In the small town of Dry Gulch, Texas, a good-hearted busybody just can't keep herself from surreptitiously trying to match up women in dire straits with men of good character she hopes can help them. How is she to know she's also giving each couple a little nudge toward love?When I borrowed this book from the library, it was for the purpose of finishing Karen Witemeyer's Archer Brother series. I had never read a novella before, and usually ignored them when I saw that a book series had a #2.5 or anything with a #.5 in it. I had assumed it wasn't too important to read the "in between" books. Now I know not to ignore them! I have a new love for novellas. It's a full story that one can finish in a day. After I read the first novella, A Cowboy Unmatched (Archer Brother's #3), I abandoned the rest of the book, intending to return it to the library on my next visit. I picked it up again a week later and realized that all four novellas worked together to tell an entirely new story. A story of an anonymous matchmaker.
A Cowboy Unmatched by Karen Witemeyer
Neill isn't sure who hired him to repair Clara's roof--he only knows Clara desperately needs his help. Can he convince this stubborn widow to let down her guard and take another chance on love?
This poor woman. Heavily pregnant, widowed, and her house is falling apart. But Clara Danvers doesn't let this get her down. She is tough and independent. Her father-in-law is a wealthy ranch owner, whose son, Clara's late husband, was heir to the ranch. Now Mr. Danvers wants Clara's child, to raise as his own and one day inherit the ranch. Because of Clara's Comanche blood, he wants nothing to do with her.
Neill Archer is guided by an anonymous tip to Clara Danvers' shack. In need of some money to start his own ranch, he patches her roof and works on various jobs around her home. He learns the danger she is in and vows to protect her. Then one night, she goes into labor...
I loved revisiting the characters from the rest of the Archer Brother's series, and was pleased with the man that youngest brother Neill became.
An Unforeseen Match by Regina Jennings
Hoping to earn an honest wage on his way to the land rush, Clayton ends up on Grace's doorstep, lured by a classified ad. He may have signed on for more than he expected though--and he may have found the one woman who can keep him from moving on.
Grace O'Malley is a school teacher, born in Ireland and brought to America with her parents to join her odler brother. Her parents die on the voyage over and she is delivered to her big brother. She is seen as more of a burden and takes it upon herself to educate herself and make her own way in the world. Years later, she gets a teaching position in Dry Gulch, but soon begins to lose her vision to the point of having to leave teaching behind. She is given a small home to live in (the shack that Clara Danvers left behind when she left with Neill Archer) and brought food. Clayton Weber intends on winning land but his horse dies just as he enters into Dry Gulch. He is anonymously offered a job fixing up a shack and barn for a former teacher in the town. Believing she's an old maid, he goes out there only to discover that the former teacher is a young and beautiful woman.
It was interesting to read a story in which both main characters have a physical flaw: Grace is nearly blind and Clayton has a large scar on the side of his face. He assumes that she cannot see it, so he lets his guard down around her. Little does he know, she does see it, but doesn't care. While I knew how to story was going to end, I still liked it.
No Match for Love by Carol Cox
Andrew can't fathom how refined Lucy ended up as the caretaker to his dotty aunt, and somehow her arrival has prompted even more bizarre occurrences around the ranch. When they join forces to unearth the truth, will the attraction between Andrew and Lucy develop into more?
Lucy Benson finds herself nearly penniless after her father's death. An anonymous tip leads her to leave Dry Gulch and head to North Fork, Texas to help care for a rancher's elderly and widowed aunt.
While Andrew has the best of intentions, his Aunt Martha is not in need of someone to care for her. She is strong and spunky. She takes care of Lucy and teaches Lucy how to take care of herself (Lucy is so helpless that she even burns tea). The characters soon learn that Aunt Martha is not crazy, as originally thought, but being targeted. This book had a bit of mystery in it that I enjoyed, even if it did have the silly aspect of a cow jumping over a moon.
Meeting Her Match by Mary Connealy
When the tables are turned and a tenderhearted meddler becomes the beneficiary of a matchmaking scheme, her world is turned upside down. As her entire life changes, will she finally be able to tell the banker's son how much she cares for him?
This is the final story of the matchmaker herself! Marcus Whitfield, the bankers son, has been in love with beautiful Hannah ever since their school days. He is just too shy to tell her so. Hannah is the local school teacher who has found herself kicked out of her childhood home and living in a room over the diner. One afternoon, everything changes for Hannah and Marcus.
This story had me laughing. I couldn't believe what was happening! It was my first Mary Connealy book, but certainly not my last. I loved the story of Hannah, and also loved how it tied the other books together and we finally knew who the matchmaker was.
Overall, I really enjoyed this charming little collection of novellas!
