Noelle St. Claire is on the run. She's not sure why and she's not sure who she should be afraid of but Noelle knows she has to put as much distance between herself and her New York City home as she can. She's fleeing her wealthy, pampered life with only a small suitcase and $5,000 to her name. After blindly changing buses for several days, Noelle finds herself in tiny mountain town in Colorado and rents a room from Rick Spencer, horse trainer and dude ranch owner.
The beauty and serenity of the mountains calm Noelle's fears and she begins to paint watercolors of the majestic scenery. Rick allows her to ride one of the horses and she goes out exploring every day, bringing back wildflower and mountain scenes captured by her paintbrush. Noelle sells her paintings to tourists in a little shop in town to supplement her dwindling supply of cash.
Although Noelle feels safe on the Spencer Ranch, she begins to have flashbacks of unexplainable terror. Rick's brother, Morgan, attempts to romance Noelle, but his closeness frightens her. And Noelle has a new worry--when the tourist season is over, no one buys her paintings so she is without an income. Her fears for the future seem to be over when the shop owner offers to both find a place in the big city to sell the paintings and a house for Noelle. Assured of a seemingly secure future, Noelle moves away form Rick's ranch in spite of his warnings that the shop owner is not what she seems. Unfortunately, Rick's warnings come true when Noelle finds herself without food or money to pay her bills. Rick rescues her from her cold home and takes her home with him.
Noelle now is confronted with her feelings of gratitude and perhaps more for Rick. But she is afraid to be honest with him about her past--especially since she can't even remember what it is she should tell him about herself.
I enjoyed this novel. It was somewhat predictable and sometimes melodramatic but I thoroughly enjoyed the escape from reality it provided. And isn't that why I'm reading after all?
1 comment:
Your preview makes me want to join Noelle. I wish I could move to the mountains, live quietly with nature and support myself.
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