The Last True Cowboy
Chestnut Creek, Book #1
By Laura Drake
ISBN: 9781538746431
Author Website: LauraDrakeBooks(.)com
Spoilers!
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Caro
Review:
An apology to the author for a very late review.
Carly knows her relationship with Austin is not moving to the next level. Austin keeps saying that next year will be the final one, next year he’ll settle down, but it’s been next year for a while and Carly can’t keep on waiting for him forever. Carly has her grandparents and their family diner to think of. She is the breadwinner and the person who keeps the diner afloat. If she keeps on waiting for Austin, she will never figure out what she really wants to do with her life. So, when she decides to take a weekend off and go to Albuquerque, have drinks and some fun, the unexpected happens. Now, Carly not only has to worry about her own life but a baby’s life too.
Carly struggles knowing she’s pregnant, especially when the baby is not Austin’s and everyone will eventually think it’s his once she starts showing. She calls an old friend for advice and decides to take a vacation working at her friend’s food truck to clear her mind and make much needed decisions. While on the road, she meets Nevada, a young girl on probation with a bad temper and in need of guidance as well.
Meanwhile, Austin realizes he is not getting younger. Riding bulls is becoming more difficult with each event, he’s not able to concentrate and his close friends are settling down. Austin finds out about the baby and feels betrayed. Anger and frustration leads to him losing concentration while riding causing a minor accident which makes Austin take a break from the circuit. Back home, Austin can’t stop thinking about how he still has feelings for Carly, but pregnancy has made Carly change, not making it easy for Austin to get close to her again.
It was frustrating reading about Carly’s love life and baby situation and how her life was micromanaged by everyone in town, they all seemed to have a say on what she did or not. I just wanted to be her friend and help her out. No one believed her actions and how she tried to move on from Austin, somewhat pressuring her into doing some of the things that led her to Albuquerque. In a way, she did need time off and away from Austin, the town, and her workplace to clear her mind and visualize her future.
Austin thought Carly would always be waiting for him with open arms no matter how many times he said next year. It wasn’t until he lost her that he actually realized how bad of a boyfriend he had become. He also thought that Carly would always be the same person all her life. When Austin saw how having a baby had made Carly mature and rethink her life, in a way it helped Austin mature too, make plans for his own future out of the circuit, and fix his relationship with his brother.
Several characters interfere in their relationship, which even made me as the reader feel pressured and suffocated, can’t imagine how someone pregnant would feel. It took a while for Carly to rethink what her future plans would look like with a baby and no father in the picture, but at the end she managed well. She also had the support of her family and closest friends. It took Austin a little more time to come to terms with the idea of caring for a child that wasn’t his.
I still have hope the baby is actually his 🙂
This book was tense! I couldn’t decide with whom to side with. Carly had waited so long for Austin and spent her teens and twenties supporting mostly Austin’s dream not really having one for herself. When she becomes pregnant, the reader realizes how much Austin loves her and wishes that somehow they would have talked it out instead of assuming each other’s thoughts. Communication was not a key element towards the end of their relationship.
At the end, Carly and Austin resolved their lives not only as a romantic couple, but as friends as well. And the town was right! Carly and Austin 4 ever! If you like baby drama, town drama, and some cowboy romance this is the book for you.
