cover image Beyond the Promise

Beyond the Promise

Barbara Bickmore. Kensington Publishing Corporation, $23 (400pp) ISBN 978-1-57566-220-6

A promising Boston attorney finds love on an Oregon ranch in this moving romantic yarn from Bickmore (Deep in the Heart). Fresh from her first trial victory, blossoming lawyer Cat Browning visits her best friend, Annie, in the small community of Cougar, Ore. Unprepared for the beauty of the western wilderness, city-smart Cat falls in love with landscape--and with the town's handsomest bachelor, Scott McCullough. Scott whisks Cat off her feet and out of Boston to become the newest Mrs. McCullough on the family's sprawling ranch. Then, less than a year into their marriage, tragedy strikes the young couple, and Cat is forced to depend on the taciturn strength of her newly acquired family. Bickmore keeps the plot twisting at a brisk clip without overburdening the fluid story, while a host of attractive, full-bodied characters play out dramatic events against the breathtaking eastern Oregon scenery. Combining the traditions of rural life and the exploits of a spirited, untraditional heroine, Bickmore adds steamy affairs, romantic intrigue and shocking family secrets to create an entertaining story. (Nov.)