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Way Out West #3
Colorado Protector
Cowboys make the best protectors—don't miss this sexy and suspenseful classic from New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis!Haley Whitfield needed a place to hide, and the secluded Circle C ranch seemed perfect. But its owner, Cameron Reeves, could tell Haley was hiding something. The handsome cowboy sensed she was in trouble and promised her his protection.Haley wanted to take it. In fact, she wanted everything Cam had to offer—his kisses, his touch, his body. But he believed in honesty. And sharing the truth with Cam might just put him in the path of a killer� Previously Published as Hiding Out At The Circle C.
196 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1998
50 people are currently reading
548 people want to read
About the author
Jill Shalvis
282Ìýbooks13.6kÌýfollowersNew York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis writes contemporary romance and romantic comedies filled with madcap adventures and shenanigans and sexy times. (just don’t tell her mom). She’s sold 20 million plus copies worldwide to date and lives with her family in a small mountain town near Lake Tahoe full of quirky characters (Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is mostly coincidental).
Look for Jill's bestselling, award-winning novels wherever books are sold. Visit for a complete book list and fun blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.
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Look for Jill's bestselling, award-winning novels wherever books are sold. Visit for a complete book list and fun blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.
Connect with Jill:
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
May 28, 2018
I really like Jill Shalvis contemporaries but so far I have had mixed luck with her old categories. The issues I think have mainly stemmed from her heroines who I haven't liked much. Now this book featured a really good family, the hero and his two brothers and sister-in-law. The problem once again was the heroine and how she kept her secrets for so long and her flair for running. So, the heroine is a genius who never had anyone to love or care for her. To the people around her only her intellect mattered. When her life's work is used to murder people she runs and finds a kind-hearted soul, the hero's pregnant sister-in-law who offers the heroine a job and refuge at their ranch. The hero owns the ranch but makes furniture. From the start the hero/heroine share a connection that scares them both, the heroine because of her inexperience and the danger she is running from. The hero because he knows she is lying, and he hates liars because of his now dead wife who was a liar. There is a lot of push & pull which could be annoying. The resolution of the peril the heroine was in was a little too easy but a nice read. I wish Jill had written stories for Zach, the lawyer in training bro as well.
December 1, 2015
While working in Peru, geologist Haley Whitfield develops a method of predicting earthquakes which the bad guys steal and use to cause earthquakes. She must escape from Peru and go into hiding because she is being blamed for causing said earthquakes and the bad guys want her, too. This is one of those novels which make you want to pitch them across the room (except that might break my Kindle) and I couldn’t get beyond chapter one. There were just too many WTFs in Chapter one alone.
1. In this novel, very shortly after Haley invents a method of predicting earthquakes, bad guys somehow use the system to cause an earthquake. How did they know she developed this system? …access it? …know it could be used to cause as well as predict such tremors? � have whatever the technology and/or expertise required to cause tremors? have a reason to cause tremors? (The only reason given was that they could make money off it.) Okay, I was willing to keep reading and see if there was any reasonable explanation for all this but�
2. When Haley catches the first plane out of the country and arrives in LA with only the clothes on her back, she meets a pregnant woman at the LA airport who can tell that Haley is terrified and feels certain Haley is on the run. When they land in Colorado, this woman wants to help Haley by taking her in. So she convinces her brother-in-law Cam (who is there to pick her up) to hire Haley as a housekeeper at their ranch. Cam can also tell Haley is on the run and that she is terrified and so he agrees. Now, seriously, Haley could be a murder, a terrorist, a bank robber, a psychotic, a member of an organized crime family, whatever. Wouldn’t the owner of a big time ranch would want to have some idea of what kind of trouble this terrified and clearly on-the-run complete stranger was in before he took her to his isolated ranch with his pregnant sister-in-law? Wouldn’t you feel it important to know what kind of enemy you might be bringing to your family? What havoc this woman might cause?
3. And, why doesn’t Haley tell someone in the U.S. about what has happened---her developing the system and someone using it for bad ends? We are told that is because Haley thinks that the U.S. Geology Survey staff think she wouldn’t be smart enough to develop a system to predict earthquakes and also because Haley doesn’t want to upset her mother. WTF? All of her colleagues were murdered, her office blown up, and she gets a text threatening her life from the bad guys. Wouldn’t you think that letting people know might be important enough to try to do something?
4. One further quibble: Haley gets money from the ATM at the LA airport so she can use cash and avoid having her credit cards tracked. She thinks she will be safe in Colorado because “she hadn’t used her real name when buying her ticket� to Colorado from LA. Except that she has no fake identity papers so this would obviously be impossible at any time since 9/11. This novel was originally published in 1998, but why didn’t the author do something to correct this huge 2015 error? Like give her some identity papers or let her catch a ride on the ranch’s private jet?
