Cowboy with a Cause by Carla Cassidy

From Goodreads:

I'd apologize for kissing you, but I'm not all that sorry...

Dancer Melanie Brooks had escaped small-town Oklahoma, giving up the country for Broadway's bright lights. Yet after her mother's funeral called her back, her own health issues forced her to stay. Now her tenant, too-hot-for-his-own-good Adam Benson, is giving her a reason to dance again. But has a killer set his sights on her, too?

Adam knows a little something about fresh starts. As for his beautiful neighbor, he doesn't see a wheelchair he sees a woman who understands. But as the heat grows between them, he can't avoid the feeling that more than her big-city past haunts her and that danger has been lurking, waiting to strikes.

My Take:

I'm a sucker for cowboys, don't know why, but I am. I even devoured Louis L'Amour books in high school. Anyway, Adam had all the hero factor he needed to make this story work. Melanie's health issues came on very fast, and at times (just the beginning) I wondered if they could come on that fast, but in the end I didn't even care. The chemistry between her and Adam was wonderful. (I later learned from the author that this disease often does happen very quickly.)

My favorite part of the story though was the suspense. How creepy to know someone is watching you, judging you--and then deciding that you don't get to live. I loved that Adam brought out Melanie's own strength. He was the hero by helping her realize that she could save herself. That's something girls don't get a lot of these days--you can be beautiful, feminine and strong as nails.

(Note: It's been several months since I read this so I can't remember how many scenes there were. I think there was at least one I had to skip.)

I really enjoyed this story. I give it a 4.5 for the creep factor of the suspense.

1-5 scale and what it means:
1: I couldn’t even finish it / just plain bad
2: I hope I didn’t pay for this / disappointing
3: I didn’t hate it, but it was still missing something / forgettable but inoffensive
3.5: On the line between good and ok / like, not love
4: Solid mind candy / worth reading
4.5: So very close to perfection! / must read
5: I could not put it down and I’m still thinking about it! / a true treasure