Lone Star Woman — Anna Jeffrey

Jude Strayhorn, the only child of the vast Circle C Ranch's CEO, is in constant conflict with her father and grandfather. Her greatest desire is to exert her education and influence on the ranch's operation, but the two men thwart her at every turn. Giving up, she goes outside the Circle C intending to use her trust fund to buy a small spread from a deceased widow's estate where she can put her ideas into practice. That is, until she runs headlong into the widow's heir, Brady Fallon, who has his own plans for the 6-0 Ranch.

Brady Fallon is no stranger to Willard County, though he hasn't been around since childhood. His inheritance needs a lot of work and he needs money to put it back into shape and revive it as a cattle operation. He hires on as a hand at the Circle C Ranch, a move that leads to unexpected benefits for his future as well as unwanted conflict with his boss's daughter. Can he set his attraction to her aside for his own good, especially when he doesn't really want to?

Publishers Weekly
Callahan (a pseudonym for Texas-born author Jeffery McClanahan, coauthor of Since You're Leaving Anyway, Take Out the Trash and others as Dixie Cash) drops a sizzling romance into the wilds of West Texas. Judith Ann "Jude" Strayhorn, the smart, beautiful heir of the Strayhorn Circle C ranching dynasty, plans to purchase a deceased neighbor's ranch, only to find it's been left to Brady Fallon, one of her father's newest cowhands, who refuses to sell. Jude and Brady's friendship takes an intimate turn, but their budding romance cools in the face of class realities, even when Jude's father offers Brady a challenging job that frequently brings the lovers together. McClanahan's knowledge of the complexities of ranching and her multifaceted character development, swift pacing and sensuous love scenes set this western romance well above its contemporaries. (Jan.)