This guest ranch story of a single mom, Maia MacKenzie, her little son TJ, and a new worker, cowboy Brent Hayes, is thoughtful and sometimes great fun. A SECRET CHRISTMAS WISH is a combination of a guest ranch with Bridget Jones’s Diary. Not every reader will be in the mood for the abrupt changes of setting.

Brent arrives in the Arizona town in time to attend a Thanksgiving wedding as a date for a perfect stranger. To earn more money than just ranch hand, he’s taken a second job as a ‘plus one’ at weddings. The agency, Your Perfect Plus One, has firm rules against shady ‘escort’ work and fraternising between co-workers. They also don’t send more than one person to any wedding. But during this story, they double-book twice. Nice people willing to hire a fake date at weddings obviously might want someone who looks attractive. Brent thinks the lovely lady on another guest’s arm is gorgeous. This is Maia. As it happens, she’s fake dating, too. Her sister runs the agency.

A champion trail rider, Maia works hard with her horse Snapple to get competing fit for long distances. Brent helps her train at the ranch. He’s formerly a rodeo star. I didn’t like how people jeered him for not getting onto broncs and bulls anymore. If your body’s had enough injuries and your brain can think of better things to do, that should be it. People move on from sports or move into other aspects of work. Not surprisingly, Brent is experiencing mental health issues. For once, it’s not PTSD. He’s got occasional bouts of depression. This gets discussed a lot during the tale, once Brent decides to open up about his feelings. Mainly, we learn about positive ideas and how to find help.

Wishing Well Springs is the name of the series and of a tourist town, which puts on a fun time at Christmas. I enjoyed reading about the co-workers at Mountainside Stables, because really, I came for the horses. There could have been more horses and less time spent at weddings for me, since we largely don’t know the people who are marrying. Also, Maia’s family is open and welcoming to the new ranch hand, but her sister Darla instantly tries to claim the two are flirting and look good together – she doesn’t even know Brent, and there is that no-relationship rule among co-workers in the agency. With a helpful sister like Darla, you might not need enemies. The kid TJ is a hoot and steals every scene. Cathy McDavid has recurring series characters along with new ones in A SECRET CHRISTMAS WISH, which will be good for lifelong romantics.