After his recent military tour, Wes Meier wants to hang up his helmet and focus on his family’s Texas ranch. But when he meets Olive, his focus shifts. The fascinating, gorgeous, and not-at-all-his-type artist wants to use him as inspiration for a local sculpture, but Wes just wants to retreat. He came back home for peace and quiet, not to be immortalized as a hero. Even worse, she’s the sister of one of his fallen comrades, and having her around makes him remember experiences he’s desperate to forget. Livie is challenging his grasp on civilian life, but she’s fast becoming an attraction Wes is powerless to resist.
Artist Livie Blake may not wear her emotions on her sleeve, but art is in her soul. She’s in Close Call, Texas for an important commission, and to explore the town her dead brother told her so much about. When she meets Wes, she doesn’t exactly hit it off with the rugged cowboy. He’s handsome, cocky, and completely closed off, but Livie’s sure she’s found her inspiration for the military memorial. Wes can try to keep his distance, but Livie is determined to learn the serviceman’s secrets. And the more she discovers, the further she falls for the wounded warrior.
Livie never trusts her emotions, and Wes wears his wounds where no one else can see. Can the tortured artist and the damaged hero ever open their hearts to love?
Titles in the Meir Ranch Brothers include: Tempting the Rancher – Redeeming the Rancher – Claiming the Cowboy
Title: Redeeming the Rancher
Series: Meir Ranch Brothers #2
Author: Leslie North
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: May 3, 2018
Publisher: Relay Publishing
My Rating: 4 stars
Everyone has a different view of what makes a hero. Much like beauty, heroism is often in the eye and heart of the one looking at the action. And Wes Meir sees no hero in the mirror’s reflection. He sees a man who wasn’t able to bring his friend, Daniel, home to his family. To him, that’s not the action of a hero… and he really wishes people would stop using that word around him. Wes has returned to the family ranch, it’s here that he might gain some relief from the overpowering guilt in the quiet solitude of the range, the ranch and the chores. Yet, on the horizon is one spitfire of a woman who does view him as the ultimate hero and wants to use him as the heart of her newest sculpture. Oh, she knows exactly who he is and she will bring more than memories into his world. If he lets her, she just might bring hope – something Wes has lost sight of recently.
Grief is a very personal emotion, and we all express that grief in far different ways. While it’s obvious that Wes has turned his grief inwards, Livie transforms her grief into her art, into the pieces that express her views on life. She sees light, she sees beauty and Livie will not take Wes’ denial to work with her as an answer. He’s perfect for the sculpture she has in mind – and maybe they’re perfect for each other once grief steps aside to allow the living to do exactly that… live.
Redeeming the Rancher is an emotional journey, I don’t see how that can be avoided. Survivor’s guilt is a very real thing. And even if it makes no sense to you or me, it exists for those who feel they don’t have the right to be alive when a loved one or friend has died. I enjoyed watching Livie and Wes dance around each other, avoiding the obvious and dealing with their grief in their own way. Their journey to a happy ending is a rocky road, but one that will be worth it in the end. I enjoyed my time in this world once again, and I’d definitely recommend this story and series to any Romance reader who enjoys believable characters, interesting situations, getting emotionally involved in the story and secondary characters that make this world come alive.
*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*
Available for the Kindle
