Series:
Hotshot Heroes (Book 6)
Is the man she married…
not the man she thought he was?
Unable to stand the stress of being a firefighter's wife,
ER nurse Willow Garrison asked her husband to leave. Not long after, she
realized she was carrying his child. So she lets Luke back into her life
reluctantly when the firefighter's reputation and life are in danger.
Is he a murderer? Who's trying to frame him? Guilty and
suspicious, Willow must admit her lingering feelings. But can she trust the
hotshot to prove his innocence and keep them safe?
This was an excellent, fast-paced suspense story with the
added benefit of a husband and wife finding their way back to each other. In
the previous book (
Hotshot Hero Under Fire), Luke was a secondary character. Separated
from his wife, his misery is evident, and his actions are questionable. His
fellow Hotshots look at him askance as evidence points to him having an affair
with a fellow Hotshot's wife and the attempted murder of another. At the start
of this book, we find Luke isolated from his friends, missing Willow, and
questioning the state of his life. After he leaves the bar where he had dinner,
Luke crashes his truck when he's forced off the road by another vehicle. When
he regains consciousness, he discovers he reeks of alcohol, and the local
trooper is ready to arrest him for drunk driving. It's only through the efforts
of EMT Owen that Luke ends up at the hospital instead. To top matters off, he
catches a glimpse of Willow, who appears to be pregnant.
After suffering two miscarriages which she blamed on the
stress of Luke's job, Willow threw her husband out of their home. Then she
heard the rumors of his affair and possible involvement in the attacks against
Owen. Now she wonders if she ever knew the man she married. She never thought
he'd be capable of such actions and questions her judgment. She also feels
guilty about her treatment of him and that she hasn't told him about the baby.
Willow is torn over whether to believe Luke's claims of innocence.
The suspense of this story had me glued to the pages from
start to finish. Though the person who carried out the attacks on Owen was
caught at the end of the previous book, there was some question as to whether a
second person was involved. The public has latched onto Luke as the most likely
suspect. But with this "accident" that happened to him, Luke finds a
new purpose in proving his innocence. The reader also gets several sessions
from the viewpoint of the real accomplice, who is determined to set Luke up to
take the blame. The tension increases as several more attempts are made on
Luke's life, and we see the bad guy's growing frustration and desperation. I
had several possibilities as suspects though I didn't figure out the truth
until shortly before Luke did. The final confrontation was a nail-biter as Luke
knowingly entered a trap to save Willow. I was on the edge of my seat until it
was all over.
I liked seeing Luke and Willow find their way back to
each other, though I spent a fair share of the book wanting to knock their
heads together. When Willow suffered two miscarriages, she shut Luke out rather
than turn to him for comfort. She also couldn't see that he was grieving the
loss of those babies, too. She was all over the place in her attitude toward
him also - glad he was gone but mad that he left, hurt that he'd had an affair
but reluctant to believe that he'd cheated on her. Even when they started
working together to prove his innocence, she continued to hold on to her anger
and distrust.
Meanwhile, all Luke wants is for Willow to be happy. If
that means staying away from her, that's what he will do. I was frustrated with
him because he walked away without trying to talk to her about his feelings and
what the miscarriages meant to him. When it became evident that his accidents
weren't accidents, Luke was determined to keep Willow safe.
I liked seeing Luke's steadiness chip away at Willow's fear
and distrust. With some distance from the turmoil of emotions caused by the
miscarriages, Willow slowly begins to see the mistakes she made. I was happy to
see them finally talk about their problems. I ached for Luke as he made the
only decision he thought possible to save his marriage. I cheered when Willow
realized she loved Luke for who and what he was. I hope to see more of them
when the series continues.
There is still a question left unanswered. Throughout the
series, there have been several unexplained accidents or equipment malfunctions.
Chief Hotshot Braden received a warning that someone in his group isn't who
they claim to be. Is this the person causing the trouble, and why? It hurts to
realize that there may be someone on his team that he can't trust, but until he
finds out who it is, he can't trust any of them. I can't wait to see where this
goes.
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