Walker Pride by Bernadette Marie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Eric Walker is a true cowboy at heart, he lives on his own and runs a business on a ranch where he boards horses and raises beef cattle, he has a big family nearby and a routine and structure in his life which he has developed over time, but that all changes when his grandfather dies. Susan Hayes has moved to Georgia to make a new life for herself, she is running her own catering business and has dreams of opening her own restaurant, so she attends culinary school on the nights where she isn’t catering for parties and events, but all that is about to change when she caters for a funeral at the Walker estate.

Eric prefers his own company to that of his family, so when he goes to his family’s house, he is not in the best of moods, because he has already had to spend the day before interacting with them all, so when he storms into the back door of the house to listen to the reading of the will, the last thing he expects to see is the caterer and he is the last thing she is expecting to see either. They are both immediately struck by the other, but when Eric starts to pinch food off of her platters before they are even set up, she knows that he is trouble personified, however, she is intrigued by him during their small conversation and Eric cannot stop conversing with her despite the fact that it is completely out of his character, that is until he is summoned into the study with the rest of the family.

As the will is being read, some shocking family secrets come out of the woodwork when they find out that they are going to have to relinquish half of their lands back to their original owners as payment of a gambling debt which his Uncle got himself into, they also find out that there are other things mentioned which make the entire group angry and stressed out, especially Eric as the part of the land is the one on which he has built his life, business and home. Susan meanwhile is doing her best not to listen in to the raised voices and keep her professional demeanor in tact, however, when the conversation comes round to one of Eric’s cousins that she needs a place to stay while she is visiting, Susan immediately offers her a place to stay as she is in need of a roommate and also needs help in the business, so she offers a job as well. Eric’s cousin is taken aback at the ofer and agrees to think about it before leaving to escape to Eric’s house and away from the family she doesn’t believe even want her there. It is during this conversation and the rest of the afternoon that Eric realises that he cannot get Susan out of his mind, so when his cousin calls to go and see the house, he jumps at the chance to see Susan and get a glimpse into her life at the same time. One house tour and dinner later, the deal is done and Susan is inadvertently invited for breakfast at Eric’s, despite the fact that he cannot cook and has a houseful of drunken brothers when he returns home.

The next day, Susan surprises Eric with a lunch at his home, when this goes well, he insists on the breakfast date again and when he wakes up early and goes to see to his horses, he surprisingly finds Susan already up at the barn taking photographs, also to his amazement and hers, they end up in a passionate kiss before being interrupted by one of Eric’s brothers. As the days progress and Eric and Susan become more involved, Eric’s family troubles are just getting started, as well as the land, they also want to move his mother’s gravesite, then he finds out that his horse and one of the horses boarded in his barn, as well as six head of cattle have been poisoned and none survive the ordeal, including his partner in crime and best friend. He is torn up and turns to Susan for comfort, but will their newly forged bond be enough to see them through the hard times to come, or will their pasts get in the way of what could be something beautiful? As things turn from bad to worse, will Eric survive the attempts on his life, or will his Walker pride prevail and see him through? This is a romantic suspense with secrets, revelations, romance and grief all rolled up into one fantastic package which will leave you wanting to read more.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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