With Open Arms (The Cutteridge Series Book 2)

Cindy Nord has once again painted a picture so graphic with details that the reader can't help but feel they are riding along side the characters. From the moment Jackson Neale first appears on the Dos Caballos ranch, the reader is drawn deeper and deeper into a love story that unfolds just as delicate as rose when it's opening in the sunlight. Like each petal of the rose, Jackson peels away the years of roughness and heartache that make Callie Cutteridge the cold and elusive hellion she portrays. Callie's hurt runs so deep that she even denies herself the simplest of pleasures and the of basic needs. She had to give up the life of the lady to lead the life of the ranch owner at a very early age when her family was killed by the Apache. Her fear of loving anyone far out weighs her loneliness. Her need to prove that she needs no one leaves a hole in her sole that no one was going to fill. Little did she know that Jackson Neale would enter into her life and unravel every emotion she had hidden and every feeling she had pushed aside. Through their verbal battles with one another and their own desires to make the ranch a success, they managed to find one another and a love that stands the test of time. Reminiscent of the love affair between Rhett Butler and Scarlet O'Hara, Jackson Neale and Callie Cutteridge weave a happier ending where they each do "give a damn" and find their happy ending in a raw Arizona dessert, where the story will continue..

Exciting, passionate, full of authentic period detail, WITH OPEN ARMS by Cindy Nord brings the post-Civil War West alive with fully realized characters who virtually leap from the pages of the book.Ex-Union Major Jackson Neale has had enough of war and the rough life of a soldier. From a prosperous family, he nevertheless has no interest in returning to a civilized but constricted Eastern life. He looks forward to a new start as an Arizona horse rancher, half-owner of Dos Caballos Ranch. Unfortunately, what he finds when he arrives at Dos Caballos is hellion Callie Cutteridge, so angry at her brother Reece (from NO GREATER GLORY) for selling his share in the ranch that she's spitting nails, and spitting them straight at her unwanted new partner, Jackson. Meanwhile, desperate Apache raiders, determined to reclaim their ancestral lands from encroaching settlers, are an ever-growing, deadly threat in the territory.This is an engaging and exciting read grounded in the conflict among Indian tribes and settlers that existed in the Southwest in the late 1860s, and also in the natural dangers, hardships, and challenges of that era. Ms. Nord has also created a rich tapestry of characters from different walks of life and from different backgrounds and cultures. Her expertise in the fashions of Victorian America adds layers of authenticity to one of my favorite scenes in the novel: rough-and-ready Callie determinedly taking lessons in how to be a refined, tea-sipping, ever-so-proper lady.A delightful, exciting, and involving historical romance, WITH OPEN ARMS is a winner!

With Open Arms by Cindy Nord is filled with passion, danger and one 'hellion' of a heroine. Callie shares ownership of the family ranch with her brother, Reece. To her horror, Reece has sold his half of the ranch to Jackson Neale, an honorable man who served beneath Reece in the Civil War. When Jackson shows up to claim his half of the ranch, Callie is anything but the friendly, caring woman Reece promised her to be. The sparks and the mistrust sizzle between Callie and Jackson from the moment they meet; Jackson is more than ready to work the ranch, and wants peace after life on the battlefield. Callie wants him gone, as in yesterday, and doesn't let him forget it.Jackson is just about as loveable as a hero can get. He's strong, honest, and charming. Callie took a bit for me to warm up to, but once Ms. Nord started peeling away Callie's layers and the reason for her hellion actions and vicious tongue, she proved to be strong of character, compassionate and someone you'd want covering your back. The chemistry between Jackson and Callie is explosive. With Ole Gus to keep the peace and reign in Callie's temper, and Cochise's son's destructive path of revenge highlighting the dangers of living in Arizona during this era, With Open Arms proved to be an enjoyable, rush of adrenaline read.

In this second book in the Cutteridge series this author once again completely swept me away and into the wonderful and well researched and very accurate history of Americas past. I highly recommend this book and this author to everyone who loves American history along with a beautiful and romantic story with characters you will absolutely love, as well as a few that you will not care for!! Once again this book left me very happy and very anxious to get busy reading the next book in the Cutteridge series!!! Fantastic book, Cindy Nord is a great author who is very thorough in her research and the historical timelines are very accurate and I as the reader really likes the detail and history just as much as I have grown to love the cast of characters!!!! This is a book you just cannot put down until the last words, and then you can't wait for more!!!

Absolutely fab read, after reading the first book I couldn,t wait to get this one, have just finished it and could not recommend it more. Cindy Nord really puts you out there in the wild west and her way with words has the characters emotions running through your body, excitement, passion and great historical context.

Really good story could not put it down

Lead male was a womanizer, a turn off for me, was not near the man that Reece was in book one. Lead female was a shrew at the start, but turned out to ‘easy ‘just like all the other women this Romeo has taken to his bed. Did not feel the love, just male dominance and a sexually weak willed woman.