Cathryn Hein continues the Outback Brides series with her book ELSA'S STAND. It's the third book in the series and has heart, love, and passion. A man has to face his past, including dealing with his father's shady actions and his quirky mother and somehow finding a woman who loves him no matter what and sticks up to the people in town against him. Will he be able to overcome his family's tough past and the treatment of the town to find the love and peace that he wants and deserves? Is our heroine's love enough to save and bring him back?

Elsa is the town's hairdresser and her shop is the gossip center of town. Her business is booming because of her friend's thriving wedding business. It's bringing the dying town back to life. Jack has spent his life hunting for black opals in the hill country. He's on his way to make his usual call to his mother when his phone blows up with tons of messages telling him that his mother has found her mythical sapphires and that she has died. Jack comes back to Wirralong for his mother's funeral and to take possession of the family farm. Jack comes into Elsa's shop and wants a haircut and shave but she's too busy so he does it himself, leaving $100 dollars on the counter. Elsa finally realizes who his is and expresses her sympathy. They are instantly attracted to each other but Jack doesn't show up again for three months.

Jack comes back to the shop for a haircut again, and Elsa also gives him a shave for no charge because he left too much money the last time. They can't stop thinking about each other and he starts making time to see Elsa when he's in town. Their first date is dinner and a movie at her family home. Jack sees what a normal family looks like, and continues to fall hard for Elsa. Even with warnings from people in town, Elsa wants to give Jack a chance, not to mention their chemistry is off the charts.

But a tragic accident involving Jack's father brings up the dark past Jack has been trying to forget. Can he keep Elsa safe from ridicule for being involved with him?

Even though ELSA'S STAND takes place in Australia, anyone who has grown up in a small town can understand the dynamics of a town this size and how everyone knows everyone's business and think they have a say in it. Cathryn Hein captures the feel and emotion in this community as well as the thoughts of a woman who finds out that the man who has come back to town and thought to be an outcast can be the love of her life. When that man shows you a different side and tries to protect you if just brings the two of you closer together and creates a bond of love and passion that no one can break even though they try.

Book Summary

When the sudden death of his mother forces outback opal miner Jack Hargreaves home to Wirralong, his plan is simple: mourn his mother, sort out the family farm, and get the hell out of the town that has always hated him. But Elsa O'Donoghue, the beautiful hairdresser with a big heart and even brighter smile, has other plans.

From the moment Jack strides into her salon and helps himself to her clippers, Elsa is in lust. He might be a poster boy for the strong silent type, but she senses there’s a good man behind that stoic facade. With her business taking off, Elsa is finally ready for a relationship and Jack is just her kind of man. Not to mention, she’s never said no to a challenge.

Worried their association will harm Elsa’s business, Jack tries to avoid her, but Elsa is irresistible. Soon, she has him believing and hoping for a future with her in Wirralong, but another family tragedy shatters Jack’s fragile dream. Jack knows he must leave Elsa to protect her, no matter the cost to himself.