Review for Depending on the Doctor by Margaret Madigan
Lydia Templeton teaches other people’s children, but dreams of having a home and family of her own. Plain and mousy, she protects her heart and relies on herself, accepting that she may never find a place where she really belongs. Emmett Wilder served as a Civil War battlefield surgeon. After the war he dosed himself with plenty of alcohol to forget the blood and violence. Unfortunately, drunk doctors make mistakes, and Emmett's no exception, so now he travels the country selling homemade medicinal tonics and trying to outrun his demons. Keeping to himself he can’t hurt anyone else and he likes it that way. But Emmett owes a favor to Lydia’s brother, Randall, who decides it’s time to collect. After their mother dies, Randall sends Emmett to Nevada to find Lydia and bring her home to Nebraska. Along the way Lydia and Emmett tangle with train robbers, natives, and an accidental marriage only to find that Randall is the worst enemy of all. As Lydia journeys across the country with Emmett, she’s forced to face her worst fears and deepest desires, discovering along the way that her real strength comes from Depending on the Doctor.
Shawna's Review
Depending on the Doctor is the second book in the Nevada Bounty series by Margaret Madigan. This series in not only a historical romance but it is a western as well, and one of my first western series ever. I was excited to read this since I like the first book and couldn’t wait to see who this one would be about, but I was also nervous, hoping Margaret could live up to the first book. She did do just as good of a job on this book even though there seems to be a little gap in the books. I noticed there are a few characters that were mentioned in the last book but weren’t actually in it, but now they are in it and I’m not sure how. It didn’t take away from the story line but I was a little confused, maybe I’m missing something. But all in all it was a great read and I will be waiting for the next installment of the Nevada Bounty Series.
4 out of 5 stars
Excerpt:
Emmett’s worried blue gaze fixed on me.
“What time is it?” I asked. Dusk glowed outside the window. “How
long did I sleep?”
He smiled, the humor of it reaching
his eyes. “Most of the afternoon, I imagine. I’ve been talking with some folks
in the other car and when they decided it was time for supper, I came back to
find you sound asleep.”
“Train travel makes me sleepy,” I
said.
“It’s ironic, isn’t it? You’re not
expending any energy, just sitting, and yet the rhythm of the train lulls most
folks to sleep eventually.”
“Are you hungry? We haven’t eaten
all day, but I packed some food for us in my satchel.”
“That would be nice, thank you.”
I unpacked a loaf of bread, some
cold chicken, and some apples we’d picked and stored from the ranch’s orchard,
and we settled into our supper.
I watched him eat. Our interactions
had been cautious, even awkward. I was bad enough at conversation when I knew
someone, but with a stranger like Emmett, I was completely out of my element.
So I just watched him. As a former doctor, his education had been apparent, but
he carried himself with the confidence and ease of affluence—both financial and
social. I wondered how he’d ended up as a traveling salesman.
My curiosity won out over my social
awkwardness. “So Mr. Wilder, how did you end up doing what you do? Why would
you give up being a doctor for life on the road? It can’t be easy.”
He’d been concentrating on his
apple, studying it after each bite. It couldn’t be that interesting. When I
spoke, it startled him, and he looked up at me with a pained and puzzled look
in his eyes. Maybe it had been a bad idea to ask about his past. I had a
difficult time with judging appropriateness.
“It’s a long story,” he said. “One
that wouldn’t interest you.”
I figured in for a penny, in for a
pound. I’d already started, I may as well forge ahead. “We have a long trip ahead of us, so a long
story will be perfect. And I’m interested in everything, Mr. Wilder. I’m
curious by nature.”
He lifted a brow in what I could
only interpret as an acerbic gesture. “I’m sure you are,” he mumbled, just loud
enough for me to hear.
He shifted in his seat, facing me
more directly. “Let’s just say this: my past isn’t something I like to discuss,
and since our association is going to be short I prefer not to sully whatever
meager impression I’ve managed to make on you thus far.”
“You’ve made a most honorable
impression on me so far. I can’t imagine that you’ve anything in your past
that’s so ghastly as to change that impression.”
“Don’t be so sure. You hardly know
me.”
“Which is why I asked. So that I may
get to know you.”
He stared at me hard, and I felt as
if I’d won a point in an ongoing score. He bit his apple and took the time to
chew and swallow. I watched him, and he watched me. I imagined him sizing me
up, trying to decide how much to tell me, if anything at all. I’d have him at
my side for a couple more days, and then he’d be gone, so why not bask in his
attention while I could? I had no illusions that his attention was anything
other than a man fulfilling his duty. But he seemed not to mind my company, so
I allowed myself to indulge in enjoying him.
I was no more immune to an attractive man than any other woman,
they just never paid me any mind. At the moment, I had one all to myself. Of
course, Emmett was both handsome and intelligent. The perfect—and perfectly
lethal—combination, at least where my fragile heart was concerned.
“All you really need to know is that I’ve made my share of
mistakes, but I’m doing my best to put them behind me. What about you? What
would make you leave a home where you have people who clearly love you, and go
running to your brother solely because he asked?”
