Make-Believe Cowboy

Some of us fantasize having romantic ties to a movie star. In MAKE-BELIEVE COWBOY, Ellie Harrison has loaned her ranch out to a movie production company, and movie star Fitz (Fitzgerald) Kelleran is the star. She couldn't care less, and doesn't want to have anything to do with him. She’s in it for the money, as she could use whatever she can make to keep the ranch afloat. But her pre-teen daughter is infatuated with the fact that this movie star is hanging out on their property. Fitz is smitten by Jody, and Ellie warns him not to hurt her daughter, as she sees Jody latching on to him as if he was a father figure, and Ellie knows he's only in town for a few weeks.

In the mean time, Fitz who normally is attracted to a certain type of woman, cannot figure out why he is attracted to the feisty Ellie. She's plain compared to the women he's been seen with, but there is something about her that has caught his eye. As his friendship with her daughter grows, Ellie's animosity towards him grows as well. At least Ellie's mother-in-law/adoptive mother Jenna seems to like Fitz.

While the main story revolves around Ellie and Fitz, Jenna has her own story. She's a young widow but hasn't been with a man since her husband passed away. Will, who has worked on the ranch for years, has been in love with Jenna for as long as he’s known her, but always from afar. Now that Jenna is available, he has yet to make any moves, afraid he would scare Jenna away. There is a lot of tension between the two, and it is obvious they feel something for each other, but Jenna refuses to acknowledge those feelings because Will is 12 years her junior.

This was a fun superromance with a lot of humor. The reader will enjoy the interaction between Fitz and his fastidious British personal assistant Burke, as well as the interplay between Fitz and Ellie. One may even picture Tom Selleck as Fitz, (or possibly some other popular actor) who is tall and good-looking and an all-around nice guy. Fitz is looking for that big break, but it hasn't happened yet for him. He's got a movie in mind that he wants to make, his dream movie that he continuously has to put off due to other commitments. The relationship between Jody and Fitz is probably what helps bring Fitz and Ellie together, as Ellie has to constantly come to Jody's “rescue" as the overprotective mother, not wanting Fitz to interfere in their lives because she knows he will be leaving soon.

The story takes place amidst the backdrop of the Montana outdoors, the wide-open spaces giving the reader a sense of freedom from constraints of city living. Ellie loves her ranch, and the fact that she may lose it because she can barely keep their finances above water is tearing her apart. She also wants this life for her daughter, regardless of what her daughter really wants. Ellie always saw this place as a refuge, the home that saved her from an unhappy childhood. And ever grateful to her mother-in-law Jenna, Ellie’s first priority is to keep the ranch going, and to ensure that her daughter will always have a home.

Jenna’s quiet infatuation for the younger ranch hand Will is almost an enigma, as throughout the story the two of them circle each other, but neither of them attempts to make a move. Their story comes together and to a close when a crisis brings the two together, which in turn also helps bring together Ellie and Fitz, a very unlikely couple.

Overall, MAKE-BELIEVE COWBOY was an enjoyable romance with that hint of a fairy tale romance. Two unlikely people who for some reason or another are attracted to each other, the reader will be left guessing as to how the two will finally be united as a couple. This reviewer felt the story worked, even though it was somewhat of a fairy tale, but those are the best types of romances.

September 2006