If you can live with all of this, maybe you would like this story.
1. In this novel, very shortly after Haley invents a method of predicting earthquakes, bad guys somehow use the system to cause an earthquake. How did they know she developed this system? …access it? …know it could be used to cause as well as predict such tremors? � have whatever the technology and/or expertise required to cause tremors? have a reason to cause tremors? (The only reason given was that they could make money off it.) Okay, I was willing to keep reading and see if there was any reasonable explanation for all this but�
2. When Haley catches the first plane out of the country and arrives in LA with only the clothes on her back, she meets a pregnant woman at the LA airport who can tell that Haley is terrified and feels certain Haley is on the run. When they land in Colorado, this woman wants to help Haley by taking her in. So she convinces her brother-in-law Cam (who is there to pick her up) to hire Haley as a housekeeper at their ranch. Cam can also tell Haley is on the run and that she is terrified and so he agrees. Now, seriously, Haley could be a murder, a terrorist, a bank robber, a psychotic, a member of an organized crime family, whatever. Wouldn’t the owner of a big time ranch would want to have some idea of what kind of trouble this terrified and clearly on-the-run complete stranger was in before he took her to his isolated ranch with his pregnant sister-in-law? Wouldn’t you feel it important to know what kind of enemy you might be bringing to your family? What havoc this woman might cause?
3. And, why doesn’t Haley tell someone in the U.S. about what has happened---her developing the system and someone using it for bad ends? We are told that is because Haley thinks that the U.S. Geology Survey staff think she wouldn’t be smart enough to develop a system to predict earthquakes and also because Haley doesn’t want to upset her mother. WTF? All of her colleagues were murdered, her office blown up, and she gets a text threatening her life from the bad guys. Wouldn’t you think that letting people know might be important enough to try to do something?
4. One further quibble: Haley gets money from the ATM at the LA airport so she can use cash and avoid having her credit cards tracked. She thinks she will be safe in Colorado because “she hadn’t used her real name when buying her ticket� to Colorado from LA. Except that she has no fake identity papers so this would obviously be impossible at any time since 9/11. This novel was originally published in 1998, but why didn’t the author do something to correct this huge 2015 error? Like give her some identity papers or let her catch a ride on the ranch’s private jet?
If you can live with all of this, maybe you would like this story.
November 29, 2015
I always enjoy a book by Jill! My only frustration, and was honestly a little surprised by, was all the typos in the book. This isn't typical of a Jill Shalvis book so I really wonder if it is just the version uploaded to Amazon for the kindle (since no one else has mentioned it yet in their review) and if they need to upload the correct version.
deals
January 9, 20168 January 2016:
September 16, 2017
Having read many books by Jill Shalvis, as soon as I started reading this one, I knew it must have been one of her first. It just didn't seem like her style at all: The plot was unbelievable, the dialogue stilted, the heroine unlikable. If not for the sexy Reeves brothers, I probably would have stopped reading. And don't even get me started on the typos - so, so many typos! Like hundreds of them. Most of them seemed to be from a conversion issue like when a computer is scanning words and misreads them - hurry becomes huny, turn become tum - but did no one proofread this after the text was converted?? It was so distracting from a book that was already having issues keeping me interested. A waste of my time. If you haven't read Jill Shalvis, do not start with this one!!
June 5, 2018
I would have rated this book a four but there were so many editing problems it almost made me quit reading the book. Originally published in 1998 I'm not sure if the editing problems were caused by the conversion to e-book or if they were there in the original publication. Cameron used to be a workaholic and now creates furniture on his own time table and lives with his family on his ranch. He's a widower who's former wife lied more than she spoke truth, he puts a high premium on honesty. Haley is a geologist who is on the run after she develops a system to detect and warn about earthquakes and volcanos that is turned into a weapon. She's hired on as his housekeeper, but they can tell she's in trouble. Her lies are driving him crazy but he can't help falling for her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2025
an older book. I usually enjoy Jill Shalvis and her lighthearted romances, but this one must have been done before she refined her craft. The typo's were numerous, the plot was thin, the characters were meh
June 8, 2017
typical romance novel
April 28, 2018
So. many. typos. Also you can tell this was a Harlequin book to begin with. Not bad just...eh.
January 4, 2020
A mystery love story. Awesome.
June 19, 2021
Enjoyed this one with a nice, fast plot and fun characters
January 21, 2022
Good story but the numerous typos were irritating to me.
