Hearts in Jeopardy

    With the recent passing of her father Jennifer Courtney is now the owner of the family ranch, Rancho Montana. The change of ownership goes smoothly thanks to Jen's experience helping her father, the trusty foreman Weir, and Larry the new business manager Jen hires. However Jen still looks forward to when her fiancé, Slim Lattigo, will take over running the ranch after their marriage.

    Slim is an extremely talented and successful rodeo star. Although originally awed by his skill Jen has become nervous about his profession ever since their engagement. She worries he will be harmed while preforming dangerous stunts and can not bear to watch his competitions.

    After Slim arrives home from one of his out of town competitions Jen asks him to quit. This leads to a conversation about their plans for the future. Jen had assumed Slim would move in with her and take over running the successful Rancho Montana however he tells her they will be selling the ranch and putting the money into his father's rundown and mismanaged ranch. He then plans for Jen to devote herself to housekeeping for his parents.

    Jen is shocked as this is not the type of life she would ever agree to. Slim tells her it doesn't matter what she wants because "a wife does what her man tells her".

    Although mad Jen gives Slim the benefit of the doubt and assumes he was just exhausted after the long bus ride home. She decides to surprise him by attending his next competition which is being held several hours away.

    After the competition Jen goes looking for Slim at the local restaurant and sees him arrange to meet a beautiful girl at the "usual time, usual place". Jen is shocked as she never would have suspected Slim cheats on her when he's out of town.

    The next day, back at home, she picks Slim up from the bus depot and breaks up with him. Slim does not take it well, first justifying his infidelity and then accusing Jen of having an affair with Larry. He then attempts to sexually assault Jen and when she fights him off he says "You better not try that again! I've got hands, too, and I'm not too nice to beat up on the woman who doesn't play along." He then leaves, saying "you haven't seen the last of me."

    When Slim's younger brother, Andy, applies for a job on the ranch Jen hires him in an attempt to keep friendly relations with the Lattigo family. However after several incidents Andy is fired by Larry when he attempts to beat Starlight, a newborn foal and Jens beloved pet.

    Hearing about the incident Slim heads over to the Rancho Montana and attempts to get Jen to take him back. When she refuses he gets angry and tries to sexually assault her. Jen has to use the newly installed hidden emergency call button that connects to Larry's living quarters.

    When in town Larry is confronted by a drunk Andy who assaults him and, in front of the townspeople, insinuates that Jen had left Slim for Larry. Wanting to defend her honor Larry knocks out Andy.

    This further seems to enrage the Lattigo's who steal Starlight in the night and set him loose in the desert. Unable to find him Larry hires a helicopter to locate and rescue Jen's beloved horse.

    An order for 100 cattle comes to Jen from the Kingston Ranch, the largest ranch in the state. They will have to be herded through a canyon to the train station for delivery however a portion of the canyon is on Lattigo land.

    The Lattigo's refuse to allow the cattle through but since Jen's father had made a legal agreement with Mr. Lattigo to always allow passage they are able to have the police enforce it.

    The cattle drive is a tense one as the group fears the Lattigo's will shoot a gun and cause a stampede while in the narrow canyon which would be deadly to the humans and animals.

    Slim does set off a piece of dynamite but is seconds too late to cause harm as the majority of cattle had exited the canyon at that time.

    After loading the animals on the train Jen, Larry, and Weir head to a restaurant in town but are waved down by Slim outside of it who assaults Larry. Larry beats up Slim and heads home. The police chief tells Slim to leave Jen and the Rancho Montana alone or he will arrest him.

    Jen asks Weir to have Larry meet her at her favorite spot in the canyon. When he does their romantic feelings are confessed. Larry tells Jen he had seen her at a wedding and instantly fell for her but she left before they could be introduced. When he saw her advertisement in the newspaper looking for a ranch manager he thought it would be the perfect way to meet her. It's also learned that he is actually Larry Kingston, son of the owner of the Kingston Ranch.

    The two head home hand-in-hand with plans to soon marry.

- Slim is a terrifying character. After Jen breaks up with him some of her girl friends are interested in pursing him and I felt bad Jen didn't warn them of his pattern of attempted sexual assaults.

- There was a funny part where, after Jen gets angry at Larry for a misunderstanding, Weir tells Larry he should spank Jen to straighten her out. Larry laughs saying he knows Weir doesn't believe in that type of behavior and doubts he ever laid a hand on his wife to which Weir admits he hasn't and that his wife, in fact, is the one that's smacked him around with a frying pan before. It was a nice bit of levity amid the seriousness of characters like Slim and Andy.

- Jen assuming Larry's sister is his girlfriend/fiancé was annoying because it's such an overused thing in romance books.

- The writing for this is pretty amateurish although it's only really noticeable in a few places where some sentences are awkward.

    I wasn't really a fan of the setting because I have no interest in ranching, rodeos, cowboys, etc. but I still found it fairly entertaining and it went along quickly enough. Overall it wasn't that bad at all.