Kira is caring for her cousin's little girl and running a horse therapy ranch. Her grandfather helps and she's been mostly successful in her attempts to teach responsibility, team work, and chores. She still feel badly about the traffic accident that killed her cousin but she's trying to move on. Then her grandfather comes home with the father of the child. Is her world going to fall apart?

Zebra and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published February 28th.

Ms. Daily has been writing romances for years and it's been a while since I've read one. She hasn't lost her touch. She's incorporated current events and realistic situations. That makes her stories more believable than most.

Kira is surprised by how Jake looks. Her grandfather found him in jail and bailed him out. Jake didn't want to come back to the ranch because his memories almost destroy him. But grandpa isn't taking no, and he owes him. He plans to go back and earn enough money to pay him back and leave. It's a good idea but he had no idea how much he would love his young daughter.

Jake has PTSD. He gets out of control and he doesn't like being around other people. When he's recruited to help with the young adults and the horses, he's not happy about it. The fact that his daughter takes him around and shows him how to feed the horses doesn't help any.

Jake's answer to everything has been to run. When things get too bad, he moves on. Kira knows about his problems and wants to help him. He doesn't want help. He doesn't want love and he doesn't want to burdened with a daughter. At least that's what he thinks.

This is a light romance with a bit of therapy for everyone. I enjoyed watching the kids develop as well as Jake. It ends well for almost all and I enjoyed that. Your life is what you make of it so make it good!

Not the usual cowboy romance from Janet Dailey, made this a fantastic book. Jake is a war veteran who is brought to the ranch to help out and to get to know his daughter. But he doesn't want her to know who he is because he doesn't plan on staying. Kira has a job to do, and part of that is to keep the kids in her care safe from themselves and others. Troubled teenagers who don't want any help is what Kira has to deal with and now a man that is too much trouble for his own good. I don't envy Kira that's for sure.

The beginning grabs the reader's attention with its intensity: the beautiful landscape (Arizona’s desert country), the tortured hero (a “volatile man” with a “wounded soul”), the well-rounded secondary characters.
The portrait of the hero, a proud man, "a man of honor", was well done. I liked that he changes throughout the story and learns, for example, to use his skills to discipline and deal with the teens. I also liked that such an alpha male was, nonetheless, afraid of horses and snakes and confessed it so candidly. The building of the relationship of this “raw, edgy and dangerous” man with his little girl is very tender and emotional. But with the heroine he gives up too easily when difficulties arise.
The title identifies one of the most striking features of the story: a strong sense of place and also of time (the different phases of the day and how they relate to the setting). These features are remarkably drawn and influence the characters. The descriptions of Arizona’s desert – a “starkly beautiful place” - are marvelous. Having horses and a dog is another interesting
I didn’t feel a great chemistry between hero/heroine; the heroine is a strong character but for whatever reason didn’t appeal to me. I felt that the revelation about the deceased wife was not needed.
A good depiction of PTSD’s effects, with no magical cure.
Overall a good story and a good opportunity to revisit this author, Janet Dailey.

Wow! This is a powerful story of love and healing. A war hero with PTSD, teens with behavioural issues, a perceptive little girl missing her parents, a woman who wants to take care of everyone, and horses! It was difficult to put this book down. Looking forward to Ms. Dailey's next title.