Court Me, Cowboy

Set in the little town of Dillon, Texas, "Court Me, Cowboy" has a hero who uses his past hurts to keep him from enjoying life. It also has a heroine who has a lack of self-esteem and a town full of people wanting to play matchmaker. It's entertaining if you like a fun romance. This is the second installment in the Baby to Be Series.

After a week long whirlwind courtship, Marissa and Gabe were married - Las Vegas style, minus the Elvis. Only three weeks later, Marissa leaves Gabe and the loneliness of his ranch to return to the city. Life has a way of playing tricks on us and Marissa is pregnant and returns to tell Gabe of his impending fatherhood. Big city chef Marissa wants much more than just great sex from the man she married. She wants a relationship outside of the bedroom as well. Gabe showered her with affection, time, and gifts during the week they courted. Once they married and went to live on his ranch, he spent sunup to sundown working, and Marissa had nobody to talk to and the cook wouldn't even welcome her in the kitchen. Small town rancher Gabe just knew from the minute he saw her that Marissa is everything he could ever want in a wife. After their marriage he never imagined that she was unhappy until he found her farewell note. In his opinion, by working such long hours he'd been doing exactly what a husband should - provide for his wife. The fact that she walked out on him didn't just break his heart, it made him look like a complete fool to everyone he knows. Gabe figured that Marissa was out of his life for good, after all they'd only been married for three weeks and he'd signed the papers to have their marriage annulled. Imagine his surprise when three months later, she pulls into the driveway and tells him that she didn't file the paperwork and they are still legally married. As if that isn't shocking enough, he also learns that their brief time together has resulted in a pregnancy and they will be having a baby. Marissa has no intention of staying at the ranch, but she wasn't about to bring Gabe's baby into the world without his knowledge. Gabe doesn't trust Marissa. She'd already left him once but he doesn't want any child of his growing up without his father. He's determined to find a way to convince Marissa to stay and hopefully find a way to show her that their relationship can work, even if it requires courting his own wife. COURT ME, COWBOY is a very fun whirlwind romance story. Both Marissa and Gabe are lovable characters that readers will really enjoy learning more about. Their vastly different backgrounds and opposing views regarding their relationship create some very interesting scenes filled with tension, combine that with their barely controlled desire for each other and this is a book you won't be able to put down. I've always loved romances involving small towns because everybody knows everybody else's business and the entire town seems to always get involved which adds a whole host of characters and antics that are laugh out loud funny and charming. COURT ME, COWBOY is Barbara White Daille's second published novel. Her first, THE SHERIFF'S SON, was released in September of 2006. Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)

Gabe Miller holds the gold band as a symbol of failure. The ring was given to him by his beloved Marissa, who's "Forever" turned out to be three weeks before she left him and ultimately divorced him. His life lessons are not to trust women and love. Several months later Marissa returns informing Gabe they remain married and that she is pregnant. She still wants to divorce him while Gabe prays that he persuades her to stay with him for he fears she will bolt, child and all. Marissa knows that she loves Gabe, but fears that love because things happened so fast. Gabe has his work cut out for him if he wants her and their unborn with him forever. This is a fine second chance at love romance though Marissa's issues seem too deep to end happily. She drives the tale with her seemingly schizoid personality as she loves Gabe and believes he loves her back, but does not trust in the staying power of these new feelings that sprung up upon first sight. Readers will feel for Gabe who knows what he did wrong in his desire for his beloved and what he must do differently. Barbara White Daille displays a fine skill at characterization with this charmer. Harriet Klausner