MONTANA CREEDS: DYLAN

Author: Linda Lael Miller ISBN: 9780373773589 3/2009 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: HQN

Hailed as “rodeo’s bad boy” for his talent at taming bulls and women, Dylan Creed likes life in the fast lane. But when the daughter he rarely sees is abandoned by her mother, Dylan heads home to Stillwater Springs ranch. Somehow the champion bull rider has to turn into a champion father—and fast. Town librarian Kristy Madison is uncharacteristically speechless when Dylan Creed turns up for story time with a toddler in tow. The man who’d left a trail of broken hearts—including her own—is back… and this time Kristy’s determined to tame his wild ways once and for all.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Linda Lael Miller sets her western romance, MONTANA CREEDS: DYLAN (the second in a series of three about McKettrick relatives), in present day Montana where Dylan Creed returns to the family ranch in Stillwater Springs with his two year-old daughter. His daughter’s mother was a “one week” stand and has drifted from place to place ever since. She always cashes his support checks, but apparently not on little Bonnie, who has been abandoned several times, the last time in Dylan’s truck in a dark back alley behind the card parlor in Las Vegas where he was playing poker. He’s at his wit’s end and decides to settle down and file for sole custody. Meanwhile, his high school girlfriend, Kristy Madison, is bemoaning her single life as a spinster librarian. No relationship has worked out for her since Dylan left town and now with her family’s farm being up for sale, not one, but two bodies are found on the property. They’ve been there a long time, but in a small town she could spend a lot of time being the subject of gossip. Will Dylan be able to shed his playboy/rodeo bum/poker bum labels and really settle down? Will Kristy get over the feeling that everyone she’s loved will be taken from her?

Miller masterfully weaves together the story threads of Dylan (suddenly a full time dad) and his two brothers with those of Kristy, Bonnie’s mother Sharlene, the election of a new sheriff, the dead bodies on the farm, and Kristy’s online stalker. It’s heartbreaking to see how little Sharlene cares for Bonnie as she moves from place to place and guy to guy. Dylan is learning how much time is involved in raising a child. It’s a good thing he invested in his brother Logan’s business when it was taking off because it’s amazing how helpful having money is in buying off a deadbeat mother.

Dylan is still discovering who he is in terms of fatherhood, since his own father left a whole slew of less than desirable parental characteristics. He knows Bonnie needs a full time parent, and two would be better, but he worries that the Creed genes don’t bode well.

MONTANA CREEDS: DYLAN will not disappoint Miller fans. It’s a touching romance with genuine characters, a touch of suspense and the strength of family. Miller also includes some wonderful pet stories as well. She has a real heart for rescuing abused animals. I look forward to reading about the third Creed brother—Tyler.

Susan Barton