February 20, 2017
Something about this story just wasn’t clicking with me. It’s not very long but I just couldn’t get into it and it took me a long time to finish. I love Jill Shalvis and have found, as I’m making my way through her library, that her older books are hit or miss.
There were a lot of problems with the heroine, Haley. Goodness! She’s lucky Cameron was so smitten because I would have walked away by the middle of the first week. Hot and cold is not even the right way to describe her. I kept trying to give her the benefit of the doubt due to her inexperience with love, both familial and friendly. Plus she wasn’t ever really taught how to socialize with her peers. But she has absolutely no common sense. Her thought process was so convoluted and just annoyed me to no end.
For the most part I liked Cam. The only thing I didn’t like about him is the way he pushed Haley when he knew she was skittish. Then also the way he kept forgiving her. I have to say that I love the rest of Cam’s family though. I don’t know if they are books about them, but if there are I would love to read them.
Sometimes, with books from before the turn of the century, it’s hard to overcome the lack of technology. This book happened to be one of those problems. There was a cell phone but it wasn’t prominent since when this was written they weren’t common. There was a pager that didn’t make sense to me since I never knew a pager that worked the way that one did. There wasn’t caller ID. There was just too much tech being used for the level of what tech was back then. It dated the story more than if there would have been no tech.
I absolutely hated the final showdown scene. Again, it made no sense to me. How certain people got places before other people. Where the enemy got some of the equipment he used. I was just hoping it would be over soon.
Again, I generally love Jill Shalvis. It pains me to rate this one so low but I have to be honest here. Seriously, if you’re going through her old library like I am this is one that can surely be skipped. If you haven’t read this author yet, might I suggest you start with Animal Magnetism instead. Trust me, you’ll fall in love with the work of Jill Shalvis if you do.
There were a lot of problems with the heroine, Haley. Goodness! She’s lucky Cameron was so smitten because I would have walked away by the middle of the first week. Hot and cold is not even the right way to describe her. I kept trying to give her the benefit of the doubt due to her inexperience with love, both familial and friendly. Plus she wasn’t ever really taught how to socialize with her peers. But she has absolutely no common sense. Her thought process was so convoluted and just annoyed me to no end.
For the most part I liked Cam. The only thing I didn’t like about him is the way he pushed Haley when he knew she was skittish. Then also the way he kept forgiving her. I have to say that I love the rest of Cam’s family though. I don’t know if they are books about them, but if there are I would love to read them.
Sometimes, with books from before the turn of the century, it’s hard to overcome the lack of technology. This book happened to be one of those problems. There was a cell phone but it wasn’t prominent since when this was written they weren’t common. There was a pager that didn’t make sense to me since I never knew a pager that worked the way that one did. There wasn’t caller ID. There was just too much tech being used for the level of what tech was back then. It dated the story more than if there would have been no tech.
I absolutely hated the final showdown scene. Again, it made no sense to me. How certain people got places before other people. Where the enemy got some of the equipment he used. I was just hoping it would be over soon.
Again, I generally love Jill Shalvis. It pains me to rate this one so low but I have to be honest here. Seriously, if you’re going through her old library like I am this is one that can surely be skipped. If you haven’t read this author yet, might I suggest you start with Animal Magnetism instead. Trust me, you’ll fall in love with the work of Jill Shalvis if you do.
May 30, 2022
This was a good quick read of cowboy love. It had just the right amount of love and spice.
Read
April 2, 2016Dr. Haley Whitfield youngest brilliant geologists on her team in Peru had just discovered that two of her five-member team had been murdered.
Motivated by adrenaline and fear.
Watching her back, feeling desperate and more frightened than she'd ever been, got on the first plane she could—to Los Angeles.
the phone messages from South America had her staggering to a chair, mindless of the crowd around her.
"Haley, I hope you've gone. They think you're responsible! Run, Haley. If you haven't already, run!" and even more terrifying:
"Come back or you're next."
So here she was, running for her life, a suspect in the bombing and the murders. Those were crimes for which, if extradited back to South America, she'd be executed swiftly.
What to do?
Following her new found friend Nellie, who offered a job on her family Ranch
Hiding out on the Circle C Ranch seemed the best safe haven.
Not to mention the growing attraction to the Ranch owner.
Humor and sparks fly between the two.
Motivated by adrenaline and fear.
Watching her back, feeling desperate and more frightened than she'd ever been, got on the first plane she could—to Los Angeles.
the phone messages from South America had her staggering to a chair, mindless of the crowd around her.
"Haley, I hope you've gone. They think you're responsible! Run, Haley. If you haven't already, run!" and even more terrifying:
"Come back or you're next."
