American Romance is my favorite Harlequin series. There are always lots of cowboys, horses, ranches, and open spaces. The books are also sweeter, with longer developing romances. I saw Count on a Cowboy on Netgalley and requested it. It has a cowboy on the cover – How could I resist?

Brooke Harper has traveled to Colorado from Las Vegas to keep a promise made to her ailing mother. After Coralee was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, her mother shared a secret from her past. Brooke has a twin sister, and her mother gave up all rights to her and gave custody of Laurel to their father. She kept the existence of Brooke a secret, so Rory Quinn never knew he had another daughter. Coralee wants Laurel to come and visit her, so she can explain to her daughter why she gave her up.

When Brooke arrives at the Quinn ranch, she discovers that Laurel’s groom fled on their wedding day, taking the Quinn’s and neighbor Trent’s money with him. Trent is trying to deal with the wedding guests and vendors, and he’s none to happy with Brooke’s arrival. He doesn’t buy her story, but his calls to Rory go unanswered. Rory and his wife Diane have chased after Laurel, who is in hot pursuit of her scumbag of fiancé.

Trent offers to let Brooke stay in the newly built cabins on the ranch. He assumes she has money issues since she’s driving a old car, and because she’s worried about getting back to Vegas and her job. Her mother’s health care is very expensive, and she’s struggling to make ends meet. She’s hoping that the job she applied for will come through, but she’s afraid she’ll miss the opportunity to accept the job if she’s out of town.

Over the next few days, Trent keeps Brooke busy, teaching her to ride and bringing her along to move his cattle to a new pasture. He doesn’t want to trust her, because he’s still suspicious of her, but he can’t help the attraction he feels for her. When Rory comes back to town and catches them in a compromising position, he blames Brooke for being a gold-digger just like her mother. Brooke despairs at ever winning the love of the father she’s longed for for so long, and she sticks to the story she told Trent – that Laurel is her half-sister, not her twin. She has already put up with so much rejection, she’s not willing to open herself up to Rory’s rejection as well.

I felt sorry for Brooke. Her mother didn’t deserve the name, constantly putting her daughter in unsafe conditions and never being emotionally available for her. Hung up on her own beauty and her dreams of being a famous singer, Coralee was too busy chasing her own fantasies to pay much attention to Brooke. Brooke had to learn at a young age to fend for herself. To keep herself safe from the men her mother brought home. Her mother was a poor provider, so Brooke worked from the time she was in middle school to ensure that there was food in the fridge. Now an adult, she’s still sacrificing for her mother, struggling to cover the cost of her medical care as well as her own living expenses.

While I was reading this, I didn’t think it was working for me, but I got a little teary eyed at the end, so I guess I had a deeper connection with the characters than I realized. I did enjoy the horsey elements and the time Trent and Brooke spent together while everyone was out of town chasing that no good embezzling ex. I wasn’t thrilled with the reception Brooke received when her father finally came back to town. Her sister accepted her right away, but her father and his wife blamed her for the sins of her mother, which made me angry. If you’re going to place blame, Rory was a prime candidate for that! He’s the one who cheated on Diane during a wild weekend in the first place. Instead, both Rory and Diane blamed the poor kid Rory conceived. Just great. Grrrr. Needless to say, I was never a fan of her father or his judgmental wife.