STRAWBERRY HILL is the fifth
book in Catherine Anderson's Mystic Creek series. As always each
story in this lovely series stands alone.
Have you ever heard the expression "life isn't fair?" Well for many of
the characters in this book that would be an accurate mantra. Life just
didn't play fair and circumstances piled up against them. Luckily
they're tough enough to break through barriers and find measures of
success, and perhaps find a life that did ultimately provide some
goodness.
Slade spent most of his life building a successful business as a well-
respected rancher. The one thing he always wanted was a family. Sure,
he has some extended family but the one woman he saw as his future,
Vickie, abruptly ended their engagement. And believe it or not, Slade
never filled the void she left. The future of his ranch, as he approaches
mid-sixty, is in question. The likely candidate to take over is his niece,
but Erin had joined the sheriff's department and lately is too busy to
visit her favorite uncle.
Wyatt, Slade's foreman, has developed a tough demeanor with Erin. He
know that his boss covets idea of family, and what most don't realize is
behind that facade of being okay, Slade is still nursing a broken heart.
Slade hasn't seen Vickie in over forty years. But what's in the past is
gone and done. Or is it?
And that's the core of STRAWBERRY
HILL... For many folks, the past just doesn't want to fade away in
the background. For some it leaves just a glimmer of hope. For others it
opens a previously unknown door. And for some, it lays some harsh
reminders of deceit.
As always, Catherine Anderson creates totally awesome and
unforgettable characters in STRAWBERRY HILL. Slade is a wondrously silent hero
who actually speaks the loudest as one of the stars of book. STRAWBERRY HILL breaks the rule
that in the end, all should be forgiven. Some seemingly innocent deeds
can impact the future in unspeakable ways. STRAWBERRY HILL is a romance about what could
have been and what still can be. It's about love and hope.
The New York Times bestselling author of Spring Forward
returns to
Mystic Creek, Oregon, where an estranged pair are given a
second
chance.
As a camp cook, Vickie Brown loves feeding any size crowd
in
the great
outdoors--with one notable exception. She never would have
predicted
she'd join the crew led by gruff cowboy Slade Wilder, the
man who
broke her heart just days before their wedding.
Life has gone on since Vickie left him, but Slade can admit
his
attraction to the one woman he's ever loved remains
stronger
than
ever. If he wasn't in such desperate need of an experienced
cook for
his paying guests, he would send Vickie packing. He knows
better than
to seek out the company of the woman who broke off their
engagement
so many years ago.
Except there's no escaping each other in the confines of
the
wilderness
area, especially once their anger begins to soften in the
shared close
quarters. But after Vickie finds the courage to confront
Slade, it will
take a leap of faith for them to put their past behind him,
even if it's the
only way to recapture their once-in-a-lifetime love.
Excerpt
But as he trained his gaze on the spot, his stomach felt as
if it dropped to the ground and bounced back up into his
throat. A blond bear cub. Just as Slade realized what it
was, it flipped head over heels in the air, slammed back to
the earth, and shrieked again. He also heard the rattling
of metal chain.
“Damn it! Down, Pistol! Down!”
Whining and trembling with eagerness, Pistol lowered his
rump to the dirt. Slade dismounted, tied Bogey to a small
tree, and then pushed through the brush to get closer. The
cub was a blur of golden fur, frantically trying to free
its right front foot from the jaws of a coyote trap.
Slade’s blood boiled. What kind of idiot set a trap so
close to a trail? It was a wonder that Pistol hadn’t
stepped in it as they came up the mountain. If the steel
jaws of a leghold trap snapped closed at just the right
angle, bones could be fractured or crushed. The last thing
Slade needed was a crippled dog.
As he drew closer, the baby panicked. Not wanting to make
the cub hurt itself any worse, Slade retreated to a less
threatening distance. He scanned the area, looking for the
tracks of a sow or other cubs. His trained eye saw nothing.
He also sniffed the air, hoping not to catch a whiff of an
adult bear in the vicinity.
He finally concluded that the cub was alone. Otherwise the
mother would be facing off with him to protect her trapped
offspring, a turn of events that Slade preferred to avoid.
Now the question he had to ask himself was, where was the
mother? Sows wandered away from their cubs sometimes, and
vice versa, but normally a mother and her babies stayed
within earshot of each other. This cub was making enough
noise to wake drunks on Sunday morning.
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