The Wilder Sisters Hardback - 1999

Set in Floralee, New Mexico, The Wilder Sisters introduces two sisters who fall in love with men when they least expect it--and most need it. Rose, at forty, the older, more practical one, lost her husband two years earlier when he was killed by a drunk driver, leaving her in New Mexico with two ungrateful twentysomething kids, a bored dog, and a horse with a bad back. Employed as a bookkeeper to a local veterinarian, Rose and her boss, Dr. Austin Donavan, share a love of animals and an intimate yet platonic friendship, each staving off the urge to initiate a romantic relationship. Austin is a man with an ex-wife and a drinking problem, and Rose is trying to block out the bad memories of an unfaithful husband.

Lily, the beautiful, younger, more daring sister, lives in a tiny condo in Southern California with her cherished dog, Buddy Guy. A woman who has put her career before everything else, she has had more than her share of selfish lovers but has yet to have a taste of love. Each woman needs a well-deserved break from the stresses of her personal and professional life. Lily flees to El Rancho Costa Plente, their parents' ranch in Floralee, for some emotional detox, leaving all responsibility behind in California. At the same time Rose, weary of caring for Austin and aching from the departure of her two nearly grown children, sets out for the ranch to take a much-needed vacation. A time-out from their problems would seem to be the perfect cure for what ails the Wilder sisters. But the two haven't spoken in five long years, and spending time together is the last thing they'd planned. Nor had either anticipated being so actively pursued by lovestruck men--Rose by her boss, and Lily by an old boyfriend who has grown even sexier over the years.

The Wilder sisters are earthy, smart, and strong-willed yet surprisingly vulnerable Western women. Readers will be in their corner all the way as they rediscover the bonds of sisterhood and slowly open their hearts to love.