KEEPING HOPE ALIVE BY FRAN MCNABB

Title: Keeping Hope Alive

Author: Fran McNabb

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Pages: 248

Publisher: Wild Rose Press

SYNOPSIS:  Casey Morgan opened Hope Ranch for troubled teens in a rural Texas community, but not everyone welcomed her.  The unexplained death of her security guard and the other disturbing activities prompts her to advertise for help to make her ranch the safe haven she envisioned.

The lady pointing a rifle at his head wasn’t the greeting Major Nathan “Max” Maxwell expected.  Max needed the job to give him a place to finish his recuperation before returning to his Spec Ops Team, but instead of the serenity he expected, he walked into a web of deceit and danger.

Torn between his growing feelings for Casey and his need to return to his team, Max searches for strength to help the beautiful ranch director.  Casey wasn’t looking for a man, especially one whose career choice didn’t mix well with her life.  Would Hope Ranch give them a chance to find a future together?

REVIEW: Casey Morgan is a very strong, intelligent woman who has sunk all her inheritance from her uncle into Hope Ranch and with all the mishaps going on she isn’t sure she will be able to keep it open.

She is trying to help the troubled kids there and has found that they are making progress but she is worried they are in danger. She decides to hire a security man and that is where the story starts.

Major Nathan “Max” Maxwell arrives at the ranch to hear gunshots being fired. He is instantly thrown into Special Ops mod. He stalks his way to where he hears the gun firing. He is surprised to see a woman with a rifle pointing at him. She has a stern look on her face and asks who he is before she lowers the gun. She was shooting with the kids.

He introduces himself and she feels a little silly and lowers the gun. She takes him on a tour of the ranch and he finds out that this won’t be his typical security job. He says he isn’t a babysitter for the kids but he decides to stay and give it a chance. The longer he is there he finds himself drawn to Casey. She is a caring person and she tries to help out the kids as best she can.

As the story unfolds more “accidents” happen and Max decides that there is something very funny going on here. He starts investigating and Casey feels more relaxed with Max there.

They are all invited to a neighbor’s party and dance and decide to go. Some of the neighbor kids try to start a fight but Casey’s group doesn’t fall for it. She dances with Max and she can feel the warmth and caring for him as well.

They decide it is time to head out and when they are turning toward Hope Ranch they see big smoke clouds.

Someone has set their barn on fire. Max again goes into Special Ops mod and runs into the burning barn to get out Carl, the horses and their dog before falling down. He needs oxygen. Casey can’t believe he was her hero but he had done so much for her already.

Read this story to see if Hope Ranch last the mishaps and if Max stays or leaves Hope Ranch.

I really liked this story. It really shows that there are people out there that want to help others. Not only Casey helping the troubled teens but her neighbors came to her rescue to help build a temporary barn for her horses, and the feeling of first love with Max and Casey.

Max was so stubborn wanting to return to his team he didn’t see what was right in front of him until it was almost too late. He never had a family or love in his life because of the job. He said it didn’t make for long lasting relationships. Unfortunately Casey knew about that all too well. Her dad had been in the service also and her parents had split up. She decided to throw caution to the wind though and give herself a chance with Max.  

I highly recommend this story.