Sanctuary - Tanya Hanson

Welcome back, Tanya, and thanks for bringing along book three from your Hearts Crossing Ranch series!

For anyone else who isn't caught up yet, there are five so far, so this week I've devoted to bringing us up to date.

Wow, Tanya! You just keep coming up with these great cowboys (not that it's hard to do since, well, after all, they're cowboys)!

Here's a peek, folks:

A beautiful plus-one at a wedding, a hunky cowboy..autumn leaves and rugged horse trails. The perfect setting to unite two healing souls...

Ranch foreman and single dad Hooper Martin is ready to put his health and life back on track after battling cancer...including re-entering the dating scene. His little girl sure could use a mother. Falling hard for wedding guest Malia Cameron makes perfect sense to him: she's a survivor, too.

Mallie has put her heart on hold, knowing she will never recover from her struggle with a brain tumor. She can't promise a future to anybody and vows never to fall in love. Letting Hooper Martin into her life would be a big mistake. But his good looks take her breath away, and his living faith starts to gentle her confusion about Who's really in charge.

Excerpt:

“Excuse me, Mrs. Martin, but I have something else to say to…your son. Could I catch you in a few minutes?”

Elaine Martin’s eyes brightened, and in a better mood, Mallie might have smiled at the glint of matchmaking she saw. If Mrs. Martin only knew.

“All righty then. Better hurry. Hoop’ll be saddling up for a trail ride in a heartbeat.”

Outside, the fresh, cold air eased the heat of her embarrassment. Somehow she had to find Hooper and make things right. Kenn wasn’t a tattle‐tale if that’s what Hooper was thinking. The remark had slipped out when, well, when her brother had mentioned her own struggle upon introducing her. Shaking her head, Mallie remembered she wasn’t even supposed to be here. She’d come as her brother’s plus one after his girlfriend dumped him.

Could that mean….hmmm. That meeting Hooper Martin was meant to be? Two survivors. Her spirits lightened. Or not. She remembered her promise to herself. Then again, a little temporary flirting with a handsome guy never hurt a girl’s ego. She knew he was single, too. When she caught sight of Hooper hustling toward the barn, she stepped up her pace, but the hammering of her heart had nothing to do with the speed of her boots on the hard‐packed ground.

And had everything to do with Hooper Martin.

“Hooper!” Ahead under the gate, she caught sight of her brother laughing and gesturing wildly as he and Kenn rode off on two good‐looking horses. Because the college roommates hadn’t seen each other in years and Brian wasn’t much for texting or Facebook, she figured they had a lot of catch‐up to do. But she needed to waylay Hooper before he rode off to take his brother to task.

“Hooper?”

When he turned, her pulse raced. 


“Can I help you?”

“Yes, please. I need to tell you something.” At least he met her halfway at a hitching post, his strikingly shadowed face now set with interest rather than anger. “I didn’t mean to…I mean, Kenn wasn’t gossiping about you. If that’s what you’re thinking. And...” She peeked up at him through her lashes. “And if that’s where you’re going.”

His cheekbones turned a dark red. “Well, I don’t much like him letting loose stuff he has no business letting loose.”

“I completely understand. Brian’s the same.”

“Brian? Sorry, but who are you?”

“Oh, Malia Cameron. Call me Mallie.”

Something like unhappiness rolled across his face.

Manners dictated a real handshake about now, but his expression confused her, so she kept her fingers firmly  in her pocket. She rushed on. “Brian thought Kenn needed to know. The only reason Kenn told him about you was, well, because of me.”

Review:

Oh my goodness, Ms. Hanson has done it again. She's created such wonderful characters that just toyed with my heartstrings. She had me laughing and crying and wanting to reach out and hug them all. 


She draws you into her story so you feel like you're a part of it, like you're right there with them sharing a trail ride, looking at the beautiful scenery all around you - at God's canvas...or looking into someone's eyes - into the windows to their soul and wanting to dive in. This is what romance is all about!


Great story! Thank you once again, Tanya!

Buy link: http://www.pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/sanctuary

About the author:

Although she's a California beach girl, Tanya Hanson loves setting her stories in the wild American West. Cowboys make great heroes. A high school teacher of American Lit and writing, she enjoys traveling with her firefighter husband and spoiling their two little grandsons. You can reach her atwww.tanyahanson.com and www.petticoatsandpistols.com