Well, he’d neatly side-stepped my questions and turned things back
on me. Mentally, I awarded him a point in our little game. I glanced at him to
find him leaned back, arms stretched out over the backs of the seats. He looked
pleased with himself, fully aware that we were doing a verbal dance around each
other.
“You’re not the only one with mistakes in your past.”
He chuckled. “That, I seriously doubt. Little Miss Proper?” He
shook his head, rejecting my pronouncement. “No. Not possible.”
His blue eyes twinkled with amusement, and my cheeks heated with a
pleasurable blush. I couldn’t help myself. I appreciated his attention. I
enjoyed talking to him and, to my surprise, he made me feel playful—something
I’d never, ever felt with a man.
“Oh, don’t be so sure, Mr. Wilder. You hardly know me.” I echoed
his response, teasing him—perhaps even flirting with him, though I’d never
actually flirted so I had no way to gauge my success.
His smile froze, and he swallowed, but it looked more like trying
to avoid choking. From the way he looked at me, I thought I’d done something
wrong. His hungry expression made no sense to me.
I dropped my gaze to my hands in my lap. I’d allowed myself to get
carried away in the moment and humiliated myself. “I’m sorry, that was
impertinent of me.”
He made a sound halfway between a cough and a laugh. It wouldn’t
do for him to choke on his apple, or his disgust.
“Impertinent?” He said. “That was downright sassy.”
From his expression, I had to assume he thought sassy was good,
because he grinned at me like a fool.
I looked down at my lap again, then glanced at him again from
under my lashes. “Is sassy good?”
“Yes, it’s good. It’s nice to see you relax some.”
I released the breath I’d been holding, and smiled at him. “I’m
not generally sassy. You’re right when you call me proper. I am. I don’t know
how to be anything else. Proper was always the best way to be invisible.”
His brows came together. “Why would you ever want to be
invisible?”
His voice suggested incredulity, whereas I would have thought the
answer was obvious: invisibility meant safety.
“That isn’t a fair question,” I said.
“Why not?”
“Because it requires me to discuss my past, and I thought we’d
come to a mutual—if unspoken—agreement that the past is off limits as a topic
of conversation.”
“Now I’m intrigued.”
I nearly snorted at the idea. “Trust me, Mr. Wilder, I’m the least
intriguing person you’ll ever meet.”
“I don’t believe that for a moment, Lydia.” His voice had taken on
a husky quality and I wondered if he’d injured his throat when he choked on the
apple.
“Well, it’s the truth. I’m plain and boring, and I’ve lived a
plain and boring life.”
“You’re not plain and boring, you just hide behind plain and
boring. I saw you with those children. You came alive with them.”
“That’s easy. I adore them. Children are honest. I know what to
expect from them.”
“Well, they clearly love you.”
I couldn’t help smiling in the face of his compliment. “It’s the
adults I have trouble with. But I’m working on it. At least I’m trying.”
“You seem to be doing fine.”
“You make it easy,” I said, then snapped my mouth shut. Had I
really just said that? I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry. That was…”
“Impertinent?” he asked. His sparkling eyes teased me.
“Forward,” I said.
“I like forward,” he said, and I blushed so hard I had to look
away.
*****************************
He's gambled everything...except his heart.
Beth Caldwell is no man's property. A gambler's widow with a willful, independent streak, she's already courting trouble after rejecting an offer of marriage from a foul-tempered and land-hungry cattle baron. But when Beth discovers a handsome outlaw hiding in her barn, she lands in a whole new heap of trouble...
Isaac Collins survived the Civil War only to find himself scapegoated for stagecoach robbery and murder. With nothing left to lose, he gambled everything on revenge and barely escaped with his life. Now he's relying on the kindness of a fierce, strong-willed woman...and God help him if there isn't something both sweet and forbidden simmering between them.
But Beth's rejected suitor is no gentleman. He'll do whatever it takes to get her land. And in Nevada, everything rides on a high-stakes game of chance...especially love and death.
Just in case you missed it, here's Shawna's review of #1:
Gambling on the Outlaw is the first book in the Nevada Bounty series by Margaret Madigan. This series in not only a historical romance but it is a western as well, and one of my first western series ever. I have to say I was a little worried I wouldn’t like it since I have never been a been western book type of gal, but I was pleasantly surprised. Margaret does a good job at keeping me interested in the book with the romance, a little action, and a good story-line to back it all up. You are not just introduced to the two main characters but you are introduced to the whole town and enough information about the other characters that you want to see where their life heads after this story ends.
4 out of 5 stars
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From the Author
I write romance for Entangled Publishing and Evernight Publishing. I write and indie-publish romance and sci-fi through M&M Publishing.
I'm an Oregon Ducks fan.
I'm a donut and pastry addict (pretty much any carbs, really).
I like cats.
I'm terrified of balloons.
When I’m not writing you’ll find me in a college classroom teaching English and, of course, wrangling my family.
Thanks for visiting my page. I love it when my readers review my work on Amazon, GoodReads, Barnes and Noble, blogs, or wherever else they think of. When you talk about something I've written, not only does it make me ridiculously happy, it also lets other readers know it's a great read and they should run out and buy it. So if you enjoy something I’ve written, please review it! I'll love you forever if you do.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the books! <3
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