"If you go down to the woods today - you're in for romance!"
Reviewed by Clare O'Beara
Posted December 27, 2012
Romance Series | Inspirational Romance
The Ozarks are the setting for RANCHER'S REFUGE a tale of
betrayal
and
trust, with a lushly descriptive account of the forest and
small
town atmosphere of Whisper Falls. This is the first in a
new series from this author and introduces home-loving
characters who support one another against villainy. Annalisa is hurt and alone in the forest when Austin
Blackwell, searching for a missing calf, discovers the girl
and inadvertently frightens her into hiding under the local
waterfall. The beautiful landmark is said to help God hear
people's prayers, and Annalisa prays for rescue. Austin
however is all she is going to get, and he follows her,
tells her she is on his land, and then grudgingly knows
that he has no choice but to help a girl with a broken arm
to get medical help. Annalisa tells him she fell while
hiking, unable to admit that her abusive, controlling
boyfriend James quarrelled with her during a long drive and
she had to jump out of his car. Austin takes Annalisa to town where she is fitted with a
cast, but as she has no money or phone he buys her
painkillers and takes her home to his sister. Cassie is
kindly but no house-proud girl and prefers ranch work. So
to repay their hospitality, Annalisa cleans the house and
cooks, even one-armed. Growing braver, she decides to seek
a job in Whisper Falls and the snack bar takes her on for a
trial. The locals have rebranded the town to draw tourism
and are preparing for a pumpkin festival, but the single
men are quite willing to pay attention to a new lady. All
is going so well until James shows up - but Annalisa isn't
the only one with a hidden past, and Austin realises that
he is going to have to come clean with the girl, even if it
means losing everything. RANCHER'S REFUGE is a positive story despite the
wrongdoings of some characters, and shows how a community
builds on strength. The touchy subject of a controlling
partner is sensitively raised, and some women who do not
realise how their partner has alienated them from their
friends and family may find the tale resonates with them
and they should make changes. The romance is gentle and
can be read without blushing, and the strength of Linda
Goodnight's writing lies in the detailed descriptions of
the landscape, wildlife and town.
SUMMARY
Rancher Austin Blackwell knows a wounded creature when he
sees one. Although Annalisa Keller won't reveal how she
ended up stranded in Whisper Falls, his conscience refuses
to let her leave. The little Ozarks town could be the
perfect place for her to start over—just as it was for him.
Trying to keep his own past hidden, Austin finds himself
falling for the vulnerable beauty with too many secrets.
Before long, Annalisa's warmth and love of life work their
way into Austin's heart…and promise never to leave.
ExcerptLeft hand riding lightly on his thigh, Austin Blackwell
held the reins with the other and picked his way through
the thick woods above Whisper Falls, Arkansas. If one more
calf strayed into this no–man's land between his
ranch and the cascading waterfall, he was putting up
another fence. A really tall one. Barbed wire. Electrified.
Let the folks of the small Ozark town whine and bellow that
he was ruining the ambience or whatever they called the
pristine beauty of these deep woods. They just didn't want
to lose any tourist money. Well, he didn't want to lose any
cattle money, either. So they were on even playing field.
He'd never wanted to open the waterfall to tourism in the
first place.
Now, every yahoo with an itch to climb down the rock
wall cliff and duck behind the curtain of silvery water
traipsed all over his property just to mutter a prayer or
two. Wishful thinking or pure silliness. He'd made the trek
a few times himself and he could guarantee prayers
whispered there or anywhere else for that matter were a
waste of good breath.
Something moved through the dense trees at his left and
Austin pulled the horse to a stop. Cisco flicked his ears
toward the movement, alert and ready to break after the
maverick at the flinch of his master's knee.
"Easy," Austin murmured, patting the sleek brown neck
while he scoped the woods, waiting for a sight or sound.
Above him a squirrel chattered, getting ready for winter.
Autumn leaves in reds and golds swirled down from the
branches. Sunlight dappled between the trees, although the
temperature was cool enough that Austin's jacket felt good.
He pressed his white Stetson tighter and urged the bay
onward in the direction of the falls, the direction from
which the movement had come. Might be the maverick.
"Coyote, probably." But black bear and cougar weren't
out of the question. He tapped the rifle holster, confident
he could handle anything he encountered in the woods.
Outside the ranch was a different matter.
The roar of the falls increased as he rode closer.
Something moved again and he twisted in the saddle to see
the stray heifer break from the opposite direction. Cisco
responded with the training of a good cutting horse. Austin
grappled for the lariat rope as the calf split to the right
and crashed through the woods to disappear down a draw.
Cisco wisely put on the brakes and waited for
instructions. Austin lowered the rope, mouth twisting in
frustration. No use endangering a good horse in this
rugged, uneven terrain.
At least the stray had headed in the right direction,
back toward the ranch.
"Yep, I'm puttin' up another fence." He patted Cisco's
neck with a leather–gloved hand. Somewhere along the
meager stretch of old barbed wire the calves had found a
place to slip through. Maybe in one of the low places or
through a washout from one of the many creeks branching
from the Blackberry River. Finding the break across three
miles of snaggy underbrush would be a challenge.
But Austin liked it up here on the grassy, leaf–
and hickory–lined ridge above Whisper Falls. Always
had, especially before the stories started and people came
with their noise and tents and plastic water bottles.
