the deal.

I think I forgave Taft quicker for his past transgressions because he owned up to his mistakes and apologized right away. He knew he had let the most precious person in his life get away a decade ago and had kicked himself for it ever since. Taft definitely had a “white knight” complex, being a firefighter, and that played into things as he reconnected with Laura and helped her out of a few jams. I was kind of wowed by how terrific he was with her children and how strong of a connection he quickly had with them. Taft sincerely tried to help Laura and her family out as well as to help her realize he was still there for her and that he cared for her well-being. It took a life-altering experience for him to get his message across, but I think the ending was well worth the emotional ups and downs.

While it’s not a holiday story, A Cold Creek Reunion was genuinely heartwarming and had that lovely feel of homecoming that so many readers reach for during the holiday season. I think this reissue will be another winner by RaeAnne Thayne for her many devoted readers to enjoy.
 

Book Info:

Publication: December 26th 2017 (First Publication: March 20th 2012) | HQN | Cowboys of Cold Creek #10

After Taft Bowman lost his parents ten years ago, he buried himself in a grief that shut fiancee Laura Pendleton out completely. But now she’s back, recently widowed with two kids in tow, and Taft refuses to let her slip away again.

Laura just wants a fresh start, but that’s easier said than done when seeing Taft stirs up feelings she thought she’d left in the past…