Megan Kendall has been good friends with Chase Barrett for over 20 years, since he rescued her from a bully when she was eight and new to the small town of Paxton, Texas. Chase never showed any romantic interest in her, so when she went away to college she tried to forget him. A year ago, now nearly 30, Megan moved back to Paxton to be head librarian.

Chase, now a successful rancher, has always enjoy a lot of success with the local ladies and Megan, tired of apparently being the only woman he isn’t interested in, decides to take drastic action. With the help of Leigh, Chase’s younger sister, Megan finagles Chase into co-chairing a fund-raising carnival with her. This has the added benefit of ensuring that they have lots of help, since every single woman in town now wants to be on the committee with Chase as well.

Thereafter follows a pleasant, but fairly predictable story as Chase first declares that he doesn’t want to risk his friendship with Megan by changing things, then finds himself wondering what color underwear she has on and resenting the possibility that other men might find her attractive.

In spite of Megan’s repeated requests for Chase’s family to stay out of their business, the other Barretts, and Leigh in particular, can’t help sticking their oars in because it’s clear to them that Megan and Chase belong together, even if Chase is reluctant to admit it.

In Nabbing Nathan, Leigh makes short work of another brother’s bachelorhood when she brings her friend Hailey home from college for the summer. Hailey needs a summer job and a place to live while she finishes her doctoral thesis in English. Leigh has promised that her brother, Nathan, will give her a temporary job as a technical writer with his successful software firm. There’s also a little apartment over his garage where he’ll let her live.

Just one problem, surprise, surprise, carefree Leigh doesn’t actually clear any of this with Nathan, and just shows up with an embarrassed Hailey in tow.

Nathan is a good guy, though, and doesn’t see any reason to punish Hailey for his sister’s flighty ways, so he agrees. Although there isn’t a technical writing job, Nathan does need a temporary assistant and, since Hailey’s pretty cute, he thinks he’d like that better than having her work in personnel.

Thereafter follows a pleasant but fairly predictable story as Nathan and Hailey first try denying their attraction because it wouldn’t be appropriate for Nathan to have a relationship with his assistant and tenant, then because she’s leaving for a job at an Eastern college in the fall.

In fact, neither story has any convincing conflict; they’re really just two nice stories of two nice couples falling love with some cute family hijinks thrown in. The lack of tension would have been more of a problem in a longer book that needed more meat to keep a reader’s interest, but as it was, the stories were over before you realized how insubstantial they were.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. There’s a reason fairs and circuses sell lots of candy floss - it’s a nice treat every once in a while and a break from heavier fare. It just isn’t all that satisfying.

P.S. There’s a very funny typo at the bottom of page 310. I think that’s supposed to be genteel.

--Judi McKee