"Will the Past Haunt the Present, or is There a Bright Future Ahead?"
Reviewed by Jessica Dunn
Posted September 19, 2012
Romance Suspense | Romance Series
Deputy Marshal Liza Turner grew up an orphan and never got
to experience the love and joy from being a part of a
family. Since coming to work with marshal Hud Savage, Liza
has formed close friendships with Hud and his wife Dana
Cardwell. Liza even thinks of the Cardwell Ranch as part of
her home now, life is pretty great. It wasn't so long ago;
six years actually that life at the ranch was in turmoil
when Dana's siblings Jordan, Clay and Stacy tried to sell
the ranch. Then there was the fiasco when Jordan was
suspected of murdering someone and Liza had to be the one
to bring him in and fingerprint him. Oh what a mess, but it
all worked out, Dana found her mama's will and the ranch
was hers and Jordan was cleared of the murder charges. Now
life is pretty quiet and Liza finds time to
ride her horse and enjoy the majestic beauty of Big Sky,
Montana. While riding Liza sees a stranger on the ranch, he
raises
his head as she approaches and her heart stops for a
moment, Jordan?
Jordan Cardwell was raised on his family's ranch that had
been a part of his family for generations. Jordan never
understood why his family worked so hard with nothing to
show for it; so when his mother died he worked with two of
his siblings to sell the ranch and move on with his life.
Jordan didn't want his sister Dana slaving her life away
for a piece of land that would never give her anything
back, but now he's grateful for how things worked out. His
wife at the time only saw the dollar signs and left him,
Jordan has been trying so hard to get away from his past
that
he doesn't think about his future. Years later Jordan
understands what his mama meant when she said ranching is
in his blood; but that isn't why he came back, he's ready
to face his past and right now that means dealing with the
beautiful deputy Marshal.
JUSTICE AT CARDWELL RANCH is a sensational romance and an
exhilarating crime novel. Jordan comes home to learn
more about his best friends supposed suicide that happened
back in high school. Jordan found the body but never
believed he killed himself. Just as Jordan arrives there is
another murder and he is the prime suspect. Liza tries to
convince herself the reason she is working so close with
Jordon to solve this mystery is to keep her eye on him, but
if that is the case then why does she get breathless each
time their eyes meet? Jordan desires Liza something fierce
but the way she makes his heart ache is all new to him.
Will the two be able to keep things just business? Will
they be able to keep their hands to themselves? Would it be
so bad to give in?
B.J. Daniels book 2 in her Cardwell Ranch series,
JUSTICE
AT CARDWELL RANCH packs a lot of punch in a fairly short
novel. The action is fast paced, the family drama is
touching and the romance is scorching hot! I highly
recommend this book to romance and mystery readers alike.
SUMMARY
Six years ago, Dana Cardwell found her mother's will in a
cookbook and became sole owner of the Cardwell Ranch in Big
Sky, Montana. Now happily married, Dana is surprised when
her siblings, Stacy and Jordan, show up on the ranch…and
trouble isn't too far behind. As danger draws closer to the
ranch, deputy marshal Liza Turner quickly realizes that
Jordan Cardwell isn't the man the town made him out to be.
Excerpt The breeze rustled through the aspens, sending
golden leaves whirling around him as he walked up the hill
to the cemetery. He wore a straw western hat he'd found on
a peg by the backdoor of the ranch house. He hadn't worn a
cowboy hat since he'd left Montana twenty years ago, but
this one kept his face from burning from the hot sun. It
was so much easier to get sunburned at this high altitude
than it was in New York City.
The day was hot and yet he could feel the promise of
winter hiding at the edge of the fall day. Only the memory
of summer remained in the Gallatin River Canyon. Cold
nightly temperatures had turned the aspens to glittering
shades of gold and orange against the dark green of the
pines standing nearby.
Below him, he could hear the rushing water of the
Gallatin River as it cut a winding course through the
canyon. Across the river, sheer granite cliffs rose up to
where the sun hung in a faded blue Montana sky.