Before the name changed from Millerville to Whisper
Falls—a town council decision to attract tourists. He
understood. He really did. Ruggedly beautiful, this area of
the Ozarks was isolated. Transportation was poor and there
was little opportunity for economic growth, especially
since the pumpkin cannery shut down.
The remoteness was why he'd come here. The economy was
why he ranched.
Those were also the reasons the little town had changed
its name and started the ridiculous marketing campaign to
attract tourism. Whisper Falls. Austin snorted. No amount
of marketing moved God to answer prayers.
He shifted in the saddle to look toward the
ninety–feet–high waterfall.
Here, the Blackberry River tumbled faster than near the
ranch, picking up speed before plummeting over the cliff in
a white, foamy, spectacular display of nature's force and
beauty.
The solitude of the woods soothed him, helped him
forget. Nature didn't judge the way people would. He could
be himself. He could relax.
The air was clean here, too, tinted with the spray of
freshness from the bubbling falls. It almost made him feel
clean inside again. Almost. He breathed the crispness into
his lungs, held the scent. Hickory and river, moist earth
and rotting leaves. Good smells to an outdoorsman. Great
smells to a man whose past stank like sewage.
"Better get moving, Cisco. Maybe we can find the fence
break before dark."
He pulled the bay around and that's when he saw the
woman. A slim figure in dark slacks and bright blue sweater
moved quickly from tree to tree in some game of
hide–and–seek. Curious, Austin took out his
field glasses to look around, expecting a child or lover to
join the game. No one did.
Austin swung the binoculars back to the woman. What he
saw spurred him to action.
***
Annalisa Keller stifled a sob. She had to hide. She had
to get away. "Please, God. Help."
She heard him coming, thrashing, crashing through the
dry leaves and underbrush like the madman he was. Knees
rattling, she cradled her left arm and stumbled down the
rocky incline. Straight ahead, the falls roared, a rush of
sound with the power to sweep her away. The thought
tempted, beckoned. Jump in and be swept away. He could
never find her. No one would.
Teeth chattering, she resisted the frightening urge. The
instinct to survive was too strong. She couldn't give up
now.
"Help me, God," she whispered again, grappling to the
sides of slick rock, edging closer to the beckoning water,
to the screaming falls. The footpath was worn and
well–used, as if others had come this way before her.
She followed the stones, clinging with cold fingers to the
jutting rocks as she edged along the cliff face, hoping to
hide from searching eyes above.
The roar of the falls grew louder still. Her heart
thundered in answer. Before her was the waterfall. Behind
her was the direction she'd come. An awful thought engulfed
her. Why had she begun the descent to the falls?
If he spotted her, she'd be trapped between him and the
raging water.
But she knew why. She'd been running blindly with no
destination in mind other than escape.
She sensed him coming, felt the air change with another
presence. In desperation, Annalisa moved forward, praying
there was sanctuary against the wet cliff face. One more
step and...
The world went silent. A deafening silence.
Shocked, Annalisa wondered for one beat if she'd
actually jumped into the foaming pool below the waterfall,
if she was dead.
Trembling, she reached out, touched the silver curtain
of water in front of her. A hard rain shower soaked her
hand, cold and prickly like needles of ice.
In awe, she glanced to each side and then upward. The
sight was dizzying. Behind was solid rock, wet and slick
and shiny, with a jutting overhang high above. Water
rocketed over the cliff with such force that a quiet space,
like a white–noise machine, formed behind the
cascade. She stood on a two–foot ledge, protected in
the back by a wall of rock and hidden in front by the
waterfall. It was like something out of the movie The Last
of the Mohicans.
Her shoulders relaxed a tiny bit. Maybe James hadn't
seen her descend. Maybe he wouldn't know she was here.
Warmth oozed from her nose. Swiping at the liquid with the
back of her hand, Annalisa came away with blood. She
shivered, both from cold and shock.
James had nearly killed her this time. He'd kicked her
out of the car, tried to run her down and then driven away.
She'd seen him angry plenty of times, but never like this.
Never so completely out of control.
With a shaky sigh, she closed her eyes and leaned her
head against the hard, damp rocks at her back. Her arm
ached all the way to her wrenched shoulder. She wondered if
the bone was broken.
Never again. Never, never again. She'd said that the
first time he'd hurt her, but this time she meant it.
She listened, intent, but could hear nothing from within
the watery cocoon.
Maybe James hadn't followed her. Maybe he would go home
to California without her. He'd said she wasn't worth the
headache. But she also knew his terrible egotistical pride.
James got what James wanted. He hated being the loser.
A scrambling noise jerked her to attention. A rock
clattered against rock.
Annalisa's heart jacked into overdrive. Blood pounded in
her ears. If he'd found her, she was as good as dead, a
casualty to the rocky pool below. No one would ever know
he'd pushed her.
For a second she was helpless. Then the need to survive
kicked in. He would not take her down easily.
With her one good hand, she groped the space at her feet
and found what she needed. A rock. A small one, but a
weapon just the same.
The sound of movement increased, grew closer. A shadow
moved. A big shadow.
Shaking hard, she raised her arm.
A hulk ducked behind the curtain of water. Annalisa's
heart hammered wildly. She braced to defend.
"Hey, lady, are you ok—"
With a sob, she struck, crashing the rock down with all
her ebbing strength.
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