Calico Canyon
by Mary Connealy
Published by Barbour Publishing
Click on book
cover to order
at Amazon.com
Review by Susan Palmer
In this romantic inspirational western, Grace Calhoun comes to Mosqueros, Texas in the hopes of being a wonderful school teacher, but her only problem is “The Five Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” what she calls Daniel Reeves’ five boys–twins and triplets. Ms. Calhoun cannot control her schoolroom when these five are up to no good, and usually this is every day. On this particular Friday, “The Five Horseman of the Apocalypse” show up late for school and Grace hardly has the patience to deal with them, especially on an empty stomach. Before the school day can get started, the boys disrupt her class by putting a tack in her chair. As she calls all five boys, Abraham, Isaac, Mark, Luke, and John, up to the desk to be punished, she pulls a ruler out of her drawer and a snake strikes out at her. She screams out loud in front of the children and trips backwards over her chair, ripping her skirt completely off.
Daniel Reeves is a father who is trying to make life better for his five sons in Mosqueros. He does not understand why the schoolteacher Ms. Calhoun, has it in for his boys. All boys can be rowdy but it was her idea to have them in school. When he witnesses her almost in action of punishing them with a ruler, he threatens to bring her to the school board—and does so that same day.
With the satisfaction of keeping his boys out of school and the firing of Ms. Calhoun, Daniel proceeds with his duties and drives home. Little does he know the package he is about to receive in his wagon will make him a husband again. When Grace returns to her room, she is attacked by a man named Parrish. A citywide search is in place for Grace. Grace escapes the man by jumping into a wagon and hiding under the tarp. Little does she know that she has jumped into Daniel Reeves’ wagon. When Daniel gets to his home he discovers Grace nearly frozen to death and passed out. He keeps her there to try to warm her and wake her up. The next morning the preacher shows up with his wife in search of Grace Calhoun. When he finds that she has slept overnight at Daniel’s, the preacher proceeds to marry them without Grace fully understanding what is going on.
Mary Connealy writes a fast-paced western with much comedy as well as romance. Daniel and Grace are thrown together in matrimony each one must learn what life and love is really about. With the help of Daniel’s five boys, Grace really understand her strengths and weaknesses. Daniel on the other hand must put his faith in God to learn to love again and know that not all wives die in childbirth.
Armchair Interviews says: This is the second book of a series for Ms. Connealy but can be enjoyed without reading the first or the third.
Author’s Web site: http://www.MaryConnealy.com