Contemporary
Kentucky Groom
By Dottie
May 16, 2010 - 7:40:35 PM

Jay Preston was at his father’s fifth wedding and every bride has had blonde hair.  His new stepmother is only three years Jay’s senior.  Jay’s mother had been his father’s first wife and she had been devoted to him, sacrificing her own education to put his father through college.  Jay had bypassed college, as his father was intent on Jay proving himself and he did just that.  He created Sampson, the wonder software that was now on every Preston computer on the market.  Developing systems came naturally to him.  Though he was happy about his success, he wished his father would accept him for himself, rather than needing him to prove himself over and over again.  Every woman he knew was aware that he was rich.  Too many of the women he had dated were after the Preston money, not him.  Besides developing systems, Jay is also good with horses.  His father had insisted on riding lessons and competing in shows.

Carrie Mercer, a widow, had been married to a much older man.  Since her husband’s death, she has been having financial problems.  She is a teacher; teaching eighth grade English.  She remembered Jay from Mary Wilder’s summer riding camp when Carrie was in high school.  She, like many of the other girls, had had a crush on him, but she knew she was too old for him.  Lately, her ten-year-old daughter, Jesse, has been playing matchmaker for her.  She married one time out of necessity.  If she ever marries again, she wants it to be for love, so she is very careful about any serious relationship.

After an argument with his father, he was disowned.  After a few minutes, it struck Jay how fortunate he was; now he could see if he could make it on his own.  Leaving Silicon Valley, Jay ended up in Prospect, Kentucky where Mary Wilder gave him a job as a groom at Wildwood Stables, an American Saddlebred show barn.  He enjoyed the physical work, which was better than sitting behind a computer for ten hours a day.  One day, while he was grooming one of the horses,  Carrie came into the barn after her daughter. Jay was startled at his attraction to the woman.  She seemed familiar, but unlike all the girls he knew; she seemed sincere and honest, as well as loving to her daughter. As the week went on, Carrie came to the barn often.  Just being around her made Jay happier than he had been in a long time.

Then on a dinner date, they ran into his father and new stepmother.  Realizing that Jay was the son of a very wealthy man made her angry.  He lied to her by omission; he never told her he had that kind of money.  Though he tried to explain the situation, she refused to listen.  However, when she lost her home on top of other financial problems, she agreed to Jay’s proposal of a marriage for convenience.  But once married, Jay found he wanted more.  How could he turn his marriage of convenience into a marriage of love?

KENTUCKY GROOM is a warm, emotionally moving contemporary romance.  The death of Carrie’s husband left her in a financial bind.  Subsequent events deteriorated her finances even more.  Though she was falling for Jay, she couldn’t trust him after she caught him in a lie.  But, even though she married him, things were still strained between them.  All Jay ever wanted was a woman who loved him.  He did not want to be like his father, who was vulnerable and looking for love in the wrong places, marrying young women to recapture his youth.  Jay didn’t even mind being disowned because he figured this would be a chance to see if he could make it on his own, maybe even find a woman who would love him for himself.  However, when he fell in love, it is with a woman who needed his money.  Filled with heartbreak and joy, diverse and complex characters, plot twists, romance and two vulnerable people looking for love, this story will keep the reader captivated as the plot unfolds. I recommend KENTUCKY GROOM to anyone looking for a great story.