The Last Cahill Cowboy - Jenna Kernan (HH #1072 - Feb 2012)

Series: Cahill Cowboys (Book 5) 

Bounty hunter Chance Cahill blows into town like tumbleweed, a rootless drifter with danger written all over him. For this man doesn't care whether he lives or dies. It's what makes him so fearless -- and so deadly.

Ellie Jenkins, plain as brown paper, is determined to marry for love. It's only when she comes face-to-face with childhood friend Chance that she realizes what she's been waiting for.

But then Ellie sees the empty look behind his eyes, and she knows that to win this cowboy's heart will take a risk so big it may destroy them both....

Great conclusion to the series.  Chance is the last of the siblings to come back to help find their parents' murderer.  When he left, his best skill was his shooting, so he became a bounty hunter.  He felt that his parents' deaths were his fault, and saw no hope for a good life for himself.  When he returned, one of the first people he saw was Ellie, his sister's best friend.  He was stunned by the changes he saw, and the attraction he felt.  He also knew that she was far too good for him.  Ellie was glad that Chance had returned, but worried about the changes she saw in him.  She could see that he didn't care about his own life.  She also realized that she had been in love with him for most of her life.  She had been sheltered for all her life, and her domineering mother couldn't see Ellie's true nature.  I really enjoyed seeing Ellie as she began to find her backbone and go after what she wanted.  I liked seeing the interaction among Chance and his siblings, and his confusion over their new relationships.  The final scenes of the book were great, with the bad guy finally getting what was coming to him.  And I loved the epilogue, with Bowie and Merritt's wedding!

Scandal at the Cahill Saloon - Carol Arens (HH #1068 - Jan 2012)

Series: Cahill Cowboys (Book 4) 

Leanna Cahill: Guardian Angel or Scarlet Woman?

Leanna Cahill, once the pretty, spoiled darling of Cahill Crossing, is coming home to a very different sort of welcome. As an unwed, single mother with a band of former ladies-of-the-night in tow, her reputation is in tatters!

Cleve Holden, itinerant gambler and inveterate charmer, seems intent on seducing Leanna. But he has come to town for one reason and one reason only: to take back his abandoned nephew from the scarlet woman pretending to be his mother.... 

Very good book.  I really liked the way that Leanna returned to town -- with her head held high and great plans for her future.  She set up her saloon as a place for her ladies to learn how to lead a better life.  She also had her son, who she was planning to raise near her family so he'd have good influences.  Cleve came to town to take the boy away from her, thinking she was not fit to raise his sister's child.  Once he got to know her, he realized that she was not the bad influence he had thought she was, and knew he couldn't take Cabe away.  He also found himself falling under her spell, and decided the best thing he could do would be to marry her and take care of them both.  But, he still hasn't told her that Cabe is his nephew. She also was hiding the identity of Cabe's father, and had sworn that he would never know.  Leanna and Cleve also were trying to get more information on the murder of her parents.  I'm really looking forward to the next book.