Backlog #6
I never mentioned it before but I noticed the presence of Harvey Eaton in all the books, it's not much, but that old man is my favorite, no wonder he even got his own extra episodes.
This book is about Beau Eaton and Bailey Jensen.
In Powerless we know that Beau was missing in action, but by the end of the book he is found. In Reckless he returned to the family after recuperating and he now is retired. Bearing severe burns on his feet. Winter is mentioned too because she helped him and she did not pamper him.
But now Beau is lost to what to do with his life in this small town, to others he is a hero, but he does not think of himself like that.
But then he goes to the bar where Bailey Jensen works and somehow the presence of this girl who does not consider him anything special helps him find inner peace he needed so much.
Beau Eaton is the town prince, a handsome military hero with a tortured past.I’m the outcast bartender, a shy girl from the wrong side of the tracks.He’s thirty-five and all man, and I’m twenty-two and all… virgin.He’s also my fiancé. Correction: my fake fiancé.We start out as a bet. He doesn’t believe that anyone holds my last name against me. So he offers me his to prove a point.It’s win-win. He gets a break from his concerned family’s prying, and I get a chance to shed my family’s reputation while I save up to ditch this small town.He says all I have to do is wear his ring, follow his lead, and pretend I can’t keep my hands off of him in public.But it’s what happens between us in private that blurs all those carefully drawn lines.It’s what transpires behind closed doors that doesn’t feel like pretending at all.This engagement was supposed to be for show. This agreement? It has an end date.He once told me he’d never fall in love.And yet here I am, head over heels for my fake fiancé.
Chestnut Springs. Book 5
Unlike Beau, the town prince everyone is vying to know, Bailey is the town's pariah because of her criminal father and brothers who wrecked havoc for years. This is why people make it very evident how they disdain Bailey at every turn. Kinda caricature, but what do I know.
Beau does not believe in this.
They meet by chance at a small creek, since Bailey lives in a small trailer (actually pays rent and other stuff to her own brothers who never work) and she goes to the river to swim. This is where Beau finds her. He kinda got a wild idea of fake engagement so that his name would protect Bailey and she can develop and earn money, since she wants to leave this town where everyone hates her. And as for his own goals, although he loves his family dearly he really doesn't want them to continue worrying all the time or walking on eggshells etc.
But the thing is Bailey never actually conflicted with anyone about it and tried to keep things peaceful. But it never helped her in the long run.
She basically agrees because she does need his protection from her own brothers. She needs to earn more, she wants to leave. It's nice to see her not being one-sided. Like she admires Beau, think he's good, but also part of her has a spike when it comes to envy towards him, Beau can land a job easily, while she struggles just because of who she is.
The one thing kinda unhinged about her is how open she is abou sex. She is a virgin since no one would date her out of fear or because of a dare only, but she's a healthy young woman with needs and curiosity. So there's that type of line in their relationship.
But during her stay when she moved from the trailer to the house she figured that Beau has troubles with sleeping and he can't get away from it. This is why he often got really drunk at first at the bar and later he stopped (also connected to her). She can't leave him alone thus they decide to go swim in this sultry summer at night and slowly help Beau cope with it, more like overwrite the memories and what keeps him having nightmares.
They actually bond through many acts of kindness, not only tension.
But the main "problem" was that Beau, as Bailey thought, will stay in this town and she will go outside, so they kinda have no future together. Not to mention she finds out that Beau is the owner of the only place that hired her as a bartender for years. Of course she's hurt. But at least she had finally burst with dissatisfaction towards people and told them all how they treated her like shit for years when she never deserved it.
Beau wouldn't be him if he let the girl he fell in love with go, so he decided he changed his course of life. For Bailey wasn't the only one this town was quite suffocating. Although he promised to help with the ranch after retirement it was so not his, he wanted to do something he wanted, so he decided to become a firefighter. He landed the job in the city so he could be with Bailey. And this is where they moved together.
It was nice to see one person finding the right one who helped them heal and return to normal, while the other person also found themselves, they really worked for each other in the best way possible.
RATE: 3,75/5. It's not a bad rating though, it was a fine conclusion, just in comparison to other books in the series this is the place it takes for me.