I love to find buried treasures. When I picked up this book with its silly title and cheesy, anacronistic cover (I assume those were supposed to be candles on that Christmas tree but they sure looked like electric lights to me), I didn’t have my hopes up for a good book. To my complete surprise, A Cowboy For Christmas turned out to be a an utter delight. While the plot wasn’t terribly original, the characters and the storytelling were simply superb and lifted this book out of the ordinary into the unforgettable.

Robin Matthews is the oldest of four children (she’s almost 20) and the mainstay of her family’s ranch. Ever since her mother and father were killed in an accident, she and her younger siblings have worked to keep the land they love. Her efforts to keep the ranch are constantly in danger from her rich and greedy neighbor, Vance Sutherland, who wants the Matthews’ land. He has the sheriff and the town tradesmen in his pocket (they are afraid to sell Robin supplies) and his foreman, Rick Dyer even tried to rape Robin to force her to sell. But Robin is strong, stubborn and determined to hold on to her land.

When Sutherland tries to rustle Robin’s cattle, she takes off after them and is wounded in the chase. Robin is rescued by Nathaniel Hollister, an ex-U.S. Marshal. Nathaniel resigned his office after a shootout resulted in the death of an innocent woman. Ever since, he has wandered and considers himself a rootless and heartless man. When he discovers Robin’s plight, Nathaniel can’t leave her alone and he signs on as a temporary hand.

The rest of the story tells how Robin and Nathaniel struggle to keep the ranch and bring Sutherland to justice. Along the way, they fall in love of course. This is a story that has been told many, many times, but DeForest brings it to new life through skillful storytelling and wonderful characters.

Robin rides around the ranch doing outdoor work while wearing men’s clothing. In the hands of an ordinary writer, she would be just another feisty chick. But she’s not. Robin truly loves ranch work and is honest about her preference for wielding a branding iron rather than a flatiron. But she can and does cheerfully help her sister with the cooking and cleaning when needed. When Nathaniel comes into her life, Robin discovers a yearning to be feminine, but (thank goodness) she does not go all helpless and girly. She takes pleasure in wearing a green silk dress for a dance and is pleased when Nathaniel calls her beautiful, but she still rides the range and works hard. Nathaniel respects her for her ranching skills and callused hands as well as her beauty.

Nathaniel is more of a stock character – the strong silent man who has been kicking himself for causing an innocent to be killed. He’s too old, too jaded and he’s been with Bad Women, so he is unworthy to be with the sweet and innocent Robin. How many times have we met this man? Nathaniel was so determined to keep himself in a state of unhappiness, I’ll admit, there were times I wanted to shake him. However, the growing sexual and personal attraction between him and Robin is very well depicted and it is sweet to watch him fight his true feelings. I ended up liking Nathaniel very much – such a sweet, tortured man!

Where A Cowboy For Christmas really shines is the treatment of the secondary characters and the villains. The townspeople have an integral part in the story and are not just there to add color. I have to mention the school teacher Mrs. Beachem. She is a brave woman of deep integrity and a shrewd judge of character. Mrs. Beachem’s good opinion of Nathaniel is one factor that causes him to see himself in a more favorable light. She is a memorable character. The villains are especially well-done. While Sutherland’s foreman, Rick Dyer is as vicious a villain as can be, he has reasons for his actions that are plausable – although not forgivable. As for Vance Sutherland, by the end of the book you will know why he is the kind of person he is and you will probably even pity him. These are not just villains who act bad simply because they are villains.

Since my experiences with the Western romance have not been all that good in the recent past, I didn’t expect a lot from A Cowboy For Christmas. I was so pleasantly surprised that I dub this book my Big Discovery for the year 2000. I will definitely be on the lookout for any future books by Anna DeForest – anyone who can breathe life into the Western romance is someone I want to see more of.