Divorce is a challenge especially when there are children concerned. When your husband walks away from you and starts a new life with a new family the responsibility seems to land in your lap. Relationships with members of your ex-husband's family also seem to narrow until they too are practically nonexistent. So is the story in THE HOLIDAY HEARTBREAKER.
When Carter divorced Elizabeth he ultimately divorced his son Benny as well. Visits always included his new family. Benny was sort of a spectator to his dad’s new life. It was time for Elizabeth to make a change. For both of them.
For Benny, an eight-year-old, the situation felt so unfair. Leaving everything and everyone behind, Elizabeth saw it as an opportunity for her to grow and for their little family to thrive with new adventures and a totally new lifestyle. Out of their tiny apartment, onto a ranch, and spending time with horses as she had prior to being divorced from not only her husband but from all the things that had been part of their marriage, including her horses. Benny had never had the chance to grow into and share Elizabeth's love of horses. It was a huge challenge but in the end, it was very worth it. As an equine therapist, moving to McCloud Landing was the answer to Elizabeth's prayer.
Elizabeth and Benny are ripe for a new beginning. Sharing her time with her son with his father is a difficult adjustment since they had basically been their own little family group. Brody McCloud, one of the McCloud brothers who own McCloud Landing, plays a rather remarkable role that surprises just about everyone. He is a confirmed bachelor. Totally determined to avoid relationships, especially with a woman who has a child. Brody’s upbringing did not prepare him for son and father relationship. So keeping the two of them at bay seems a judicious plan.
The central theme in THE HOLIDAY HEARTBREAKER is scars. Scars of all kinds are the evident connection between the stories of these marvelous characters. Maisey Yates distributed a bunch of scars, some physical, some mental, and some emotional. No one in the McCloud family escaped from having scars. And we get to delve into how these scars have shaped the brothers with some surprises thrown in for good measure. Elizabeth aptly called them battle scars.
THE HOLIDAY HEARTBREAKER is the newest installment in the Four Corners Ranch series by Maisey Yates. Each one has centered on a particular member or members of the four families that had grouped together to form a conglomerate from their personal ranches. Maisey Yates has used her mastery of character development to bring these folks alive and has created some interesting coupling. working her characters much like ingredients in a recipe. A little sweet with a touch of tartness; some spice with a dash of sugar. You cannot help falling in love with each character created by this very prolific author of family drama, angst mixed together with a healthy dose of love. The Four Corners Ranch series delights the reader with heartwarming tales of survival and strength, love, and tradition.
A fresh start is all she wants this Christmas, but maybe a cowboy is all she needs…
It’s not the holiday season she’d envisioned. But moving back home with her son, Benny, is all single mom Elizabeth Colfax can do after her ex-husband’s infidelity left their life in pieces. A fresh start at Four Corners Ranch means Elizabeth’s dream career in equine therapy can become a reality, allowing her to share her love of horses with Benny. If only it didn’t also mean butting heads with Brody McCloud, the frustratingly attractive cowboy who sets sparks off inside her.
Brody doesn’t do complicated, and Elizabeth’s got more baggage than an airport. But there’s something about the woman that’s always gotten under his skin in a very welcome way. As the simmering tension between them grows harder to ignore, they’ll have to decide if their undeniable attraction can outweigh a shared loss of faith in forever. Maybe this Christmas, they can find a family worth fighting for.
In the bonus novella Wild Night Cowboy, can a cowboy with a dark past find his future with the one woman he shouldn't touch?