Mountain Wild (Harlequin Historical #952)

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Synopsis

Fourteen years ago, at the tender age of thirteen, Margaret Grace Strafford's father died, leaving her in the care of her abusive older brother, Nathan, who resented that their father left provisions for Maggie in his will. As Nathan was about to beat her to death, a mountain man came along and rescued her, taking her into the wilderness, where he taught her how to survive. Ever since the man died, she's lived alone, being vigilant about keeping the location of her cabin a secret until she finds a nearly frozen Garret Daines in the snow. Maggie reluctantly takes him home with her and nurses him back to health, after which their attraction for one another blossoms into them becoming lovers. It's still hard for her to trust anyone, though, so she'd planned to just send Garret home and never see him again until it becomes apparent that his elderly dog will never be able to make the journey down the mountain in the deep snow. Instead, she volunteers to keep Boots until the spring thaw. By the time she returns him to his master, Maggie realizes she's been deeply missing Garret. But there's a bounty on her head and Nathan is still out for blood, making things very dangerous for her.

Garret Daines has been running his own ranch, but cattle rustlers have been creating difficulties for all the local ranchers. When his right hand man and business partner doesn't come home one day, Garret goes looking for him and gets attacked himself and left for dead. He wakes up in in a cozy little cabin with the prettiest lady tending him, not realizing she's the notorious mountain woman everyone refers to as Mad Mag. After a failed marriage, Garret tried to lock up his heart, but sharing the only bed with Maggie brings both his heart and other parts of him back to life again. He wishes Maggie would come with him when the time arrives for him to return home, but not wanting to infringe on her independent spirit, he leaves his dog with her, knowing that he'll see her once more when she brings Boots back. The minute he sees Maggie again, he knows he wants to pick up where they left off, but masked outlaws come searching for her, beating him senseless and later accusing him of being the cattle rustler. Garret is all but certain Maggie's brother is behind it all, but with Nathan being the town mayor and the local law enforcement all but in his pocket, it will be nearly impossible to prove.

Review

Mountain Wild is the third and final book in Stacey Kayne's Wild series. Our hero, Garret, appeared in the first two books as a teenager, and is the younger brother of Skylar (Mustang Wild). Now he's grown up and running his own ranch, but all the ranchers in the area have been dealing with rustlers stealing their cattle. Garret was also briefly married to a beautiful Southern Belle who decided after only eight months together that ranch life wasn't for her. One day, when his business partner doesn't return, Garret goes looking for him and gets attacked and left for dead in the snow. He's rescued by the notorious mountain woman known as Mad Mag. Rather than being the old woman everyone thinks she is, Maggie is a young woman around Garret's own age, who ended up living an isolated life on the mountain after escaping her older brother's abuse and attempted murder at the age of thirteen. Maggie fears anyone knowing where she lives, but at the same time, she can't just leave Garret to die. She reluctantly takes him back to her cabin, where she nurses him back to health. An instant attraction takes root between them, and with there only being one small bed in her tiny abode and a snowstorm raging outside, one thing leads to another. Even though Garret would like more, he doesn't want to pressure Maggie or rush into anything like he did with his first marriage, and since he needs to get back to his ranch, he reluctantly leaves her. Unable to take his elderly dog with him through the deep snow, he leaves Boots in her care until the spring thaw. At the same time, Maggie comes down the mountain to return Boots, Garret's ranch is attacked by masked outlaws who beat him senseless. It soon becomes apparent that Maggie's brother is behind it, but proving his involvement when he's the mayor of the town will be nearly impossible and also incredibly dangerous when there's a bounty out on Maggie's head.

