A handsome rancher-tycoon and his shy, sheltered stepsister fall in love in Palmer's latest romantic melodrama (after Fearless
) that's long on humid heat but hampered by cornpone theatrics. Gracie and Jason Pendleton share no bloodlines, but they've been close ever since Gracie came to live with her now-deceased mother, Beverly, who married Jason's cruel (and also now dead) father, Myron. Jason is a good ol' boy who prefers his Rocking Spur ranch to the family mansion old-fashioned Gracie tends to. Gracie, meanwhile, harbors a dark secret that has made her frightened of romance even though she's desired Jason for years. The feeling's mutual, and, eventually, their hearts collide despite the interference of Kittie Sartain, a bitchy redhead supermodel who tries to lasso Jason. Palmer, a romance veteran, knows how to concoct a savory chicken-fried love plot, but sometimes the gravy's laid on a little too thick. (June)
