The stranger in her bed

The stranger in her bed, by Janet Chapman
Published by Pocket Star, Feb/07
Grade:C+

When Ethan agreed to work at a sawmill his family
is purchasing, he didn't foresee getting fired on his first day. He should be
mad at the fiercely outspoken female foreman, but something about her seems
disconcertingly familiar -- even though Ethan is sure he'd remember meeting a
stunning beauty like Anna Segee before.

Anna has never forgotten Ethan -- or the schoolgirl
crush she had on him before her father whisked her off to Canada. Now the shy,
gangly girl is grown up and back in Oak Grove with a new name, new confidence,
and a newly inherited mill of her own. Her superb reputation in a male-dominated
industry hasn't come easy, but even harder will be ignoring the sexy man Ethan
has become. . .

This is the second book in a series. The first one is called The seduction of his wife. Funny thing though-I like the Heroine of this book better than the one in TSOHW, however, I liked TSOHW better.

Anna and Ethan grew up in the same town and were childhood friends. She was 11, he was 12 and she had a crush on him. Ethan saved her from being attacked by a group of boys. Anna's mother was the town tramp, so the boys figured that Anna was just like her mother and decided to try and take advantage of that.

Anna ended up being sent to Canada where her dad changed her name and gave her a very secure, loving upbringing. Anna's father decided it would be best to cut all ties with everyone in Anna's past, including the Grandfather who has raised her for her first 11 years.

So now Anna is all grown up. She works at the mill that the Knights bought in TSOHW. She is 29, and unlike Sarah from the first book, she is no innocent virgin. She wants to sleep with Ethan and she throws herself at him. They have a good time sleeping together. The sex is hot, but all the condom talk got to be a bit much. I don't care about safe sex in my romances. Either use one or not-I don't care. Just don't go on so much about it.

At one point, Ethan fires her, yet she still kept on sleeping with him. I didn't believe it at all. Even though Anna agreed that she would have fired someone for the same thing, I can't picture her still having sex with the man who fires her. Especially since Ethan knew how much money she owed in back taxes. Sarah, the Heroine from the first book I can see still sleeping with Alex if he ever fired her, but Anna? Nah, I don't buy it.

Meanwhile, there are some people who are trying to force Anna into selling her property, but she doesn't want to. There are people who are breaking into her buildings, and even caused her to get into a car accident. All the Knight men come to her rescue and they save they day.

Even though Ethan and Anna were in love, they took way too long to express it to each other. She was waiting for Ethan to say it first, and I think he was waiting for the same thing. I expect that sort of thing in historicals, but not contemporaries.

You probably can't tell from all my complaints, but I did enjoy this book. I don't think there will be any more books in this series, but if another should ever be written (a story for Daniel the game warden I hope) I'd buy it.