McKettrick's Choice (McKettricks of Texas) (U)

When news arrived that there was trouble back in Texas, Holt McKettrick left a mail-order bride and his family on the spot. And he never looked back. He just prayed he'd be in time to save the man who had raised him as a son and keep his best friend from the gallows. He knew he'd encounter rustlers, scoundrels and thieves, but he'd never expected to find a woman like Lorelei Fellows.Setting fire to her wedding dress in the town square probably wasn't the best way to stand her ground. But Lorelei had had enough. She was sick of men and their schemes. All she wanted was to stake her claim on her own little piece of Texas. And with Holt McKettrick as a neighbor, things were beginning to look up. The man was a straight shooter with a strong will, a steady aim and a hungry heart.Publishers WeeklyThe highly enjoyable latest volume of Miller's popular McKettrick series stars older half-brother Holt McKettrick. Learning that his former Ranger partner, Gabe Navarro, is on the way to the gallows on trumped-up charges and that his foster father, Buffalo Soldier John Cavanagh, is about to lose his land, Holt ditches his mail-order bride at their Arizona Territories altar and rides off to Texas. In San Antonio, he meets a lively lady named Lorelei Fellows, who has just called off her own wedding and burned her bridal gown in the center of town. Thrown out of her father's house, she's hoping to pick up some cattle and start a small ranch of her own. Holt thinks she's out of her mind, but he revises his opinion after watching Lorelei learn to ride a mule named Seesaw, play a cutthroat game of poker, and all in all start to look mighty delectable. Cavanagh's land will be fine and Navarro won't hang-but is Lorelei out of the frying pan into the fire? Her father dies vastly indebted to the landowner who had framed Navarro. Strong characterization and a vivid western setting make for a fine historical romance. Agent, Irene Goodman. (June) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.