Fired Up #2 by Mary Connealy

Book Description

Rollicking Wild West Adventure and Romance from Bestselling Author Mary Connealy

Dare Riker is a doctor who saves lives, but someone seems determined to end his. It may have something to do with the traitors he dealt with during the Civil War, or it might be related to the recent incident with Flint Greer and the ranch. Whoever the culprit is, he or she seems really fired up, and Dare can't let his guard down for a moment, which is a challenge, since right now he's trying to win the heart of the recently widowed Glynna.

Glynna can't help but notice that danger follows Dare wherever he goes. There's the avalanche. And then the fire. But things really get out of hand when someone plunges a knife from Glynna's diner into Dare's back. Are Flint's cronies still plotting revenge? Is Glynna's son engaged in a misguided attempt to protect his mother? Is a shadowy outsider still enraged over past injustices? And can Dare survive long enough to convince Glynna to take another chance on love?

My Review

Continuing shortly after saving Mrs. Glynna Greer and her two children, and regaining Luke’s land, this story turns our attention to Dare Ricker, the local, and only doctor in all of Broken Wheel. Having learned all he knows from working in Andersonville, a civil war prison in Georgia. He feels he’s lying and cheating by calling himself a doctor. He didn’t get proper schooling for his skill; he’s no more a doctor than Tug Andrews is an honest tradesman. He decides he can’t be a doctor anymore and begins pursuit of becoming a rancher. Which he knows absolutely nothing about!

As for Glynna and her two children, Janny and Paul, things are going as well as can be expected for a widower of a man who bullied people out of their homes to steal their land and beat her nearly senseless. Both Glynna and her son Paul harbor a lot of anger towards her second husband, but it seems there’s even more behind her first husband story than originally thought. She likes Dare Riker, she’s thankful for him and his friends rescuing her and her children, but she can’t seem to get past her fears. The last two men she married were horrible scoundrels and had left her, and her family, broken and bruised in one way or another.

Dare Riker is still sweet on Glynna and it’s becoming harder and harder to stay away from her. But he’s worried more about her son, Paul. A young man like him shouldn’t be carrying around so much anger and hate, and yet here he is threatening Dare’s life if he doesn’t stay away from his Ma. Which turns Paul into a suspect when Dare’s house is suddenly set ablaze in the middle of the night, set up to kill the good Doctor. If that weren’t bad enough, he’d narrowly escaped an avalanche a couple weeks before that! Coincident? Vince doesn’t think so. Everything is piecing together and it seems someone is out to kill Dare Riker. But, who? Could it really be Glynna’s son Paul?

“A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for the triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” ~Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NLT)

I love how Dare’s friends all care and come to his aid, without even asking. They stand by him and they watch out for one another.

Dare is hilarious. One of my favorites was when he was getting annoyed with Paul and his attitude.

“Dare wondered if God ever got plump tired of the people He’d created.”

I’ve wondered that as well. Lol. How exhausting we must be!

My second favorite is when Tina Cahill, Jonas Cahill’s, the parson’s, sister rolls into town! Expecting that chubby young woman he once knew, which meant he had less to worry about some lowdown cowpoke chasing after her, here tumbles in the most beautiful girl in all of Broken Wheel! Some would argue in all of Texas. No man can take his eyes off of her! Which makes one man in particular stumble like a drunken fool, head over heels for Tina Cahill. That makes Jonas rather upset and very protective over his little sister.

“[Tina,] smiling, as if begging each and every man to say something that might get him punched by a preacher.”

Tina’s a little spitfire too! She is an amazing addition to the cast.

I loved the message of the story. It’s about trust and forgiveness, even to those who don’t deserve it. Holding on to anger and hatred keeps us bound tight in the very chains we thought we’d escaped. The hardest part is letting go and both Dare and Glynna learn to trust one another.

I have to say, this one of my all favorites in all the series. The title perfectly describes not only Dare Riker, but also many of the characters and the situations they all encounter throughout this book. It’s filled with humor, action, and mystery that well keeps you on your toes!

I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars!