“Along Came Jones” by Linda Windsor

A red horse, or sorrel, running wild in Montana ranch land drives Deanna Manetti off the road, with her foreign sports car pretty well banged up and undriveable. She finds herself being ministered to by what looks at first to be a mountain man – scruffy and smelly. The mountain man is actually an ex-U.S. marshal, Shephard Jones, living on what he hopes will become a horse ranch. The ranch is adjacent to the old ghost town of Hopewell.

Deanna happens to be on the run – from police, from her former boyfriend who framed her to take the fall for a money-laundering operation, and even agents the Drug Enforcement Administration. What she doesn’t know is that a Canadian drug lord is also after her, believing she knows where the $3 million her former boyfriend (and boss) stole from him. It doesn’t help her security that one of the DEA agents is working for the drug lord. 

A New York City girl transplanted to Great Falls, Montana, Manetti is convinced to come to Shephard’s ranch, at least until her car is fixed (it was his loose horse that caused her to crash). Once he cleans up, the mountain man turns out to quite a looker. Electricity flows; sparks fly. 

Along Came Jones by Linda Windsor tells the story of Deanna and Shephard. It’s equal parts romance, comedy, and suspense, with a healthy dose of horse ranching thrown in. It’s the story of two people almost instantly attracted to each other but both of whom having reasons not to trust the other. And it’s the story of how people can live out a life based on faith.

Linda Windsor

Windsor has published more than 30 novels in the romance, historical romance, and Christian romance genres. She’s won a number of awards, including from the Romance Writers of America, National Reader’s Choice Awards, Aspen Golds, Barclay Golds, and a Christian Booksellers Association Christy Award. She lives in Maryland.

Along Came Jones is an entertaining story of a city girl and a cowboy discovering each other and learning that they’re an intellectual and even emotional match – after a great deal of funny banter and a host of villains looking to do them in.

Top photograph: A ghost town in Montana, similar to “Hopewell,” featured in the book. Image by Marc Averette via Wikimedia Commons. Used with permission.