Barefoot at Moonrise

Our Review

Captain Kenneth “Ken” Cavanaugh is a forty-three-year-old EMT certified firefighter. He reunites with an old high school sweetheart while attending the dreaded Mimosa High School Reunion committee meetings. Bethany Endicott gives Ken the impression that she wants nothing to do with him. He manages to find Beth alone to apologize for his hurtful words twenty-five years ago and convinces her to spend one night with him. After a month or two without any contact, she unexpectedly shows up at his station with stunning news. Ken offers to lend Beth a helping hand in renovating her newest project in hopes of getting closer to her. Past grudges resurface and threaten to destroy any possibility of a future.

Bethany “Beth” Endicott strives to be independent from her wealthy family’s machinations and their successful corporation. She operates her own business of renovating homes and then reselling them. Seeing Kenny Cavanaugh at the reunion dredges up old, painful memories for Beth. When he seeks her out to talk, Bethany accepts his apology and agrees to spend one night with him. The impossible happens, leaving Beth to deliver the news to Ken. Kenneth insists on being a part of their child’s life; however, the truth of his father’s death threatens to derail that possibility.

I loved Ken from the first time he appeared in BAREFOOT IN SUNSET. He is a total sweetheart with his fair share of flaws and shortcomings. Ken is a man who knows what he wants out of life and he is not afraid to work to achieve that goal. I adore his unwavering persistence; first, in his pursuit to speak with Beth in order to apologize for his words twenty-five years ago, despite his ill feelings toward her father and Endicott Development Corporation. Secondly, Ken’s insistence on being a prominent figure in his child’s life. He respects Bethany’s need for independence and only interjects when he worries about her or the baby’s health and well-being. I love how Beth’s ultimatum gives Ken the kick-in-the-butt he needs to finally put the past behind them, especially when the truth of his father’s death is revealed.

I respect Bethany’s fight for independence. She comes from a prominent and wealthy family; however, Beth does not allow money or her family’s prestige to color her views. I admire how she wants to stand on her own, rather than to rely on her father’s influence to make it in life. Bethany occasionally annoyed me with her stubborn insistence that the baby belongs solely to her, especially after the epiphany she has after her younger brother’s revelation of being a new father. She does redeem herself in my eyes on her willingness to spare Ken further heartache on the father he emulated when the truth of the accident is revealed. I like the stipulation Bethany demands for Ken after discovering the full truth about his father.

BAREFOOT AT MOONRISE is book two in Roxanne St. Claire’s latest contemporary series, BAREFOOT BAY TIMELESS. I love how this book immediately picks up where the previous left off, near to the end of Mimosa High School’s All Years Reunion. I like how the author lays down the foundation of Bethany and Kenneth’s story first in BAREFOOT AT SUNSET. My only complaint is that Mark Solomon, the hero of the first book, appears once in the entire book and Emma is mentioned. I wish they had a more hands-on role in this story because I missed them.

BAREFOOT AT MOONRISE is a heart-warming story of a couple’s second chance to finally put their twenty-five-year-old unfinished business to rest. I love how fate and destiny intervenes to make certain Bethany and Ken’s future remains intertwined. I am sad that there is one silver fox remaining, but I cannot wait to read the tattooed, bad-boy Law’s book.