Maggie's mother died in childbirth, but she was adored by her wealthy father, who always made sure she had the best of everything. However, when she was just thirteen, her father died, and her greedy brother, Nathan, was enraged that the will provided for Maggie's future instead of it all going to him. He beat Maggie and would have killed her if Ira, a mountain man who witnessed it, hadn't stepped in to save her. He took her into the mountains, where he taught her everything he knew about trapping, hunting, and survival. Ira died a while back, but Maggie has continued to live her isolated mountain existence. When she goes into town, she disguises herself in such a way that everyone calls her Mad Mag and thinks she's an old woman. But in reality, she still maintains a modicum of the genteel life she once knew in private. When she finds Garret half-frozen and unconscious in the snow, she fears taking him to her humble home because there's a bounty out on her head for assaulting Nathan months ago. But since Garret helped her escape that incident and his kin have been good to her in the past, she feels she owes him something. She takes him to her cabin and nurses him back to health. Maggie finds Garret very attractive and her body responds to him in ways she's never experienced before, so sharing her small bed turns into a whole lot more. A part of her really likes him, but the part that fears repercussions wants him gone ASAP. When she volunteers to watch his dog, though, she knows she'll have to see him again, and by the time that happens, she's missing him terribly. Still her fears war with her desires, while her brother poses a serious danger to both of them. I really liked Maggie. She's definitely a survivor. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of her clean cabin and its refined touches with her rugged mountain woman persona. She's certainly carved out a unique life for herself, and I'm glad that she was able to allow Garret to become a part of it.

Garret has kind of had a rough go of it through the first two books. With him and his sister, Skylar, losing their parents, he had to grow up fast and become a cowhand, helping her, Chance, and Tucker drive horses to the ranch where they now live. Then he fell for Cora Mae (Maverick Wild), offering to marry her, only to have Chance snag her away from him, leaving him heartbroken. In the seven years since, he's set up his own ranch a half-hour ride away from the others. He was also briefly married to a Southern Belle who quickly figured out that ranch life wasn't for her, once again breaking Garret's heart. Now he's dealing with a range war between the local ranchers, but no one yet knows who's stealing the cattle. One day, when his ranch foreman and business partner doesn't return home, Garret goes looking for him, only to be attacked himself and left for dead. He awakens in Maggie's humble cave home after a delicious dream of kissing a beautiful woman, not realizing at first that it was real. Once he's recovered from his injuries, he discovers a deep attraction for Maggie in more ways than one. After spending several days snowed in together, during which they share intimacies, Garret knows he has to get back to his ranch before something else happens. But he's reluctant to leave Maggie behind. When it becomes apparent that she isn't inclined to go with him and that his dog won't be able to make the long trek back in the snow, he leaves Boots in her care, knowing that at least he'll see her one more time when she returns the canine. When Maggie finally shows up two months later, Garret has once again been attacked and beaten senseless by men who want to know where she is. It's then that he realizes the danger Maggie is in. But when Garret is arrested by a corrupt sheriff and accused of being the cattle rustler, he'll have a hard time proving his innocence. Garret is a sweetheart who treats Maggie with kindness and gentleness. He's loyal to those he loves, and she quickly comes to fall into that category. Although he has a history of falling hard and fast for women and then it not working out, I admired that he wasn't afraid to do it again when it really counted.

Overall, Mountain Wild was an enjoyable read. Garret and Maggie were both great characters. Maggie can be a little prickly and understandably so given how things went down with her brother after their father's death and how she's had to live rough ever since. She thinks she wants to be alone, but having Garret with her for a few days shows her how lonely her existence has become and makes her long for things she never dared to before. Garret has an open heart and is patient in dealing with Maggie's fears and uncertainties. He falls quickly for her and misses her deeply after going back down the mountain to his ranch. Together they made a great match. There are touches of suspense as Maggie's brother stirs up trouble and tries to kill Maggie so that he alone has claim to their father's fortune. Admittedly his motives perhaps weren't quite as strong as they could have been. He's basically just greedy and sociopathic, but because of his wealth and position, he's able to buy off officials, making him a somewhat scary villain. The way that all wrapped up maybe could have been a little more climactic as well, but overall not bad. All things taken into account, Mountain Wild was a very respectable entry into the series and a nice ending to this family saga. My enjoyment of the entire Wild series has left me very interested in checking out the author's remaining backlist.

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Stacey Kayne

Themes

Amazing Animals
Beta Heroes
Tortured Heroines