Review – Honorable Rancher by Barbara White Daille

Description:
The hero of Flagman’s Folly has been gone more than a year. But he still stands between Ben Sawyer and what he desires most—Dana Wright, the love of Ben’s life.When soldier Paul Wright left for the last time, he made his best friend promise to look after his wife and kids. Ben—good, steady Ben—is honoring that promise. And it’s burning him up inside.

Because Dana is shutting Ben out. She wants him—so much—but she can’t afford to give in. If she does, she’ll spill her secret, and the betrayal will hurt everyone she cares about—her children, who loved their daddy; her town, which loves its hero; and Ben, who loved his friend. She’ll do anything to protect her secret—even give up her second chance at happiness.

 

 

I’ve read several books lately where it seems everyone in town has an opinion on the hero/heroine’s burgeoning relationship and honestly, they just really need to butt out! So is the case of Ben and Dana in Barbara White Daille’s latest installment in the Flagman’s Folly series, Honorable Rancher.

Dana is a widow raising three small children alone after her hero husband was killed at war. Her husband’s best friend, Ben, has been in love with her all his life. Problem is she sees her late husband way different than the town and Ben do. She feels she can never share how she felt about her late husband with anyone especially his best friend. Following the wedding of her best friend, Dana and Ben find themselves sharing an intimate moment. When Ben tells Dana he’s just following up on a promise he made to Paul (her late husband), to take care of his family she pulls way back.

First off I feel for Dana; she was in a not so good marriage to the town’s golden son and she feels trapped by his memory and life in a small town. Financially she can’t go anywhere and the town is home but it’s oppressive. Ben is a “do the right thing” kind of guy. He’s always there to lend a hand to anyone but he especially wants to help Dana and her kids, not because Paul asked him to but because he’s always wanted Dana for himself. I liked both characters a lot but I felt Dana despite trying to prove she could manage on her own often let her pride get in the way. Ben honestly was a little too good to be true always giving and never getting much in return. It can be argued he got the satisfaction of being near Dana and the kids and to some extent that’s true but I still think there are very few men out there that would have put up with Dana’s hot/cold act for as long as he did.

This story has a lot and I do mean a lot of extra characters running around. We see the couples from the first two books in the series and many other local nosey residents. Since I’ve never lived in a small town I’m going to assume that having people butt into your life every time you turn around is fairly normal.

Overall the story was sweet and interesting and at times a little frustrating. I personally would have liked to seen a little more “grown-up” time between Dana and Ben. It seemed like every time they were headed in that direction something happened to keep them apart. I did appreciate the sexy banter between the two and the hot looks across the room at each other; it’s always fun to read those types of scenes. For anyone who likes stories of small towns, cowboys, and second chances Honorable Rancher is the perfect story for you!

 3.5 Stars