Chief Cook and Bottle Washer

 

 

Emma Smith is on the run. When her cousin Katie had died, she had left her baby, Sammie Jo, to Emma’s care. Unfortunately, even though Sammie Jo’s father hadn’t given a damn, her very wealthy grandparents did and they wanted to see her. Although Sammie Jo was left in the care of Emma, she knew that her legal position with the baby was shaky at best. Until she could find a way to make sure that Sammie Jo was not going to be taken away from her, she was going to keep running. Emma had kept on running until she reached Devil’s Corner, a small town that was more like a community than anything else. With the kind heart of the local café owner, Bertha, Emma is able to secure a job as a cook in that same café. But when the old cook that has been with Bertha for over ten years returns, Emma seems to be left high and dry until a man named Deke Travers comes along and solves the problem for everyone: he was going to hire Emma as their cook since their ranch needed one badly. Emma has always been the chief cook and bottle washer for her father and three brothers. Now she was going to be the chief cook and bottle washer for the handsome and attractive Deke Travers, his three brothers, their father and the rest of the men in 4 Bar None Ranch.

 

Deke Travers was a rancher, a man who believed in home and hearth and what he wanted most in life was for his brothers to gradually settle down one-by-one. Clint, his daring and devil-may-care brother needed a woman to help him settle down and keep him away from the dangerous rodeos and all sorts of trouble that his wandering spirit seems to encounter. Knowing that he was going to have to take matters into his own hands, he decided that he was going to try his hand at matchmaking. Clint and Emma looked like a good match. But why is it that whenever he saw them together he felt a tightness in his heart, as if something he cared about was being ripped from his chest?

 

I enjoyed reading this book very much. Emma is very sweet and Deke ever the gentleman. There were moments in the book that you could just picture in your mind—they were so vivid and beautifully crafted. One of these moments was when Deke took Sammie Jo to bed and talked to her. He was so sweet gentle and you just know in your heart that he was going to be a really good father. Also, the scenes where the Travers brothers are mentioned really highlight the differences between each unique character.  A mark of writing
excellence. Rita Hestand is a very talented author who writes really good, heart-warming stories. The Travers men are amazing and I looking forward to reading more of them!