Series:
Bolton Brothers (Book 3)
First comes the baby…and maybe then comes marriage?
He'd never expected to see Stella Caine again. After one wild night,
she'd walked away -- right after revealing that her father was the one
man who could threaten the biggest business deal of Bobby Bolton's
career. So Bobby left her alone.
Until now.
Now Stella is pregnant and staying in his condo. This is a complication
that can be solved only one way: marriage. Bobby wants to do the right
thing. Hell, he wants her -- has never stopped wanting her. Surely he
can convince her to say yes, even without those three little words….
Good book. Bobby hadn't forgotten his encounter with Stella, but respected her wishes to leave her alone. Then she came back to see him and tell him that she's pregnant. Bobby is stunned but determined to do the right thing, if only he can convince her.
I really liked Bobby. I wasn't sure about him in the earlier books, as he seemed a bit like the typical smarmy salesman. In this book we get to know him better. Bobby is a people person, which is why he's so good at sales. He has a great talent at being able to read most people. As the youngest brother he feels like he needs to prove himself, which is why he's gotten involved with building the resort. He found out after the fact that Stella is the daughter of his biggest investor, the same one who is super conservative and not likely to take his daughter's pregnancy well. I really liked the way that Bobby is not upset about Stella's pregnancy, but is actually kind of excited about it. He has been a bit of a player before, but since meeting Stella hasn't been interested in anyone else. He is surprised when she turns down his proposal but he's not going to give up. One of the things I liked best about Bobby was the way that he actually listened to Stella and tried to do things that would make her happy. I loved it when he took her to the shop and got the two ladies to get her the supplies she needed to do her work. It also showed how comfortable he was with babies when he was playing with Josey's little girl. I loved the way he wanted her more with every day they were together, but he sure was an idiot when he neglected to tell her that he wanted her to stay. It was great when his two sisters-in-law sat him down and pointed out where he'd gone wrong. I loved seeing him stand up to her father in public before going after Stella.
Stella had a terrible relationship with her father ever since her mother died. He was a cold man who never paid any attention to her unless he was putting her down. She has become an excellent fashion designer but still gets no approval from her father. Her designs are a bit out there and her ultra conservative father doesn't approve of them at all. I liked the way she does her own thing anyway. When she met Bobby she was drawn to him because he actually noticed her and talked to her, something that didn't happen to her often. She only was with him that one time because she didn't want to cause him trouble. When she discovered she was pregnant she went to him because she wanted to find out if he would be involved with the baby or distant like her father. She was stunned to find out just how involved he wanted to be. She wants nothing more than to have a family of her own, but she doesn't want a marriage of obligation. She wants to be wanted and loved for herself. The more time she spends with Bobby the deeper she falls for him. I felt really bad for her with the way that her father treats her. I liked the way that Bobby supports her and backs her up so she can get what she needs. I had high hopes for her when she stood up to her father at the end, but then she backed down and I wanted to smack her. I hope that Bobby's love gives her the strength that she needs to be her own person.
Series:
Bolton Brothers (Book 2)
Jenny Wawasuck knows that "Wild" Billy Bolton is all wrong for a good
girl like her. But then she sees the bond Billy forms with her son --
and feels how Billy's touch burns her skin, how his kiss ignites desires
she's long ignored. So she brings him home from the charity bachelor
auction.
Now Billy has one night to stake his claim. But in a world filled with
blackmailers and gold diggers, can a millionaire bad boy and a sweet
single mom turn one chance into forever?
Very good book. Billy is the oldest of the Bolton brothers and the least "civilized" of them. In Straddling the Line all three brothers got involved with a charter school on the reservation. Now Billy is committed to building a motorcycle with the older kids and auctioning it off to raise money for the school. The building process is also being filmed for a web production. Billy hates being the center of attention like that but he's putting up with it. On the first day at the school he runs into Jenny who refuses to let the filming affect her or her classes. One thing that does affect her is Billy himself. For the first time in years she's attracted to a man, but what chance does she have of having something that lasts?
