Home is Where...?

ALIVE, TEX O'ROURKE WAS A SNEAKY OLD COOT. NOW THAT HE'S DEAD, HE'S EVEN WORSE.

Megan O'Rourke's beloved grandfather had always been determined to lure her out of New York and back to the ranch in Whispering Wind, Wyoming, where he had raised her. And when Megan returns for Tex's funeral, she realizes his will is going to make it impossible for her to refuse.

Her "inheritance" is Tex's daughter, Tess, an eight-year-old bundle of trouble Megan had never even known existed.

Jake Landers has also come home to Whispering Wind. After leaving town years before under a cloud of suspicion, he's returned to put down roots. And when he comes face-to-face with the woman who shared his troubled past, he hardly recognizes Megan. She's become a driven, stressed-out powerhouse who runs a successful entertainment empire, but who's forgotten what's really important.

He knows Megan is going to have to make some big decisions -- about life and love, about where home really is. And he's only too happy to help. Because he's letting go of old grudges and beginning to recall some old dreams.
And the best one begins with Megan.

Sherryl Woods is a popular romance (and sometimes mystery) writer who has written over 100 different novels and yet somehow I had never managed to read anything by her until I came across After Tex. Published in 1999, its one of her few books that isn’t a part of a series although there is one other unrelated book that also takes place in Whispering Wind.

I loved how Mrs. Woods made all her characters seem so real with each one being complex (with trust issues of course) and facing real dilemmas. However, you can tell that the story could have taken place just about anywhere and that the book is more character driven than anything. Don’t expect more than just a vague western feeling in some places.

I only had one tiny problem with After Tex and that was the fact that ended rather abruptly. Usually that would leave me feeling cheated but although I didn’t like it, I had a feeling that the story ended well. Sherryl Woods will probably never be one of my favorite authors but I did enjoy the way this story was written enough that I won’t hesitate to pick up another one of her books again. I still don’t think the world could survive with two “Martha Stewart’s” (Megan runs a corporation similar to the famous household goddess single- handedly) though!