Christy Poindexter is a young woman living in Poindexter, California with her widowed mother in the old family house which has become rundown over time. Christy's grandfather had founded the town of Poindexter and built it through his mills which have since closed down and caused the family to live in poverty. Christy has been able to protect her mother from the knowledge of just how poor they have become, she isn't even aware that the Inca, the family's old ranch, has been sold to it's foreman, Roger Gordon. Although Art has taken a job bronco busting at the Inca he has neglected to send any of the money home to his family and so Christy carries on alone fighting off creditors and cooking humble meals with the food scraps they can afford. Although Christy wants to find a job to keep her and her mothers heads above water she has been trained for nothing except attracting a husband and keeping house.
These skills soon come in handy however when Christy is asked to attend a business dinner with Roger Gordon. There she meets Stuart Holmes, a young handsome doctor who is instantly smitten with Christy and she with him. She invites him over for lunch the next day where he is in awe of her big beautiful home and her homemaking skills. He must leave on business that night, he explains, but makes plans to return in two weeks. Despite her excitement for this upcoming date Christy soon forgets all about it when a call comes from the Inca saying Art has becoming seriously injured in an accident.
The Poindexter women soon move into the Inca to be near, and care for, Art. The ranch has become somewhat rundown itself, not due to lack of money, but lack of responsibility on the staffs part. Christy decides to repay Rogers hospitality by taking things into her own hands. Through her hard work and firm hand with the staff she gets the house in grand order and earns a salary for herself from it. Roger, who has known and loved Christy all his life, wants to marry her however she makes it clear she feels nothing for him but friendship. Her heart still lingers on Stuart despite not having spoken to him since the lunch a year ago.
After lunching with her best friend Amy Gibbs, Christy is called in to see Mr. Gibbs who owns the local bank. He degradingly suggests that Christy's employment at the ranch implies she is a woman with loose morals and that she should come work in his house instead. Christy is outraged by this attack and storms out of his office in tears where she runs into Dr. Blanchard. He consoles her and informs her that he, and an up-and-coming doctor, are interested in buying her family house and turning it into a hospital.
Christy and her mother are thrilled with this idea and papers are drawn up to buy the house and land from them for $20,000. Upon hearing this Roger is outraged. The place is worth x10 that much, these women are being taken advantage of.
Roger takes the women to San Francisco to consult with his lawyer and have an appraiser sent to Poindexter to evaluate the land. There they run into Stuart who is still as wild about Christy as she is about him. However she is soon heartbroken when Roger informs her that not only is Stuart the up-and-coming doctor working with Dr. Blanchard to scam her and her mother but Stuart is also engaged to Amy.
Back at home the Poindexter house is sold for $200,000 ending the Poindexter's financial struggles. With his injury leaving him unfit for ranch life Art goes to college and begins plans to reopen the family mills. No longer needing employment Christy continues her duties at the ranch from a "woman of the house" position. When Rogers birthday approaches a fiesta is planned by Christy who impresses all Rogers friends, including Stuart.
Stuart insists he had no part in trying to scam the women and that although he is engaged to Amy, it's only because he has not had a chance with Christy. When Christy turns him down he accuses her of being in love with Roger and she realizes that she is, in fact, in love with Roger.
Stuart visits the ranch soon after the party and asks Christy to marry him and move with him to Germany where he has taken a job. She turns him down and declares her love for Roger who, unknowingly, is listening in the next room. After Stuart departs Roger and Christy make their feelings clear for each other.
Honestly, I didn't have a lot of notes on this book. It was a cute story and although I think Christy suddenly realizing she's in love with Roger was a tad hard to believe, I do like that her choice between the two men aligns with her character and goals throughout the book.
This is the second book I've read by Ruth McCarthy Sears, the first was The House on the Dunes which I was not a fan of and found the writing, and whole story, quite amateurish. I was very pleasantly surprised with this and would be interested in reading more by her.
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