Margaret "Maggie" O'Shea has been in love with Cole Mackenzie since she was a scrawny Tomboy of fourteen. Being dragged from mine town to mine town by her father, she had very little time to mature into anything but this. Then at sixteen when Pop began to realize that his Maggie needed to learn to become a lady he had said good-bye to his partner Cole, and sent Maggie off to finishing school, while he returned home to start a stage coach line. Now Maggie is confronted with her worst nightmare, Cole MacKenzie, the only man she has ever loved, has returned back in her life as her legal guardian.
The Mackenzies/Cole by Ana Leigh is the latest in her Mackenzies saga. Cole is the oldest son of Cleve Mackenzie and his wife Adee, whom we met in the third installment. The love story that is portrayed in this installment between hard hearted Cole, and warm and loving Maggie is hard to follow at times. If you are a true fan of this series then you will of course read this book. The story could stand alone even if you haven't read the other books. Cole and Maggie embark on some wild adventures to find out what truly happened to Pop. Along the way they meet up with some interesting characters, and there are some subplots involving the towns people. However, there are no true villains in this story, and overall I was disappointed in this latest installment. It just wasn't as good as the others.
Favorite scene with Cole-Saving the animals and Juan from the fire.
Favorite scene together-The total chaos brought on by Cole pretending to hold Maggie up and Maggie having Cole arrested.reviews: page 1, 2
The last time Cole MacKenzie saw Maggie O'Shea, the daughter of his gold-hunting partner, Pop, she was a scruffy kid with dirt on her cheeks. Now the tomboy is all grown up -- and how! -- and she's Cole's sworn responsibility, since the suspicious passing of his dear old friend. But being Maggie's new legal guardian may be more than the footloose loner can handle -- especially since he's been aching of late to hold her close and tight.
How dare Cole MacKenzie think he can run her life! True, she's had a crush on him since forever, but Maggie won't be treated like a child -- especially not by a powerfully good-looking wanderer who makes her flush with wanting him. Cole says he's not ready to stay put, yet he's not going anywhere until he's satisfied Pop's death was a natural one. But will that leave Maggie enough time to prove to the man how much of a woman she's become?