The Yard Rose - Carolyn Brown (Montlake - July 2013)

Glory Flowers fell in love with Quaid Matthews when she was seven years old. A part of her heart went to Galveston with him just after the second grade when he left southern Oklahoma.
 
Twenty years later he returns home for his grandmother’s funeral. He decides to stay in Terral, a little southern Oklahoma town right on the Red River and the Chisholm Trail, to research a new line of restaurants to be located as close to the Trail as possible.
 
During his stay he moves the WM Corporation travel trailer right on the property next to Glory’s land—and the struggle begins. She wants his land to enlarge her property. He wants her land to make a parking lot for his new restaurant. When he tries to cut down the beautiful row of rose bushes separating their property, the battle begins.
 
They both realize they’ve fallen desperately in love yet they’re not sure if they can trust each other. It takes a lot of courage, some reassurance, and many roses to confirm their love.
 
Good enemies-to-lovers story. Glory and Quaid knew each other as young children when both were shy. Quaid won her heart when he attended her mother's funeral, and his glance at her said he understood her pain. Quaid was sweet on another girl, but that girl broke his heart right before he moved away from their small town.
 
Twenty years later, Glory is a teacher supervising her sister's café during her summer break. Quaid comes to town to attend his grandmother's funeral and notices Glory when she attends. Quaid is now part of a big business that plans to build a restaurant on the land he inherited from his grandmother. That land is next door to Glory's land, and he wants to buy her land for a parking lot. Meanwhile, Glory wants to buy his land to expand her property and build a house.
 
The first meeting between Glory and Quaid is funny, as she rescues him from the clutches of Rachel, the grown-up version of the girl who broke his heart. Matters go downhill when Quaid moves his travel trailer onto his land as he prepares to build the first of his planned restaurants. Unfortunately, the first thing he does is attempt to cut down the beautiful yard roses that grow between their two properties. He has terrible associations with those roses and wants them gone, while Glory has nurtured them through storm and drought. Their intense confrontation shows the sparks that neither is ready to acknowledge.
 
Each quickly realizes they need to make nice with the other if they want a chance to get the land they want. They spend time together with Quaid showing Glory around the places that will influence his restaurant business. It's hard on Glory because she sees the appeal of his plans and can see their success while she watches her dream of owning his land disappear. Glory shows him the changes in their town and hopes he'd change his plans. They grow closer as they spend time together but see no way to be together.
 
Then nature intervenes, and Glory is left with broken dreams. In her hurt, she chases Quaid away. It takes time and distance for her to realize what she wants and to go after it. In the meantime, Quaid is dealing with his own heartbreak. I loved seeing his mother read him the riot act, motivating him not to give up on Glory.
 
There's a bit of excitement at the end due to a woman who has her eyes on claiming Quaid for herself. Though Glory initially takes a hit to her self-confidence, Quaid convinces her of his love. I laughed out loud at the confrontation between Glory and Milly, aided at the end by Quaid's mother. The last chapter was sweet and romantic and the perfect conclusion to the book. 

The Wedding Gift - Carolyn Brown (Sourcebooks - July 2023)

Three fun short stories.
 
THE WEDDING GIFT
 
A bride with cold feet might just make the mistake of a lifetime, unless there's a wise woman around to set her straight. Includes two bonus novellas to help you celebrate the seasons!
 
A week before your wedding is no time for your ex to ride back into town, stirring up trouble. But that’s exactly the predicament Darla McAdams finds herself in. With practically the entire town of Tishomingo, Oklahoma, in attendance, the last place she wants to be is at her grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary party with the whole family, her fiancé and her old flame all in the same room.
 
Darla’s grandmother Roxie has seen many a bride tested, and she knows Darla is at a crossroads. It’s time to share the truth about Roxie’s own marriage to Darla’s grandfather - and the gift that saved their marriage so many years ago. By revealing secret after secret, the most startling involving a television set, Roxie gives Darla a wedding gift she’ll cherish forever, but only Darla can listen to what’s inside her heart and know who she’s meant to say “I do” to.
 
Fun story about what happens when an old boyfriend shows up a week before your wedding and tries to talk you into running off with him. The story opens as Darla, her grandmother Roxie, and grandfather Claud get ready for their sixtieth-anniversary party. Darla needs some advice from Roxie but has to wait until after the party. In the meantime, she's faced with trying to stave off Andy's innuendo-filled comments and remind herself that she loves Will.
 
