Home with You

Kendall’s second Silverlake Ranch novel (after Walk Me Home) takes readers on a predictable but pleasant visit to Texas Hill Country. When teenage Rhett Braddock’s parents died, his older brother enrolled him in boarding school. Resentful of being sent away, Rhett, now a wildly successful banker, has refused to return to Silverlake, Tex. But when he learns that the Holts, a local family, are on the brink of financial ruin, he saves them from bankruptcy by buying their ranch. His arrival in town is awkward for Jules Holt, who, just weeks before, ran into Rhett in Dallas, where they shared a passionate evening together only for him to treat her like a one-night stand the following morning. She’s also peeved at her conservative family for never allowing her to run the ranch by herself. Inevitably, Jules’s anger cools as Rhett proves amenable to her input on the ranch. Readers are likely to guess the eventual twist and Jules’s old-fashioned family will put off some readers, but the central couple are sweet and compatible. Kendall sets herself up for a long run in Silverlake with a cast of young, single side characters hoping to find relationships of their own. Lovers of small-town romance will find this an agreeable option. Agent: Louise Fury, the Bent Agency. (Apr.)