Ranch Hideout

The Morning Glory cattle ranch needs a new cook and Caleb Kirkpatrick agrees to his brother Josh’s idea of a reality TV style competition between competitors for the position. There isn’t a lot of entertainment around and this hard working single father could use a bit of fun.

Sabrina Marconi needs to go into hiding. A mob boss is after her and the various members of her family. She refuses to go into the witness protection program preferring to find her own way. Now with the identity of Laura Marshall she goes out to the boonies of Nebraska to try for the position of cook on an isolated ranch far from her life as a Chicago restauranteur.

There are two other women competing for the position. One is a party girl willing to use her wiles; the other is an ex-nun on the hunt for a proper husband. Her competition may be able to cook, but Laura is used to long days and cooking fine Italian food...surely, she can make consistently good fare fitting for hearty appetites.

Caleb and Laura find being around each other sparks a different kind of hunger but will this indulgence be wise? After all, danger could come into Laura’s life at any time and it may be lurking around the ranch, too.

The concept for this story certainly grabs a Food Network fan’s attention. While such a reader may be mildly disappointed that food did not feature very significantly, RANCH HIDEOUT will charm in other ways. There is a heart tugging little boy, a mildly interfering mother, and good doses of humor in this story.

One must say that the number of editing errors did detract from the whole, making the reading less than smooth. It was unfortunate since it is such a pleasure to be submerged in a book. Another item that jarred was the bits about Laura’s brother Vinny who was also in hiding but elsewhere. For much of the story it was unclear whether the man had died and it did not feel as though the author had intended things to be so vague.

The competition is never particularly strong for the job and the romance is straightforward. What bits of emotional uncertainty there were came from fairly tenuous circumstances between the hero and heroine which may make readers wonder why suspicion of each other was warranted in such minor situations.

Still, Caleb is a kind and hunky good ol’ boy whom we want to see happy. Likewise, Laura seems best of the lot for the contest not only for the job but also for her boss’ heart. Of course, she has to help him past his qualms in dating an employee, but one could definitely say he is well rewarded for his troubles.

A pleasant and light read.

December 2007