As soon as she hears the problem, Roxie knows what she has to do. I loved her stories of the early days of her marriage to Claud, especially the marriage license, his fishing tackle, and the television. Her downhome and practical advice are spot-on (let's hear it for Sunday "naps."). Old Andy gets what's coming to him when Darla and Roxie discover he has more than one iron in the fire. I laughed out loud at Roxie's clever way of doling out justice.
 
I loved Darla's fiancé, Will. He adores her and intends to give her the best life possible. His little romantic touches are sweet and remind Darla why she loves him. An unexpected twist at the end showed they had more in common than they knew. I loved that they learned early on that trust is vital in a happy marriage. The wedding scene was sweet.
 
 
 
A SLOW DANCE HOLIDAY
 
Legend has it the Honky Tonk bar in tiny Mingus, Texas, is charmed and its owners will find true love. But when new owners Cameron Walsh and JJ Jenks meet the week before Christmas and discover the deal includes sharing an efficiency in the back of the bar, they're not sure it's going to be the down-home Christmas they dreamed of…
 
Fun story. I've enjoyed the Honky Tonk series, and this was a terrific, if short, addition.  Cameron and Jorja (JJ) are each given half-ownership of the Honky-Tonk by its previous owner, with the collusion of their grandparents. Cameron has run a beach bar in Florida for years and looks forward to having his own place. Jorja is just happy to get away from Nashville. Each believes their new partner is the same gender as themselves, and they get quite a shock when they meet.
 
Jorja is a red-headed spitfire who makes an immediate impression on Cameron when they meet. Neither is willing to give up their portion of the bar, so they quickly learn to work together. Their conversations are fun as they adjust to working and living together. I loved the use of animal pairings to give Cameron and Jorja the idea that they belong together - from spiders and snakes to robins and possums, everywhere they look, they see couples.
 
Jorja also faces the obstacle of dealing with her family. The daughter of a preacher, they are not pleased that she gave up an excellent job to own a bar. When her older sister shows up at the bar intent on forcing Jorja to come home, it takes some effort to convince her otherwise. I loved seeing Jorja stand up for herself. At the same time, Cameron realizes he doesn't want her to go. I loved the ending.
 
 
 
SUMMERTIME ON THE RANCH
 
This city girl is about to learn a thing or two about bad-boy cowboys.
 
Becca McKay has been in Nashville doing everything she can to land a country music contract, but when her grandmother, Greta, gets sick, Becca packs up her twelve-year-old SUV and heads back to Terral, Oklahoma to help take care of Greta. Once she arrives, she quickly gets hired at the O'Donnells' watermelon wine-making business.
 
Dalton Wilson has been the foreman on the O'Donnells' ranch for a couple of years now. He's thirty years old and has a reputation for being a bad-boy cowboy, but deep in his heart, he is more than ready to settle down. It's love at first sight for Dalton, but convincing Becca that he is ready to hang up his bad boy spurs is quite another thing—until the night they both have too much watermelon wine and open their hearts…
 
Short and sweet romance from the Spikes and Spurs series. After ten years of chasing her country music dream in Nashville, she leaves it all behind to care for her grandmother in tiny Terral, Oklahoma. She gets a job working at Austin O'Donnell's watermelon wine business and is soon dreaming of starting her own vineyard. The only downside is resisting the bad-boy cowboy foreman at the ranch across the road.
 
Dalton has a love-'em-and-leave-'em reputation with the women of Terral. He wasn't interested in settling down until he laid eyes on Becca. Suddenly, being a one-woman man doesn't seem like such a bad idea after all. Unfortunately, convincing Becca he's changed his ways is an uphill battle.
 
I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Dalton and Becca. The sparks are there when they meet, but Becca is wary of becoming just another notch on Dalton's bedpost. Dalton doesn't seem to get anywhere until Becca's grandmother, Greta, pulls him into her orbit of church and Sunday dinner. Just that little bit of seeing Dalton's honorable side has Becca looking at him a little differently. I loved seeing them start to spend time together and discover they have more in common than they thought. There are some sweet scenes of burgers at the Dairy Queen and picnics in the woods, and a hilarious scene involving a bull and a watermelon.
 
Things are looking up for them until a bit of Dalton's past comes calling. I wanted to shake Becca for her reaction and enjoyed seeing Greta call her out on it. I liked that Dalton and Becca were adult enough to talk honestly with each other about what happened. I liked the ending and seeing them look forward to a future together.