The Perfect Tree - New Worlders, #2

Escaping New York City, Jack Doss—now Sean Culyan—and Caitlin Walsh live the golden life on a ranch above the Owens Valley in California. Married now for fifteen years and after a harrowing beginning, their love has grown to encompass four children, the horse ranch Jack always wanted.

Everything is just about perfect.

At least it would be if ten-year-old Finn Gallagher wasn't now twenty-six and still a pain in Sean's ass. Finn loves women and women adore Finn. He's having the time of his life. Then he meets and falls in love with Lupe, a Latino woman, the daughter of Sean's foreman.

In a vain effort to separate the two, Sean sends Finn to Los Angeles with four horses purchased by a movie studio for their growing stock of cowboy movies. Finn and Lupe defy orders and meet up. Together they go to L.A. where Finn finds himself helping a hot-headed movie director make riders out of his actors, a losing proposition. When the riding lessons fail, Finn is drafted.

Before they return to the ranch they marry. He promises to finish one more film. Lupe is homesick and though Finn would never say it, so is he. What he wanted all along was for Sean, the only man he knew as a father, to respect him and love him. Sean is still upset over his marriage to a Mexican.

Caitlin is distraught, so is Lupe's mother. Finn ignores all of them and kneels beside the bed, holding Lupe's hands and begging her not to die. Seeing how devoted Finn was to the woman no one wanted him to marry makes them all realize he really isn't the smart ass. He's a good man, who has proven himself in his love for his wife. Even Lupe's parents are less hostile.