Add to Goodreads Buy Amazon/B&N/Smashwords
What would you do if what you worked your entire life to build was suddenly destroyed?
Cade Walker is a cowboy Casanova. He’s cocky and he doesn’t care who knows it. He was raised on Walker Ranch and was destined to one day take it over. What he didn’t know was how soon that would happen. After his parents are killed in a car accident he is thrust into becoming a responsible adult. Well, sort of. Cade is always responsible when it comes to business, but pleasure, now that’s a whole other story.
Suzanna Mallory is a red-headed spitfire, who also happens to be Cade’s best friend. She has loved Cade since they met when they were nine years old, but Cade just isn’t the type to get married and settle down. Suzanna finds herself in an abusive marriage and the only thing that keeps her sane is her daughter, Isabella, and working with Cade at Walker Ranch.
When a fire threatens to destroy the future of Walker Ranch, Cade and Suzanna have to work together to save it.
What will this mean for her marriage or to the feelings that she has for Cade?
And now that Cade thought he found love with Loralei Harper, only to realize she didn’t feel the same way, is he ready to settle down?
Is Cade Walker Destined to Succeed?
Book one: Destined to Change: Goodreads/Amazon/B&N
Read Kim's review of Destined to Change
Prologue:
Six months ago
Cade~
That
was that. I wasn’t the daddy. I was so damn sure that baby was mine. I was
already picturing us on the ranch. Her ridin’ horses and me teaching her how to
be a real little cowgirl. Lor had shattered that dream, when she knocked on the
door that day.
I
could tell she had been cryin’. Her eyes were all red and her cheeks were tear
stained. I opened the door, and I just knew. I knew what she was about to tell
me.
“Hon,
it’s okay. I can tell by the look on your face, what you’re about to tell me.
I’ll be gettin’ outta your hair, now.” I started to turn and walk away. I
couldn’t help the tear that was streamin’ down my cheek. Damn, I wanted that
baby to be mine more than anything in this world. I knew I had lost her momma,
but I was hopin’…well, it didn’t matter what I was hopin’. It wasn’t gonna
happen now.
“Cade,
I’m so sorry. I know how much you wanted it to be yours.” She started to cry
again.
“Hon,
I know you’re happy that it ain’t mine, so quit your cryin’ and go on home to
asshat,” I said with a chuckle. I was tryin’ to tease her…to make her smile.
And she did. She gave me a very small, sad smile. Then she turned and walked
away. That was that.
Present
Goddamn,
I was tired. It had been a hell of a day on the ranch. It was birthin’ season
and we had the vet out all day. That was gonna cost a small fortune, but it was
worth it when you saw those new calves and foals bein’ brought into the world.
I was sore. I was gettin’ too old for this shit. All I had been able to think
about all day was gettin’ home, takin’ a shower, and crawlin’ into bed.
When
I walked around the front of my house, I saw Clay’s truck parked out front.
What the hell was he doin’ at my place. He was screwin’ up my plans.
I
walked in the living room, hung my Stetson on the hat rack, and that’s when I
heard it. That fuckin’ little bastard.
I
flung the door to my room wide open. There he was. Screwin’ that little blonde
hussy, Ana. What the fuck?
“Are
you fuckin’ kiddin’ me, right now?” I screamed as I ran toward the bed.
“Get
the fuck out, man. Can’t you see I’m a little busy?” He didn’t even stop what
he was doin’ to say that. I grabbed him by the hair of his head and pulled him
off of her.
“You.
Get the hell out.” Normally, I wouldn’t have talked to a woman like that. But
this chick was a pain in my ass. She was only screwin’ Clay to get to me. She
had tried everything in the world to hook up with me. It wasn’t gonna happen.
So, now she had moved on to him. I’m sure she was thinkin’ about me the whole
time. It was probably her idea to do it in my house, and my bed.
“Cade,
baby,” Ana said, biting her lip seductively. Then she curled her finger at me,
“Join us?”
“You
have got to be fuckin’ kiddin’ me…Can you not take a hint? I will never sleep
with you. You are not what I’m lookin’ for.” I was lookin’ for a wife. Not some
cheep ass floozy that just wanted to screw me to get my ranch. “Ya’ll have five
minutes to get your shit and get the fuck out of my house. Tick-tock.”
I
started toward the kitchen. I needed a beer. I grabbed a cold one out of the
fridge and took a seat at the table. All of a sudden, I heard the front door
slam and said a little thank you that they were gone. They weren’t. I looked up
and my cousin Cord was standin’ in the doorway.
“I
need one of those too. Had a hell of a day,” he said as he grabbed a beer out
of the fridge and took a seat across from me at the table.
“You
and your damn brother seem to think this is your house.”
“Well,
it kinda is, right? I mean you’re like our brother. Mi casa, su casa?” He
grinned and continued to suck down my beer.
“Why
was your day so hard? Have a hard time pickin’ out your tie?” I loved to give
him a hard time. He was the only one in our family that had a job. Meaning, he
didn’t work on the ranch. He was a lawyer. I always knew he would make
somethin’ of himself. Now that brother of his was a whole other story.
