Cassie Greaves is a new teacher in Wyoming when she is faced
with an incidence of bullying. Cassie sees four boys on the
basketball team bully James, a studious and quiet boy. She
orders the bullies to the principal's office but they just
talk back to her and leave. One
of them is headed for a sports scholarship and the
principal is determined not to ruin a young man's life over
a minor incident. However he does agree that all bullying
must be deterred.
Lincoln Blair, the sports coach, is called
upon to work with Cassie on solutions. Cassie is more
accustomed to developing practical maths problems, such as
the volume of a grain silo or barn, to interest her rural
pupils. Linc explains to her that the community is
becoming fractured, with resident rural families opposed to
those working in a factory. The bullies - or someone else -
leaves a dead rat on Cassie's school desk. Clearly the
problem is escalating.
Cassie and Linc also feel a chemistry escalating between
them but Linc has been hurt before when his fiancée
decided she was bored in a small Wyoming town and walked
out. He reluctantly introduces Cassie to his small spread;
sheep, goats, herd dogs and horses. She takes to them so
well that he finds himself asking her out even as the
threats against her and young James escalate.
Rachel Lee has treated the subject of bullying with the
seriousness it deserves. The story strikes an echo with
another recent book, Catching Fireflies by Sherryl Woods.
The small ranch sounds like fun but also quite isolating for
its owner who continually needs to care for the animals,
adding to the length of his working day. Cassie had herself
been
victimized as a child, so she brings a mature perspective
to the tale. However there is enough pleasantness and
enjoyment in the tale of community life to show us that
small towns do have a lot in their favor. The title, THE
RANCHER'S DEADLY RISK, is something of a misnomer, since
the sports coach in the school is a rancher with a minimum
ofstock and he isn't the one in peril throughout the story.
In these rugged mountains, Cassie thought she'd finally
found the small-town welcome she's been looking for her
whole life. But after she stops some school bullies,
suddenly the rest of this close-knit community isn't acting
so friendly. The threats begin, and this schoolteacher has
nowhere to turn for help—until a rugged, mysterious rancher
steps in.
Lincoln Blair has been drawn to Cassie from day one. That's
why he's avoiding the too-tempting new teacher—he knows from
experience that outsiders get bored and leave. Still, he
just can't help wanting to protect Cassie when trouble
starts. As her danger grows, Linc realizes it's his heart
he's forgotten to safeguard….
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