Finished McKettricks of Texas: Austin by Linda Lael Miller. This is the second book in Miller’s contemporary western trilogy about three McKettrick brothers.

When the senator that Garrett McKettrick works for becomes involved in a political scandal, he heads back to the family ranch in Texas to sort some things out. To his surprise, Julie Remington and her young son are staying at the ranch while their house is fumigated since Julie’s sister is engaged to Garrett’s brother (the trilogy focuses on three sisters and three brothers). Garrett and Julie become involved, but Julie fears that Garrett will soon leave the ranch to go back to work for the senator …

Miller is one of those authors whose books are like comfort food to me. They’re just warm and filling. You know where the story is going every step of the way, but Miller’s writing style and the emotions of her characters really elevate the books to another level for me. I like her style so much that I feel a major glom of her backlist coming on.

Julie and Garrett are both likable characters with real problems — the father of Julie’s son now wants to establish some kind of relationship with the boy, while Garrett feels betrayed and embarrassed that the senator is not the man that he thought he was. It’s a pleasure watching how these two overcome their problems and forge a new life together.

I like this one even better than the first book in the series. Thumbs up.

Up next: Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch.

Books in my TBR pile: About 15.