Matthew Hanger is haunted by memories of battles he fought as a cavalryman for the US Army. Now he and three other men hire as mercenaries, but only take jobs where they can see justice done without taking lives. The bad guys they chase are not so reluctant to use violence, and when one of them is shot, he is taking to a local doctor, who, much to Matthew's surprise, is a woman named Josephine Burkett. Josephine understood when she chose to become a female doctor that her path would not be easy, and would probably never lead to marriage and a family of her own. That begins to change as she gets to know the quiet but powerful leader of the Hagar's Horsemen, who doesn't discount her ability as a doctor just because she wears a skirt. Then the unthinkable happens when Josephine's brother is kidnapped and by desperados. Josephine swallows her pride and asks the Hanger's Horsemen for help. As Matthew and Josephine work together to try to save her brother, their mutual respect and affection grows.
Oh, my, what a book. It is like Louis L'Amour for women. Every western cliche can be found here. He calls her "Darlin" and during the shootout they hide under the chuckwagon. Matthew has a handlebar mustache and the bad guy wears all black. It just goes on and on. Witemeyer is a very unapologetic Christian writer, so there are Bible verses and prayers aplenty. I found I liked the fact that their relationship progressed without the misunderstandings or failure-to-communicate setbacks that are the norm in regency romances. Their main relationship obstacles were from the outside, not between them. It is not the kind of book I want to read every week, but this week I found it rather amusing. Still, when I finished I felt I needed to listen to some nonfiction just so I wouldn't start to lose brain cells. (2020, 384 p)
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