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yogicath's review
5.0
This is book two of the Cowboys of Colbalt Creek series and tells the story of how two of the three main characters got together. Colt Bell has inherited his parent’s ranch after their sudden death in an accident and has just attended the reading of the will, only to find out is parents put a very specific clause into their wills. To inherit the ranch that he always thought would be his one day, just not quite so soon, and also a five hundred thousand dollar payout, he fist has to get married to a woman and stayed married for a year! This was added to their wills after they were upset with his revelation that he was bisexual and had slept with a man! He goes to the Last Chance bar in town to drown his sorrows and ponder over what on earth he can do. He has been in a committed relationship with a man call Bentley, who lives and works in Billings over an hour away, for the last few months. When Laurel Mullins sees him enter the bar where she works, she can tell he is already drunk and tries to sober him up slightly with food and water, before offering him anything stronger to drink. He gets to talking to her about what his parents have done and while he is excited to take over the running of the ranch and receive his inheritance to help with that, he is upset about the condition his parents included in their wills, which could leave him completely undone.
In a partly drunken, but more some bravery from the drink, he proposes to Laurel and asks if she will marry him, so he can inherit his ranch and she can fulfil her dreams of going to college! He will pay her two hundred thousand dollars if she stays married to him for a year and he receives his inheritance in full. Laurel was brought up in foster care after her mother died when she was ten and never knew her father, who gave up his rights to be a parent before she was even born. She stays in a boarding house with a stern landlady and can’t wait to have enough money to leave Colbalt and escape to college. Now Colt’s offer could give her that chance! She asks him to meet her the next day, just in case he changes his mind in the cold light of day, but he doesn’t. He takes her straight to the ranch and sets her up in one of his spare rooms. She gets to meet his boyfriend Bentley that weekend and quickly arrange the wedding with him as their witness. Bentley is so different to Colt, a cowboy through and through, but who prefers a quad bike to riding horses around the ranch. He is a gentle man who helps smooth out any of Colt’s rough edges and make her feel at home for the first time in her life.
She begins to enjoy life at Bell Hollow Ranch, but still keeps her job at the bar, for a bit of independence and to earn some more money. Colt asks her to help out on the ranch as and when needed, but that it is her home now as well. Feelings get hurt for Bentley, when all the neighbouring ranchers and their families come to help out with the round-up of all the new calves, their vaccinations and branding, with Laurel being introduced as Colt’s new wife and Bentley just as his friend. As both the men start to feel an attraction to Laurel, she also begins to feel comfortable with both of them and dreams of being with them both, which is surely wrong in her thinking. Bentley has been in a polyamorous relationship before, but neither Colt nor Laurel have. Colt finally makes a move one weekday and Laurel doesn’t object, in fact quite liking what happens. When Bentley arrives at the weekend they talk about their attraction to each other and thus starts their love affair between all three of them. This is something Laurel will remember forever but she is still unclear what she will do after her year of marriage is up, believing this to just be a temporary thing, like her foster placements always were and she had to constantly get used to a new family and home, with nothing ever being permanent. This part of her childhood has scarred her and left her expecting the same with her current situation. Bentley also has work issues that could pull him further away from Colt. With them beginning to realise that they are all falling in love and want their relationship to work, Laurel and Bentley both question whether this will be the end of their dreams for the future, or if they will have to give up love to follow their dreams! Choices need to be made and solutions can always be found to any problem if communication is made a key part of the decision making. A sweet and steamy book that covers a whole range of issues for the main characters and a doozy I haven’t even mentioned. Their marriage wasn’t conventional, neither is their current relationship, but if that causes issues with their neighbours and friends, like it did with Colt’s parents, they have now all grown closer and stronger together and can face what might happen. I look forward to reading more of this series and seeing what happens next, as well as finding out more about previous characters, as we do in this one. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
In a partly drunken, but more some bravery from the drink, he proposes to Laurel and asks if she will marry him, so he can inherit his ranch and she can fulfil her dreams of going to college! He will pay her two hundred thousand dollars if she stays married to him for a year and he receives his inheritance in full. Laurel was brought up in foster care after her mother died when she was ten and never knew her father, who gave up his rights to be a parent before she was even born. She stays in a boarding house with a stern landlady and can’t wait to have enough money to leave Colbalt and escape to college. Now Colt’s offer could give her that chance! She asks him to meet her the next day, just in case he changes his mind in the cold light of day, but he doesn’t. He takes her straight to the ranch and sets her up in one of his spare rooms. She gets to meet his boyfriend Bentley that weekend and quickly arrange the wedding with him as their witness. Bentley is so different to Colt, a cowboy through and through, but who prefers a quad bike to riding horses around the ranch. He is a gentle man who helps smooth out any of Colt’s rough edges and make her feel at home for the first time in her life.
She begins to enjoy life at Bell Hollow Ranch, but still keeps her job at the bar, for a bit of independence and to earn some more money. Colt asks her to help out on the ranch as and when needed, but that it is her home now as well. Feelings get hurt for Bentley, when all the neighbouring ranchers and their families come to help out with the round-up of all the new calves, their vaccinations and branding, with Laurel being introduced as Colt’s new wife and Bentley just as his friend. As both the men start to feel an attraction to Laurel, she also begins to feel comfortable with both of them and dreams of being with them both, which is surely wrong in her thinking. Bentley has been in a polyamorous relationship before, but neither Colt nor Laurel have. Colt finally makes a move one weekday and Laurel doesn’t object, in fact quite liking what happens. When Bentley arrives at the weekend they talk about their attraction to each other and thus starts their love affair between all three of them. This is something Laurel will remember forever but she is still unclear what she will do after her year of marriage is up, believing this to just be a temporary thing, like her foster placements always were and she had to constantly get used to a new family and home, with nothing ever being permanent. This part of her childhood has scarred her and left her expecting the same with her current situation. Bentley also has work issues that could pull him further away from Colt. With them beginning to realise that they are all falling in love and want their relationship to work, Laurel and Bentley both question whether this will be the end of their dreams for the future, or if they will have to give up love to follow their dreams! Choices need to be made and solutions can always be found to any problem if communication is made a key part of the decision making. A sweet and steamy book that covers a whole range of issues for the main characters and a doozy I haven’t even mentioned. Their marriage wasn’t conventional, neither is their current relationship, but if that causes issues with their neighbours and friends, like it did with Colt’s parents, they have now all grown closer and stronger together and can face what might happen. I look forward to reading more of this series and seeing what happens next, as well as finding out more about previous characters, as we do in this one. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
feistyredhead82's review
4.0
Colt need a wife so he can get his inheritance. And Laurel seems to be in the right place at the right time. She wants to leave her small town and Colt will make that happen if she marries him for one year. But there is also Bentley in the mix. He’s Colts boyfriend. Laurel stays out of the way until Colt decides his gels for her are more the just friendship and Bentley is on board with Colts plans. A friendship turns into so much more between the three but there is a few obstacles in their way before they can get a happy ending. This book was cute and had a bit of angst. I’d definitely read another book in this series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
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