Friday Book Review - when the best man isn't

I'll readily admit it - I read a lot of fluff. I like to be entertained :) This week's entertainment I picked up at a yard sale for $.75, and I think it was definitely work the expense.

The Best Man by Maggie Osborne

Cattle baron Joe Roark carved his ranch out of the Texas dirt the hard way, and he's not plannig to pass it on to anyone who can't, or won't do the same. But four wives and three useless daughters later, he's pretty sure he's doomed to die without a male heir to take over where he left off, and he writes his will accordingly. The conditions are simple: if his three daughters, with nine hands to help them, can't trail 2000 head of cattle to Abilene, Kansas then his latest wife, Lola, gets it all.

For three pampered, polished, petted women who've never so much as picked up a dirty dish, the trail has one or two challenges in store.

With only two weeks to learn ride, shoot, rope, and in one case, cook, the situation looks pretty grim. Add in the fact that the only trail boss who'll sign on is an ex-drunk, and that one of the sisters is in a wheelchair and "hopeless" covers it well. But all isn't lost, and as Lester, Frederick and Alexander (dad really wanted a boy) learn to work together, the odds may not be quite as long as they seem.

I was actually expecting something fairly shallow - but Osborne did her research. Her heroines aren't in for an easy time of it. There's plenty of dirt, determination, and a lot of challenges to overcome. And romance, of course.

Not technically a horse story, but I like a well-done western - a steady diet of Louis L'amour, Zane Grey and Luke Short will do that to you - and this one's not bad at all.