“Asshole.
I’m working on a big case. I’m gonna have to go to Dallas next week. Why don’t
you come with me? It’d be good for you to get away from the ranch for a bit.”
That
actually sounded great. I hadn’t had a vacation in years. This ranch meant
everything to me. Since my parents had died, I had worked my ass off to make it
the success it had become. And I trusted my farmhands. I knew they could handle
it if I was gone for a few days.
“How
long you gonna be gone?” I asked.
“Three
days. Come on, it’ll be like the old days. We used to have fun together,
remember?”
“Yeah,
that was before everyone in town knew you were a lawyer. That totally ruined
your reputation.” He laughed and I threw my bottle cap at him.
Dallas
would be fun. I needed to have some fun. Some fun that didn’t include visiting
the local tavern and takin’ home whatever girl I chose for the night. That shit
was gettin’ real old, real quick. Loralei Harper made me realize I wanted a
wife and a family. I wasn’t gonna get that with one of those floozies down at
the bar.
All
of a sudden, I heard Clay screamin’. I ran out to the porch and saw what he was
yellin’ about. I took off runnin’ toward the horse barn. What the hell was
goin’ on? How did this happen? The farmhands were screamin’ and runnin’ out of
the barn carrying the new babies we’d spent all day birthin’.
Clay,
Cord, and I got to the barn about the time it happened. Flames were everywhere
and then there was an explosion. I heard screamin’ and cries of all of the
animals that we couldn’t get out. I tried to run in. I tried to save them. Cord
and Clay pulled me back. I fell to my knees. Dear God, why? Why? Were there
people in there? Oh my God, where’s Colt?
I have to be honest and admit that I was not a fan of Cade in Destined to Change. I was completely Team Jaxon and felt Cade was arrogant, cocky and just in the way of my favorite couple. But from the beginning of this book, my opinion of Cade changed. In Destined to Succeed we find out about his past, what shaped him, and what turned him into the ladies' man with little emotion that we first met. But in this story we see his vulnerable and his sweet side. We meet Suzanna when Cade does... in third grade. They grow up together, become best friends and are inseparable. But as their pre-teen and teen years occur, their feelings start to change. But unfortunately communicaton issues, fear and insecurities lead to years of missed opportunities and poor choices. My heart literally hurt for both of them.
“Son, when you find the right one you’ll just know it. Your dick won’t pick her. Your heart will. Always listen to your heart, because your dick can be a lying bastard.”
They clearly loved each other and belonged together but they could not seem to get it together. Their failed union created consequences for both of them and changed the course of their lives. Cade turns off emotion and seeks fulfillment in multitudes of women, and Suzanna finds herself miserable in an abusive marriage. But she feels she has no chance of escape since she has to protect her daughter and those she loves. They have such deep feelings of longing, lust, and love. But they have so much stacked against them. It was sad, heart breaking, frustrating, and maddening.
Cade is a sexy, cocky, cowboy with a huge sense of responsibility and a big heart. He hid this by being a womanizer in order to cover up his true hurt feelings and to protect himself. But deep down, he knows there is really only one woman for him...but he is not sure how she feels and circumstances make the situation impossible. He is struggling to rebuild his ranch and take care of everyone.
“He was sex on a stick. If the body didn’t get you, that damn deep voice with the country drawl would do it every time.”
Suzanna was initially fun and feisty, but her marriage and circumstances dragged her down. She was damaged and hurt, but always still managed to support Cade and his family. The only bright spot in her marriage is her sweet daughter Isabella. She will do anything to protect her. She longs for the life she could have had with Cade if things had been different.
“My heart picked you, Suzy Q. My heart always knew it was you.”
“My heart picked you, Suzy Q. My heart always knew it was you.”
There is also danger lurking the background threatening Suzanna, Cade, and their families. So there is tension, suspense, intrigue and tragedy that raises your anxiety level. You know something is coming and it just builds and builds. And then something does happen, and then the build up starts again. So it kept me entertained and engaged.. It made me tense, upset, and at one point...totally shocked. I loved many of the supporting characters especially Cade's cousins Cord, Clay, Colt, and Cole, and the sweetest little girl ever, IzzyB. She had such a child like innocence and spunky spirit and she had all of the men eating out of her hands.
I was really invested in the characters and their relationship. They really were likable and so good for each other. If they could only go back in time and change one thing, their lives would have been so different. It is told in alternating points of view of Cade and Suzanna in present time and in flashbacks. But it flowed well and I enjoyed their memories as much as their present story.
Despite all that they have been through, can they finally overcome the problems with their past and find a happy ending? Or are they destined to have happiness just out of their reach?
I look forward to more books in this series and hope that we see more of the characters from the first two books filter into the subsequent books.
Thanks to Lisa M. Harley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was actually privileged enough to be a Beta Reader for this book and review is based off my beta read.
Join the Facebook Event
Tour hosted by The Book Avenue
Giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
0 comments