Coulda Been a Cowboy by Brenda Novak

From the back cover:

Grandpa Garnier used to say: Love is like a bucking bronco. It takes guts and determination to hang on, but it’s worth the ride.

If only Grandpa was around now to help Tyson Garnier out of this mess. The famous pro football player is suddenly saddled with a very public scandal--and an illegitimate child. Tyson needs a good nanny now if he’s going to salvage his career. And plain, no-nonsense Dakota Brown is the ideal candidate.

Dakota doesn’t care for football–or for a man who doesn’t seem to want his own son. But she needs this job and that precious little baby needs her.

Dakota isn’t Tyson’s kind of woman. But the more he sees of her—and the more he sees of his son—the harder he wants to hang on.

One of my guilty pleasures is reading Harlequin's. They're just good. Well, most of them are. When I want to read a love story that is just a love story, I read a Harlequin.

This is the latest installment in Brenda Novak's Dundee, Idaho series. I did not start reading this series because I live in Idaho. No, seriously I didn't. I wouldn't recommend reading this book if you haven't read the preceeding books.

Tyson Garnier is a jerk of a football player. He doesn't pretend to be what he's not. He wants to live his carefree bachelor life and has no qualms about admiting it. So when an old girlfriend turns up and says that he has a nine month old son, Tyson is dismayed. Actually, dismayed is too milded of a word for what Tyson feels. He would have had no problem paying child support and not seeing his son. Ever. I had a hard time with that at first, but then I felt a teeny tiny bit of respect that he could admit that. He hired a private investigator to follow Rachelle (his baby's momma) around and what he learned prompted him to pay her a million dollars for custody of a baby he didn't want.

Enter Dakota. Tyson knows that he will never feel attracted to her. She's frumy and overweight. She also doesn't seem to be impressed with his fame, which is a point in her favor. When he hires Dakota as his son, Braden's nanny, Ty knows he made the best decision for both him and Braden. It's actually pretty funny about how Ty intially feels about Braden. While it's obvious to the reader that Braden just wants his daddy, Ty feels like this nine month old baby is out to get him.

Dakota has her own problems. Almost her whole life, she has had to take care of her father. Dakota knows that it is soley her fault that her dad is as he is. When she was 10 years old, he risked his life to save hers. So she knows she'll never be able to leave him. Unfortunatley he gets increasingly violent and drunk. The Police Chief of Dundee has had it with Dakota's dad. Because her dad only seems to be that violatle when Dakota is around, he tells Dakota that he will not press charges against her father (for various things) if she moves out. As you can imagine, Ty is thrilled to hear this because he just got a live-in caretaker for Braden.

Dakota falls more in love with Braden every day. She soon realizes that she is starting to feel something for Ty, too. She doesn't want him to know it, though. She starts working out and Ty immediately notices. I guess she had to lose weight for him to notice her as a woman. Because Ty knows that he will never settle down and he also knows that Dakota will want to settle down, he starts planning on a way to marry Dakota off. What ensues is actually pretty humorous.

You also have Braden's mom who has realized that the money train has stopped and decides that she wants Braden back. So she starts making all these absurd accusations that don't seem so absurd when they end up on the front page. Ty is soon in jeporady of not only losing his sponsers, but also his whole football career. He also realizes that not only will he fight to keep Braden, but he will fight to keep Dakota, too. Aw.

I love this series. There is just a real small town feel that Novak really gets across well. One thing that bugged me was how Dakota was driving Ty's Ferarri with Braden in the front seat. First, it's just ridiculous to think of a carseat in a Ferarri. Second, carseats don't go in the front seat. Ever. So that's my mom tip of the day. LOL

4 out of 5 stars