Brand is a bronc buster, a hardworking outdoors man. He
saves a lady from a stampeding horse herd, but finding her
attractive can't mean anything for him. They live in
different worlds. Sybil Bannerman is a polite English
guest. Brand's father failed to make an honest living so
turned to a dishonest one, and the family name has been
tainted; Brand doesn't even use his surname.
WINNING OVER THE WRANGLER, set in 1882, takes this
unpromising start to a friendship and builds on it by
degrees. Sybil is travelling with a female friend Mercy,
visiting western Canada. She writes newspaper columns under
a pen name and as she's only twenty nobody imagines that
the cynical man of the letters is herself. Sybil decides to
gain information from Brand to write a portrait of a larger
than life cowboy and his hard means of making a living.
Brand is happy enough to talk, when the girls bring his
dinner to his lonesome campfire, which he shares with a
fierce dog. Life is pretty basic for such travelling men.
Then the resident cowboys set Brand up with an unrideable
bronc. Sybil is more than impressed, but Brand will be
moving on next day. How can she see more of him?
There is plenty of suspense in this story. Brand's
unsavoury family members may have been scared off by the
Mounties, but he doesn't want to risk meeting them as they
would press him for information about the ranch-owners.
Trouble comes from other sources in this open country -
like cougars. Brand doesn't know that Sybil intends to
write about him and she doesn't know why he prefers to
remain a nonentity, so there's a clear conflict of
interests. If Sybil does find out the truth will she still
think well of the wrangler? And how can they build any
kind of future together if they are not being honest?
Linda Ford has put together a compelling story and Sybil's
Christian convictions make for a sweet inspirational
romance, seasoned with sweat and blood. Readers of previous
books by this author will know what to expect while new
readers can jump right in and be surprised by the gritty
realism and strong characterisation. Even Dawg comes
across as a genuine four-footed friend. WINNING OVER THE
WRANGLER is a fine historical western romance, full of
excitement and tenderness.
The only thing Brand Duggan's outlaw kin ever gave him was
an undeserved reputation. Once he's through breaking horses,
he'll leave Eden Valley. Staying means risk—and heartache.
And he has no business falling for a refined English miss
like Sybil Bannerman.
The rugged cowboy who rescues her from a stampede is just
the kind of man Sybil Bannerman's editor wants her to write
about. Yet she has no idea how big a secret Brand Duggan
carries, until her life is threatened. Despite the evidence
against him, Sybil can't walk away—for the man who lassoed
her heart is the one she'll love forever….
Cowboys of Eden Valley: Forging a future in Canada's west
country
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