Love on the Line

Summary:
In 1904 Texas Ranger Luke Palmer arrives in Brenham, Texas, with one goal—to capture the gang of outlaws led by Frank Comer. Undercover as a telephone repairman, he uses his days on the range to search, not realizing there's another pair of eyes watching him.
Georgie Gail, switchboard operator and birder, heads out on a birding expedition, but instead of sighting a painted bunting, her opera glasses capture her telephone man, armed and far away from telephone lines. Palmer is forced to take this alluring troublemaker into his confidence and unwittingly puts her in harm's way. The closer he comes to the gang, the further she works her way into his heart—and into trouble. Soon it's more than just love that's on the line.

My Take: This is one of my "go-to" authors for romance. As usual, the research was amazing and the romance was not the peck on the last page. Their relationship wasn't entirely predictable though - and her story and characters were somewhat off the beaten path as well. I loved the twists and turns.

Luke has to keep secrets. His character has been chasing one criminal for a long time and could easily have become another Captain Ahab chasing his very own Moby Dick. His backstory makes him so much more interesting. It's hilarious when Georgie makes fun of his "real" self to him. I could picture that scene vividly in my mind --- always a sign of a great book.

Georgie has high standards and ideals. She is a feminist, loves to read, and values education. She has an obsession with birds and fights to stop their parts from being used on hats. This causes division within the town and much of the action in the latter part of the book.

This was a great read and reinforced why I keep pre-ordering all her books. :o)