Jeannie Watt

Author Archive

Harlequin Superromance
July 2010

Once and for All

Take care of her father’s ranch for a few weeks? No problem. Jodie De Vanti is a successful lawyer, so how hard could it be to oversee a bunch of cows?

Turns out it’s pretty hard…especially when she has to beg for help from Sam Hyatt, the vet her father almost ruined. Between her father’s new prize horse getting injured and his prize bull going belly-up, not to mention the cows that are calving, she’d be done if not for Sam.

And just to make things more interesting, he’s the first man who’s fascinated her in a long time. If these sparks between them mean anything, that attraction goes both ways.

ROMANTIC TIMES MAGAZINE REVIEW

ONCE AND FOR ALL (4) by Jeannie Watt: When vet Sam Hyatt agrees to help Jodie De Vanti with the animals on her father’s ranch, everyone thinks he’s crazy since Jodie’s father nearly bankrupted him with a false incompetency lawsuit. But Jodie is nothing like her father, and Sam and Jodie experience an attraction that grows stronger. Unfortunately, Jodie is filled with guilt and unsure they can have a relationship. She fears she inadvertently contributed to the death of Sam’s brother and sister-in-law by a drunk driver — leaving Sam the guardian of twin teenage nephews — by getting a Vegas bigwig out of a DUI charge. Watt offers an interesting plot and nicely drawn, realistic characters with real problems. Jodie’s guilt over the deaths is realistically depicted, as is Sam’s own hesitation to deal with Jodie after her father’s lawsuit.

Reviewed By: Alexandra Kay

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“Sam! It’s the Barton ranch. Emergency.”
Sam Hyatt looked up from his desk, where he was organizing the scattered papers into priority piles. He’d spent almost three minutes trying to catch up on at least five days worth of paperwork. “Tell them I’m not available.” He couldn’t believe Joe Barton had the balls to call.
Katie Murray nodded with satisfaction and walked back into her part of the vet clinic before saying in her professional tone, “I’m sorry. Dr. Hyatt isn’t available.”
Sam could hear the voice on the other end of the line from where he sat, and it wasn’t the owner of the Zephyr Valley Ranch. The voice belonged to a woman.
“I’m sorry. He’s not available.” More squawking, then Katie said haughtily, “So why don’t you sue us? Oh, yeah. I forgot. It didn’t work out very well for you the last time, did it?”
Sam stood and crossed the office in a few long strides.
“Katie.” His tech glanced back at him, her strawberry-blond ponytail swinging over her shoulder. She had good old Irish fight in her eyes. “I’ll handle this.” He took the phone. “Sam Hyatt.”
“Dr. Hyatt. This is Jodie De Vanti.” She needn’t have identified herself. He could tell it was her by the frost in her voice, the way the phone receiver was growing cold in his hand. “I have a horse with a gaping wound on its shoulder and chest and it needs to be stitched. Now.”
“Then you’d better call Dr. Stewart.”
“Dr. Stewart is also out.” He could tell she suspected a conspiracy…and with good reason. No vet wanted to go to the Barton spread after what had happened to Sam.
“Sorry. You might try one of the vets in Elko.”
Sam was ready to put the phone down when Jodie blurted, “Don’t you take some kind of Hippocratic oath? Don’t you owe something to this animal?” Read the rest of this entry »