As he walked, the scent of crushed dry leaves beneath
his soles sent up the remembered smell of other autumns. He
knew this land. As hard as he tried to escape it, this
place was branded on him, this life as familiar was his own
heartbeat – even after all these years.
Soon the aspens would be bare, the limbs dark against a
winter–washed pale cold sky. The water in the horse
troughs would begin to freeze and so would the pooling
eddys along edge of the river.
He thought of all the winters he'd spent in this canyon
listening to the ice crack on the river, feeling the bite
of snow as it blew off a pine bough to sting his face,
breathing in a bone–weary cold that made his head
ache.
He'd done his time here, he thought as he
turned his face up to the last of the day's warmth before
the sun disappeared behind the cliffs. The days had been
getting shorter now for weeks. It was a warning of what was
to come, he thought as he reached the wrought iron cemetery
gate.
The gate groaned as he shoved it open. He hesitated.
What was he doing here? Nearby the breeze sighed in the
tops of the towering pines, drawing his attention to the
dense stand of pines. He didn't remember them being so
tall. Or so dark and dense. As he watched the boughs sway,
he told himself to make this quick. He didn't want to get
caught her.
Even though it was a family cemetery, he didn't feel
welcome here. His own fault, but still, it could get messy
if anyone from his family caught him on the ranch. He
didn't plan to stick around long enough to see any of them.
It was best that way, he told himself as he stepped on
through the gate into the small cemetery.
He'd never liked graveyards. Nor did it give him any
comfort to know that more than a dozen remains of their
relatives were interned here. He took no satisfaction in
the long lineage of the Justice family, let alone the
Cardwell one, in this canyon – unlike his sister.
Dana found strength in know that their ancestors had
been mule–headed ranchers who'd weathered everything
Montana had thrown at them to stay on this land. They'd
settled along a stretch of the Gallatin, a crystal clear
trout stream that ran a hundred miles from Yellowstone Park
to the Missouri River. Beautiful but deadly.
The narrow canyon got little sunlight each day. In the
winter, it was an icebox of ice and snow. Getting up to
feed the animals had been pure hell. He'd never understood
why any of them had stayed.
But they had, he thought as he surveyed the tombstones.
They'd fought this land to remain here and now they would
spend eternity in soil that had given them little in return
for their labors.
A gust of wind rattled through the colorful
aspen leaves and moaned in the high branches of the pines.
Dead aspen leaves floated like gold coins around him,
showering the weather–bleached gravestones. He was
reminded why he'd never liked coming up here to this
wind–blown hill. He found no peace among the dead.
Nor had he come here today looking for it.
He moved quickly through the gravestones until
he found the one stone that was newer than the others, only
six years in the ground. The name on the tombstone was Mary
Justice Cardwell.
"Hello, Mother," he said removing his hat as he felt all
the conflicting emotions he'd had when she was alive. All
the arguments came rushing back, making him sick at the
memory. It had been such wasted effort. He hadn't been able
to change her mind and now she was gone, leaving behind the
mess she'd created.
He could almost hear their last argument whispered on
the wind. "There is nothing keeping you here, let alone
me," he'd contested. "are you fighting so hard to keep this
place going? Can't you see that ranching is going to kill
you?"
He recalled her smile, that gentle gleam in her eyes
that infuriated him. "I have everything I want here. This
land is what makes me happy, son. Someday you will realize
that ranching is in our blood. You can fight it if you
want, but this isn't just your home, a part of your heart
is here as well."
"Like hell," he'd said. "Sell the ranch, Mother, before
it's too late. If not for yourself and the rest of us, then
for Dana. She's too much like you. She will spend her life
fighting this land to keep this land. Don't do that to her."
"She'll keep this ranch for the day when you come back
to help her run it."
"That's never going to happen, Mother."
Mary Justice Cardwell had smiled that knowing smile of
hers. "Only time will tell, won't it?"
He turned the hat brim nervously in his fingers
as he looked down at his mother's grave and searched for
the words to tell her how much he hated what she'd done to
him. To all of them. But to his surprise, he felt tears
well in his eyes, his throat constricting on a gulf of
emotion he hadn't anticipated.
