Danger at Clearwater Crossing - Colleen Thompson (HRS #2173 - Mar 2022)

Series: Lost Legacy (Book 1)

It's the reunion of his life…
Until someone wants him dead
 
Finally back together with his children, widower Mac Hale-Walker faces an unexpected obstacle: their temporary guardian. Social worker Sara Wakefield stands in the way of Mac regaining custody. He'll stop at nothing to prove he's a loving dad, even figure out who's threatening his bond with his family. But can Mac manage to clear the danger swirling around Clearwater Crossing before it engulfs them all?
 
An exciting and sometimes heart-wrenching book. Eight years earlier, Mac's wife drowned while she and their twins were visiting her parents in Argentina. When Mac flew there to attend the funeral and retrieve his children, he was severely beaten, and his life threatened. He spent the next eight years fighting to get his children back, using every financial resource he had and contacting every media source and government official he could. It wasn't until his wealthy and influential father-in-law died that officials were able to swoop in and remove the children.
 
One of those officials was social worker Sara Wakefield. Because the children don't speak English, she was tasked with judging Mac's fitness as a father while being a liaison between him and the kids. Complicating matters, Silvia and Cristo have been lied to about their father and believe that he abused their mother. I ached for Mac, who'd loved his wife very much and had no idea how to prove it to the kids.
 
I loved seeing Mac's patience as he slowly went about reintroducing Silvia and Cristo to their home. He was aided by his adorable lab, Roxy, who'd been a puppy when the kids were taken. Sara also did her best to get through the walls the children had built. The kids are understandably wary, and I felt some sympathy for them even when they were stubborn. I liked seeing the changes they went through and laughed at some of the surprises they provided for the unsuspecting adults.
 
I enjoyed seeing the relationship develop between Sara and Mac. The sparks of attraction were there from the start, but Sara was determined to keep things professional.  That became a little more difficult when she broke her wrist and depended on Mac to help. The more time they spent together, the closer they grew. Mac could easily picture a future with Sara, but she refused to consider it. Sara has a tragedy in her past that has convinced her that she can never be a mother to any child. I ached for her because she came to love the twins but was afraid to believe in herself. It took nearly losing them and a lot of effort on Mac's part to finally break through those fears. I was a little disappointed by the ending, as I felt some of the joy of their coming together was left out. The epilogue helped.
 
The suspense of the story was a slow build with an intense finale. When the children arrived, they were confident their grandmother would find a way to get them back. Meanwhile, Sara had to ensure that they didn't have access to any forms of communication they could use to contact her. Their certainty that men would come to take them back made Sara very nervous and Mac quite vigilant. The tension increased when it became evident that someone was watching the house, and again when Mac found a stranger in his house, photographing the children's rooms. I was glued to the pages when men broke into the house, and Sara risked her life to save the kids. A last-minute twist added unexpected danger.
 
I liked the secondary characters of Amanda and Mac's brothers. There is some mystery surrounding Amanda's husband's death, and I wonder if it will go through all three books. There is tension between Mac and his brothers because of his part in the loss of the family ranch, but both Hayden and Ryan are there when needed. I hope to see more progress toward reconciliation in the brothers' books.