Want Me, Cowboy

Yates’s heart-wrenching latest Copper Ridge contemporary (after Claim Me, Cowboy) uses powerful emotions to challenge a logical, practical view of marriage. Isaiah Grayson, a wealthy rancher living in Copper Ridge, Ore., has deduced that it is time he find a wife. Approaching his marriage as a business deal, he asks his longtime assistant, Poppy Sinclair, to place an advertisement in the paper to look for a wife. After Poppy interviews some unsuitable candidates, Isaiah decides that since Poppy is such a perfect assistant, she would make a good wife. Conveniently, she has secretly loved him for years. After a single kiss, their mutual attraction is undeniable, and Poppy accepts Isaiah’s dry proposal. Though Poppy is readily accepted by Isaiah’s family, she still harbors doubts about their engagement, as she must decide whether she can build a relationship with Isaiah if he is unable to return her love. The magic of Christmastime adds allure to this charged story of two cautious people risking their hearts. (Nov.)