A gust of wind bent the pine boughs and blew
down to scatter dried leaves across the landscape. His skin
rippled with goosebumps as he sensed someone watching him.
His head came up, his gaze going to the darkness of the
pines. She was only a few yards away. He hadn't heard the
woman on horseback approach and realized she must have been
there the whole time watching him.
She sat astride a large buckskin horse. Shadows
played across her face from the swaying pine boughs. The
breeze lifted the long dark hair that flowed like molten
obsidian over her shoulders and half way down her back.
There was something vaguely familiar about her.
But if he'd known her years before when this was home, he
couldn't place her now. He'd been gone too long from
Montana.
And yet a memory pulled at him. His gaze
settled on her face again, the wide–set green eyes,
that look.
With a curse, he knew in that instant where he'd seen
her before – and why she'd been spying him. A shudder moved
through him as if someone had just walked over his grave.
–#–
Liza Turner had watched the man slog up the hill, his
footsteps slow, his head down, as he were going to a
funeral. So she hadn't been surprised when he's pushed open
the gate to the cemetery and stepped in.
At first she'd been mildly curious after reining her
horse in under the pines. She loved this spot after a
horseback ride, loved looking across the canyon. It was
always cool in the trees. She liked listening to the river
flowing emerald green below her on the hillside and taking
a moment to study the granite cliffs on the other side for
mountain sheep.
She hadn't expected to see anyone on her ride this
morning. When she'd driven into the ranch for her usual
ride, she'd seen the Cardwell Ranch pickup leaving and
remembered. Hud was taking Dana into Bozeman today for her
doctor's appointment. They were leaving the kids with
Dana's best friend and former business partner, Hilde at
Needles and Pins, the local fabric store.
The only other person on the ranch was the aging ranch
manager, Warren Fitzpatrick. Warren would be watching Let's
Make a Deal at his cabin this time of the morning.
So Liza had been curious and a bit suspicious when she'd
first laid eyes on the stranger in the straw western hat.
As far as she knew, no one else should have been on the
ranch today. So who was this tall, broad–shouldered
cowboy? Dana had talked about hiring some help since Warren
was getting up in years. She had her hands full with a
four– and five–year–old to keep her busy,
not to mention being pregnant with twins.
But if this man was the new hired hand, why would he be
interested in the Justice/Cardwell family cemetery? She
felt the skin on her neck prickle. There was something
about this cowboy... His face had been in shadow from the
brim of his western straw hat. When he'd stopped at one of
the graves and had taken his hat off, head bowed, she still
hadn't been able to get a good look at his face.
Shifting in the saddle, she'd tried to get a better look
at him now. He must have heard the creak of leather or
sensed her presence. His head came up, his gaze darting
right to the spot where she sat astride her horse. He
looked startled at first, then confused as if he was trying
to place her.
She blinked, not sure she could trust her eyes. Jordan
Cardwell?
This man looked completely different from the arrogant
man in the three–piece expensive suit she'd crossed
paths with six years ago. He wore jeans, a button–up
shirt and work boots. He looked tanned, stronger as if he'd
been doing manual labor, and there was only a hint of the
arrogance in his expression, making him more handsome than
she remembered.
She saw the exact moment when he recognized her.
Bitterness burned in his dark gaze as a small resentful
smile tugged at his lips.
Oh yes, it was Jordan Cardwell all right, she thought,
wondering what had made her think he was handsome just
moments before or – even harder to believe, that he might
have changed.
Six years ago he'd been the number one suspect in a
murder as well as a suspect in an attempted murder. Liza
had been the deputy who'd taken his fingerprints.
She wondered now what he was doing not only back in the
canyon – but on the ranch he and his siblings had fought so
hard to take from their sister Dana.
–#–
Dana Savage lay back on the examining table, nervously
picking at a fingernail. "I can't remember the last time I
saw my feet," she said with a groan.
Dr. Pamela Burr laughed. "This might feel a little cold."
Dana tried not to flinch as the doctor applied petroleum
jelly to her huge belly. She closed her eyes and waited
until she heard the heartbeats before she opened them
again. "So everything is okay?"
