Ambush at Heartbreak Ridge - Colleen Thompson (HRS #2193 - Aug 2022)

Series: Lost Legacy (Book 2)
 
A deadly foe…
Meets a lawman's secret weapon
 
When a family is brutally attacked in Texas Hill Country, Sheriff Hayden Hale-Walker knows exactly who he needs: search-and-rescue expert Kate McClafferty. Sure, his disgruntled former deputy cracked open his heart years before…but she's the best of the best. It's only with Kate's help that the lawman can foil a killer and kidnapper attempting to ensnare them both!
 
Excellent suspense combined with a second-chance love story. When the sheriff is called to the scene of a car crash that rapidly turns into a murder and missing persons scene, he knows he needs expert help. But calling in SAR expert Kate opens a whole raft of complications, as he and Kate have a turbulent personal and professional past. As high school sweethearts, tragedy tore them apart. Years later, they were fellow deputies until competition for the sheriff's job caused their work relationship to implode. Any interactions since then lean on the acrimonious side.
 
The story's suspense sucked me in from the start, and didn't let go until the end. The search scene had me on the edge of my seat as Hayden and Kate searched for the mother and two little girls, only to discover them in extreme danger. I could feel Hayden and Kate's determination to save the children and injured woman. I liked the realism of this encounter, as Hayden and Kate did not emerge injury-free. The effects of those injuries are also realistically portrayed and influence the rest of the story. Following the investigation kept me glued to the pages as changing information altered perceived suspects and motivations. Several twists led to an exciting ending.
 
I enjoyed seeing the rekindling of the relationship between Hayden and Kate. Eighteen years have passed since their high school romance, and neither has truly moved on. Memories of their time together and the circumstances that tore them apart are never far from the surface. It is evident that sparks of attraction still burn underneath the animosity they exhibit, but both try to ignore them. However, as they work together on the investigation and have a chance to get to know each other again, those sparks become harder to resist. Each also begins to see how youth and grief contributed to their parting. I ached for Hayden, the first to acknowledge his feelings, because Kate feared risking her heart again. It takes a deeply emotional revisiting of their past for them to be able to look to a future together.

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.