I loved both Billy and Jenny. Jenny is a single mother who is a teacher at the school. She has devoted her life to teaching and helping the kids on the reservation and to raising her son. With the Bolton brothers' involvement with the school she has learned to put up with them. Ben is ok, she doesn't trust Bobby because of his player attitudes, and she really doesn't trust Billy. His bad boy image, tattoos and attitude are not what she wants around her students. One of the things I liked best about her was the fact that, in spite of his size and everything else she isn't afraid of him. One of my favorite parts comes right at the beginning when she tells him "You listen to me - I don't care how big or scary or rich or famous you are - you are at my school, on my rez, mister. You make one mistake - touch one student, say something inappropriate - I'll personally grind you up into hamburger and feed you to the coyotes. Do I make myself clear?" She keeps a close eye on him and when her son starts hanging out with him, she gets very protective. But she soon realizes that in spite of his bad boy exterior there is a caring man inside. She sees the interest he takes in Seth and it softens her toward him. She also discovers that she has an intense attraction to him that is like nothing she has ever felt before. As they spend more time together that attraction grows. She's not so sure that there is any chance of a future for them and when his past comes back to haunt him she's sure there isn't. I thought she was a little hard on him at that point but she was standing up for what she believed.
Billy is my favorite of the three brothers. His bad boy exterior actually hides a pretty soft inside that he doesn't show to anyone. When he first met Jenny at Ben's wedding he was so blown away by her beauty that he couldn't really speak, cementing her perception of his scariness. When he saw her again at the school he was surprised again at his reaction to her. He was also amused by her attitude toward him "Billy stood there thinking that his day had taken a turn for the better. Had that pretty little cousin of Josey's really threatened to feed him to the coyotes?" He wasn't used to anyone standing up to him. I liked the way that he also made friends with Seth even before he knew Seth belonged to Jenny. He recognized a lot of himself in Seth and took an interest in him the way that someone had done for him. I liked the way that he treated Jenny also. He wanted to do things for her that he'd never done for anyone else. He also wanted to take care of her the way no one else had. His attraction to her had quickly moved to something stronger but he wasn't sure that it was possible for them. I loved the way that the bachelor auction went and how he went so far to give Jenny such a great evening. It was fun seeing him putting Jenny first and the effect it had on her. Everything was going well for them until a woman from his past showed up. His problem and how he fixed it was not something that Jenny could accept. I loved the way that Seth confronted Billy and then how Billy made things right with Jenny. His scene with her girls was fantastic.
Series:
Bolton Brothers (Book 1)
She Only Wants to Belong
CFO Ben Bolton has enough on his plate running his family business. But
when lovely Josey White Plume enters his office, his priorities shift.
He refuses to let such a compelling woman walk away. The chase is on.
All her life, Josey has sought one thing: to fit in with her Lakota
family. She has no time for some sexy rich guy's pursuit. But she can't
stop thinking about Ben-wanting him...kissing him. Yet falling for a
wealthy outsider will destroy everything she's worked for-unless she can
find a way to straddle the line between his world and hers.
Very good book. I liked both Josey and Ben. Both of them are trying to find their places in the world. Josey has returned to South Dakota from New York after breaking up with her boyfriend who tells her she doesn't "fit in" with his world. Unfortunately she also feels like she doesn't fit in here either. Because she and her mother both have white heritage along with their Lakota they are looked down on by their fellow tribe members. They are trying to start a charter school to help some of the youth with education and job training but are having a hard time supplying the school with enough to get it open. Josey goes to the Bolton's motorcycle business to ask for a donation of tools. She doesn't expect to get turned down flat and tries to convince Ben of the need. She also doesn't expect the intense and unwelcome attraction to him. The last thing she wants is a relationship to a white man when she's trying to fit in with her mother's people. But as she and Ben spend more time together it becomes obvious that he understands her and likes her just the way she is. She spends a lot of time and effort trying to get the people of the reservation to accept her before she realizes that Ben's statement that you have to know yourself first is very true.
Ben is another one who is looking for his place in the world. He is the middle son and the one who runs the financial side of the family business. He gets no respect from his father who doesn't believe in the money management ideas that Ben has. He is also the peacemaker among his brothers and father, trying to keep his promise to his mother to "keep the family together". When he meets Josey he is immediately attracted to her, but turns her request down, knowing that he'd never get his father to agree. He sees her again in his other world as the drummer in a rock band and the attraction is even stronger. He really wants to get to know her better but realizes it might be a bad idea. I loved the way that a conversation with his brother Billy makes him realize how important a thing it is that Josey is doing and causes him to rethink helping out the school. I loved his visit to the powwow and the way he was able to relate to the kids he saw there. I also loved the respect he had for Josey and her mother and the way it showed in his actions. His confrontation with his family at the end was fantastic and I loved the solution that they finally came up with.
It took a lot for both Josey and Ben to finally see that they didn't have to pick one part of their lives over another. They just had to find a way to make those worlds work together.