"Your babies appear to be doing fine. Don't you want to
look?"
Dana didn't look at the monitor. "You know Hud. He's
determined to be surprised. Just like the last two. So I
don't dare look." She shot a glance at her husband. He
stood next to her, his gaze on her, not the screen. He
smiled, but she could see he was worried.
The doctor shut off the machine. "As for the
spotting..."
Dana felt her heart drop as she saw the concern in Dr.
Burr's expression.
"I'm going to have to insist on bed rest for these last
few weeks," she said. "Let's give these babies the best
start we can by leaving them where they are for now." She
looked to Hud.
"You can count on me," he said. "It's Dana you need to
convince."
Dana sat up and laid her hands over her extended
stomach. She felt the twins moving around in the cramped
space. Poor babies. "Okay."
"You understand what bed rest means?" the doctor
asked. "No ranch business, no getting up except to
occasionally shower and use the bathroom. You're going to
need help with Hank and Mary."
That was putting it mildly when you had a four–
and five–year–old who were wild as the canyon
where they lived.
"I'm sure Hud––"
"You'll need more than his help." The doctor pressed a
piece of paper into her hand. "These are several women you
might call that I've used before."
Dana didn't like the idea of bringing in a
stranger to take care of Hud and the kids, but the babies
kicked and she nodded.
"Doc said I was going to have to watch you like
a hawk," Hud told her on the way home. Apparently while she
was getting dressed, Dr. Burr had been bending his ear down
the hall in her office. "You always try to do too much.
With the kids, the ranch, me––."
"I'll be good."
He gave her a disbelieving look.
"Marshal, would you like a sworn affidavit?"
He grinned over at her. "Actually, I'm thinking
about handcuffing you to the bed. I reckon it will be the
only way I can keep you down for a day let alone a few
weeks."
Dana groaned as she realized how hard it was
going to be to stay in bed. "What about Hank and Mary? They
won't understand why their mommy can't be up and around,
let alone outside with them and their animals." Both of
them had their own horses and loved to ride.
"I've already put in for a leave. Liza can
handle things. Anyway, it's in between resort seasons so
it's quiet."
September through the middle of November was
slow around Big Sky with the summer tourists gone and ski
season still at least a month away. Hunters were the only
problem and the Fish and Game guys could handle most of
that.
Dana knew October was probably a better time
than any other for her husband to be off work. That wasn't
the problem. "Hud, I hate to see you have to babysit me and
the kids."
"It's not babysitting when it's your wife and kids,
Dana."
"You know what I mean. There are the kids and the
ranch––."
"Honey, you've been trying to do it all for too long."
She had been juggling a lot of balls for some time now,
but Hud always helped on the weekends. Their ranch manager
Warren Fitzpatrick was getting up in years so he had really
slowed down. But Warren was a fixture around the ranch, one
she couldn't afford to replace not to mention she loved the
hands–on part of ranching.
When she'd found out she was pregnant this time she'd
been delighted, but a little worried how she was going to
handle another child right now.
Then the doctor had told her she was having twins.
Twins? Seriously?
"Are you all right?" Hud asked as he placed his hand
over hers and squeezed.
She smiled and nodded. "I'm always all right when I'm
with you."
He gave her hand another squeeze before he went back to
driving. "I'm taking you home. Then I'll go by the shop and
pick up the kids. But I'd better not find out you were up
and about while I was gone."
Dana shook her head and made a cross with her finger
over her heart. She lay back and closed her eyes, praying
as she had since the spotting had begun that the babies
she was carrying would be all right. Mary and Hank were so
excited about the prospect of two little brothers or
sisters. She couldn't disappoint them.
She couldn't disappoint anyone, especially her mother,
she thought. While Mary Justice Cardwell had been gone six
years now, she was as much a part of the ranch as the old,
two–story house where Dana lived. Her mother had
trusted her to keep Cardwell Ranch going. Against all odds,
she was doing her darnedest to keep that promise.
So why did she feel so scared as if waiting for the
other shoe to drop?
What do you think about this review?
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