This story is an intense and emotional read, with well-crafted, complex characters, that seem so genuine with all their flaws and contradictions.
Shane, Cora and 12-year-old Micah (the heroine’s son) just stole my heart. Steady, reliable and an honorable man, yet sporting some psychological scars, Shane is the perfect counterpoint to Cora’s wounded soul. And his innate kindness and softness are so sexy…
I knew Cora from the previous stories in the Mile High series and her growth as a character surprised and humbled me. What a fantastic female character Nicole Helm wrote! It’s great how serious issues such as domestic violence and teen pregnancy, which had been handled previously, are still part of the character, but don’t define her or overwhelm the story – Cora is a vibrant woman, sexually active, sensual and flirtatious in a very natural way.
Micah is a wonderful preteen, with the right amount of sullenness and sweetness. I loved how Shane and the Tylers adopted him immediately, as the Mile High team had done, but with some subtle yet important differences.
I was founding this story a bit slow in the beginning, but I was then completely hooked by it; the subtlety of the sparks of attraction between ever responsible Shane and Cora, Shane’s initial ambivalence towards the single mom and a bunch of super emotional scenes, all against the background of the beautiful Colorado landscape, make this a very compelling read.
Helm’s tendency to convey (sometimes not that) subliminal messages through her characters’ lines is rather downsized here or feels more natural than in other of her stories.
Now I’m hoping that Shane’s siblings and mother will feature in future books, because Boone and Gavin in particular hold great promise as characters and I’d really like to know more about Deb and Ben.

Loved this book. Even though it dealt with some difficult issues, it was a fun read.

I liked the introduction to the family, and am looking forward to reading the rest of this series of books.

Shane's mother catches on to everything, nothing gets passed that woman, "...she bent over to grab something from inside the car, and, yes, very . . . formfitting. “Did you just check out my wedding planner?” Shane likes to give warnings, “yeah,” he admitted, pulling her close again . “And I’m about to be very ungentlemanly.” I liked this book, I fell in love with Shane.