Dump your unresponsive husband in suburban Ohio. Move
to Jackson Hole, Wyo., and buy an adorable – and affordable –
rustic cabin on a sprawling ranch. Make enough money working
part-time to not only afford the aforementioned Jackson Hole cabin,
but to also have spare time to revel in the glorious Western
landscape. And, the first man you meet is Bo, the cowboy of your
dreams – a sexy rancher-turned-artist who is deeply in touch with
his feelings and never considers selling out to the rich guy who
wants a hobby ranch.
Suzannah’s idyllic fictional life in
Tina Welling’s Crybaby Ranch perpetuates rural
Western town dreaming. It’s a modern cowboy love story set against
a stupendous Western backdrop, with a little bravery, just enough
luxury, and a dose of small-town drama thrown in. The main
character’s belated process of self-discovery is groovy, but not
new-agey beyond belief. And the entangled love triangles are juicy
enough to make this a page-turner.
Welling’s characters
smack of real rural Rocky Mountain life. She dishes up comedy with
a cantankerous old-time rancher and quirky aunts who are especially
sharp about newcomers with city-slicker ways. At an afternoon
barbecue, aunts Violet and Maizie slyly watch Dickie, a filthy-rich
visitor, maneuver among local cowboys and Bo, their nephew: “
‘Attracted to Bo?’ Violet asks herself in a search for words.
‘These matters are complex. More like…’ Maizie finishes, ‘If
Dickie could, he’d be Bo. That is if he could still be wealthy and
own things.’ “
Suzannah’s winter skiing forays to watch
the moon rise and her summer hikes to investigate bear scat give
depth to the at-times sappy romance. Bo, her lover, faces the
dilemma of possessing both a free spirit and the heavy burden of a
generations-old ranch that he’s not sure what to do with.
It’s easy to empathize with how Suzannah falls in love with her
magnificent surroundings, and with how Bo struggles to manage his.
Welling keeps you rooting for the makeup kiss until the very end.
Crybaby Ranch
Tina
Welling
234 pages, softcover: $17.95
Ghost Road
Press, 2006.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Cowboy love, with a generous sprinkling of sugar.
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