Summer Nights with a Cowboy (Kittredge Ranch #3)

by Caitlin Crews

Blurb:

He doesn’t believe in love…

Traveling nurse Janie Atwood has come to Cold River to uncover old family secrets and maybe, if she’s lucky, find a new home. That the gorgeous, glowering sheriff next door thinks her caring for his elderly neighbor is a nefarious scheme is a bonus. Having never been anything but a good girl, Janie finds Zack Kittredge’s simmering suspicion an excellent reason to try being a little dangerous instead…

She doesn’t believe in squandering it…

Sheriff Zack Kittredge is okay with being… intense. He takes his loner status as seriously as he takes his responsibilities to protect Cold River. And he thinks cheerful Janie might be a threat to the town. But the more he gets to know her, the more he faces the truth―she’s brighter than sunshine and he’s like a moth to her flame. When Janie suggests he could use a few charm school lessons, he surprises them both by accepting. He doesn’t need help. But it’s clear he might need her…

Because the only thing hotter than the summer sun in the Rockies is the forbidden passion that burns between them…

Themes: Contemporary

Rating: 4.5 stars

Heat Rating:

Review:

I have been dying for Zack's story, because let’s be honest what’s better than a grumpy hero meeting his match in a sweet and gorgeous heroine. I got into this series by chance when I was on a cowboy kick, and have since gone back to the preceding novels and can honestly say I have fallen in love with Caitlin Crews and her novels have become some of the favorite, with boneheaded men getting their asses kicked by sassy women that are their match in so many ways. This latest story is the last of the Kittredge brothers finding love in the most unexpected of ways when his neighbor takes on a nurse who immediately sparks his suspicious nature even as she makes his passions flair. Sherriff Zack Kittredge has gone his own way his entire adult life, escaping ranch life in order to be a deputy and then ultimately the Sherriff of his small town, but his issues with his family have left his gruff and grumpy for the most part. When his elderly neighbor takes on a new nurse he is immediately suspicious of the hot woman that has come into his town. Janie Atwood has a connection to Cold River that she wants to explore, but the more time she spends around Zack the more concerned she becomes that her secret will get out before she ever has a chance to full explore her past. Zack knows something fishy is going on when he continues to find Janie in parts of town she has no place being, but coming to her rescue gives him the chance to have her sexy body in his arms too. As they spend more time together the passion that burns between them begins to deepened into something more, but can they trust the emotions that are developing or with their fire burn hot and flair out just as quickly? Zack is the quintessential alpha asshole that knows he is right no matter what anyone else says and there is nothing anyone can say to convince him otherwise. While that trait can be annoying, Zack carries himself in a way that you just don’t question is confidence, but Janie does. Her playfulness and sweetness brings out a side of Zack we never expect and makes him more human. I loved watching them interacting and finding a way to have fun together. While it irritated me that Zack refused to give her the benefit of the doubt in anything it’s obvious his past rides him hard until he finally comes to terms with it. Janie is a sweetheart for sure, giving her all to her patients and trying to be everything to everyone around her, but it’s obvious she is missing something important she needs in order to be happy. When she tried to find the missing piece of her past, she has no expectation that she will find the love of her life at the same time, but she is determined to follow through on her promises to herself and meet her past head-on. I loved seeing her bridging long-standing squabbles and making a place for herself in the town and at Zack’s side. I am hoping that there is a another series coming down the line set in this interesting small town so we will get to see more of these brothers and their women, but if not I feel that this story wrapped it up beautifully. Ms. Crews did well indeed.