Duty or Desire

Simplistic characters and an overstuffed plot drag down the tepid fifth romance in Jackson’s Westmoreland Legacy series (after His to Claim). Denver Sheriff Peterson Higgins, a bachelor following the death of his fiancée, recently assumed guardianship of his brother’s 14-month-old daughter. When his live-in nanny requests time off, he finds her replacement in Myra Hollister, despite his fear that the beautiful woman, 12 years his junior, will prove too much of a temptation. Myra’s in hiding from her cartoonishly evil brother, who’s plotting to keep her from gaining control of the family company on her 25th birthday. Though Myra shares Pete’s instant attraction, she doesn’t want the complication of getting involved with her boss. Pete’s close friends in the Westmoreland clan sense the chemistry between the pair and conspire to get them together, but when Myra’s family drama takes a violent turn, negotiating their fraught relationship will have to wait. Despite life-threatening stakes, blunt, tepid sex scenes and intrusive exposition slow the pace. Though series fans will enjoy checking in with recurring characters, many readers will be turned off by the age gap and boss-employee dynamic of the central relationship. Agent: Pattie Steele-Perkins, Steele-Perkins Literary. (Dec.)