She’s moved home, but can she move on? 

One night with professional bull rider Trent Campbell had been everything that Kelly Sullivan had fantasized about. Unfortunately, it cost her everything. When she became pregnant, her father threw her out because she wouldn’t tell him the baby’s father was his rodeo hero—the hero who ghosted her when she tried so many times to tell him about their daughter. 

Trent Campbell never forgot the best night of his life. It was what kept him going when a 2,000-lbs bull ended his career and almost his life. Throughout his long recovery, thinking of Kelly and wishing he still had his stolen phone so he could contact her, were what got him through the tough days—that, and his bull-headed stubbornness that he’d not only walk again, he’d ride. 

When Kelly returns to Last Stand, Texas, in a last-ditch effort to keep her family from selling the Three Sisters Ranch, she has a plan to make her father proud of her again by turning part of the land into a portrait studio location. Her father, however, has already temporarily leased Trent some land for a rodeo school. Kelly and Trent still have the same explosive chemistry, but now the stakes are higher. If she lets Trent into her life, it won’t only be her heart he breaks this time if he leaves, it will be their daughter’s.

Titles in the Three Sisters Ranch series include – The Cowboy’s Daughter —♥— The Cowboy’s Hunt —♥— The Cowboy’s Heart —♥— A Cowboy for April —♥— A Cowboy for June —♥— A Cowboy for Merry —♥—

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

(This series is part of the Last Stand, Texas group of connecting series. Think Marietta, Montana– Tule Publishing’s other large set of somewhat connecting series set in a fictional town. Our Last Stand, Texas page can be found here.)

Title:  The Cowboy’s Daughter
Series:  Three Sisters Ranch #1
Author:  Jamie K. Schmidt
Genre:  Modern Western Romance
Published:  June 6, 2019
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating:  4.5 stars

It’s ironic that it is often the small things in life that can change our destiny.  Take Trent and Kelly, for example, they’d had one amazing, connecting night together.  Each fell hard, each believed that night was the start of something amazing.  They went their separate ways, each thinking it was only temporary yet when Trent’s phone was stolen shortly after that life-changing night, he was unable to contact the woman who had such an impact on his life.  And Kelly’s calls went unanswered, the calls that might have changed everything between then and now.  Yeah, life sure does hold a sucker punch in the wings for us it often seems.

If I wasn’t already hooked and addicted to Tule’s Texas Born imprint’s creation of this small town of Last Stand, Texas with connecting series, then The Cowboy’s Daughter would have guaranteed it.  Trent’s and Kelly’s story is realistic and believable, the broken trust, and the pain both physical and emotional is so very real, and the connections between the characters are so vibrant that even the secondary characters come to life.  Dumb stuff happens in life, parents make decisions that will affect their children for years, and yes, those decisions are sometimes harsh and regretted.  All of that plus the very real life-long effects of Trent’s injury has a sense of peeking into someone’s life, someone you know and care about.

I liked these characters, adored a little 5-year-old who often stole scenes, and even sort of understood Kelly’s father’s reactions although I’m not sure I could have forgiven them (but that’s me).  There are more stories to be told in the Three Sisters Ranch series, and I definitely am looking forward to discovering even more about this family.  I’ve been vague on some details for although I had a blast with this romance I also feel that you should discover this one on your own.  Take a chance on The Cowboy’s Daughter, you’ll find a believable couple, a realistic situation, and a story that will draw you in and leave you wanting more.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story.  It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

**This review first appeared on my Keeper Bookshelf website and has been slightly updated from its original June 2019 posting.**

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