So here she was, running for her life, a suspect in the bombing and the murders. Those were crimes for which, if extradited back to South America, she'd be executed swiftly.
What to do?
Following her new found friend Nellie, who offered a job on her family Ranch
Hiding out on the Circle C Ranch seemed the best safe haven.
Not to mention the growing attraction to the Ranch owner.
Humor and sparks fly between the two.
March 29, 2019
This book was not what I expected from Jill Shalvis. I liked it, but it was not what I was expecting. The typo errors were distracting; there is no witty banter and the sex is not quiet as steamy as some of her other stuff. Haley is a geologist on the run for her life after finding all her partners dead; knowing she is next, she is desperate and alone. She meets a pregnant woman on the plane from LA to Colorado who offers her a job as a cook/housekeeper at the family ranch. Haley takes the job hoping for a chance to clear her head and figure out her next steps. She soon realizes she has brought trouble to these people she has fallen in love with. She is willing to give up everything in order to save their lives but they refuse to let her go.
November 23, 2015
Cam's mind sometimes doesn't contemplate what his woman is saying, and you can tell his mind is generally on one thing, “well, I have to admit, it’s been a while since I—Since my barn days,� he finished tactfully, his meaning completely escaping her. He glanced at the bench she’d just cleared. “Uh, it’s pretty dirty in here, Haley.� Cam is quite the cocky man, "Cam pulled his head back a fraction. “Don’t want me, huh?� She was wrapped around him like cellophane on candy. She flushed." I love me some sexy cowboys and Cam was just really sexy.
December 4, 2015
Disappointing, but a good story
I have read many of Jill Shalvis' books but I am very disappointed in this one. Loved the story and the city were well defined.
But, since it is a reissue, I would have thought that the author just might have checked the book out to be sure it met her specifications. Guess not. The book is full of the wrong letters used and some words missing. No matter how good the book, that is very distracting to me. So, I guess I will not read any more reissues from Jill. I will just stick to the recent books with good editing.
I have read many of Jill Shalvis' books but I am very disappointed in this one. Loved the story and the city were well defined.
But, since it is a reissue, I would have thought that the author just might have checked the book out to be sure it met her specifications. Guess not. The book is full of the wrong letters used and some words missing. No matter how good the book, that is very distracting to me. So, I guess I will not read any more reissues from Jill. I will just stick to the recent books with good editing.
January 20, 2016
A great story
Loved the story but hated all the grammar errors the mis spellings and all the L's that were supposed to be I's. It really took away from reading of the story. I kept wondering if anyone really proofed the copy when it was put into digital format. I would give the story a 5 but due to all the errors I just had to give it a 3.
Loved the story but hated all the grammar errors the mis spellings and all the L's that were supposed to be I's. It really took away from reading of the story. I kept wondering if anyone really proofed the copy when it was put into digital format. I would give the story a 5 but due to all the errors I just had to give it a 3.
June 20, 2016
If I hadn't read the Lucky Harbor series before this book, I would've never continued reading her books. There are so many word errors (spelling, wrong word), Cameron comes across like a creeper, Haley is book smart but life dumb, and the plot points don't make sense or are very contrived. I slogged thru to see how it ended but it was torturous.
January 5, 2016
Obviously an older book that was republished. I have never been disappointed by a Jill Shalvis book but this one had no humor in it at all, which I come to associate with Jill's books. It was serious and at times I just wanted to punch Haley for being so dumb.
Want to read
May 25, 2016Originally published as
April 12, 2018
Story was great but too many typos
I liked the story. The typos made me want to quit reading it. There were a lot of them and some words were totally unreadable. Whomever typed up the e-book version didn't proofread.
I liked the story. The typos made me want to quit reading it. There were a lot of them and some words were totally unreadable. Whomever typed up the e-book version didn't proofread.
August 14, 2014
not bad. The heroine had some trust issues but I still like it.
December 5, 2015
I can't get enough of this author...everything she writes is perfect!
Read
January 12, 2016Miniseries:
January 16, 2016
This was a good story. Think I prefer some of the other series!
June 25, 2016
I love Jill Shalvis' work but this one was . . . ok. The kindle edition has TONS of typos that are extremely distracting. I think my problem was that the plot was unrelatable.
April 6, 2016
Love this book
From the beginning I was intrigued. It's a great combination of action,romance and intrigue. Jill hit it out of the park.
From the beginning I was intrigued. It's a great combination of action,romance and intrigue. Jill hit it out of the park.
d-n-f
May 11, 2016This girl lies too much and I hate her too strongly to continue reading.
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