Only by Your Touch (Paperback)

by Catherine Anderson (Author) "In the three weeks since Chloe Evans had moved to the mountain resort community of Jack Pine, Oregon, she'd lost count of the times she'd..." (more)
Key Phrases: log deck, man burying, burning look, Bobby Lee, Ben Longtree, Jack Pine (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The characters and plot twists in Only by Your Touch, Catherine Anderson's newest contemporary romance (after Always in My Heart), may feel familiar to the author's fans, but this by-the-numbers tale still possesses poignancy and charm. Determined to keep her sickly son safe, Chloe Evans divorces her abusive husband and moves to Jack Pine, Ore., where she meets the enigmatic Ben Longtree, a part-Indian veterinarian once arrested for murder. Chloe is struck by the man's kindness to animals and is deeply attracted to him, but at the same time, she must fend off a police deputy who tries to assert his claim over her in an ever more ominous fashion. The once-abused heroine, too-good-to-be-true hero and too-evil-to-be-believed villain are character types that Anderson's fans know well, but that won't stop readers (both old and new) from savoring the book's tender moments.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Leaving an abusive marriage, Chloe moves with her young son, Jeremy, to Jack Pine, Oregon, to start over. Hoping that it will help him adjust to his new home, Chloe lets Jeremy have a puppy, but when the puppy gets sick and the local vet is unwilling and unable to treat it, Jeremy turns to Ben Longtree for help. Once a veterinarian, Ben, who has long been ostracized, still treats wounded animals at his isolated home on a ridge outside the town. Afraid that Jeremy may be in danger, Chloe arrives at Ben's home determined to save him only to find that Ben is nothing like the rumors she has been hearing. A hero struggling with secrets from his past and a heroine determined to put her past behind her find another chance at romance in Anderson's latest contemporary, which includes a touch of magic as Ben, with Chloe's help, struggles with and comes to accept his special talent for healing in this beautifully written, emotionally satisfying story. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Signet (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451207947
• ISBN-13: 978-0451207944
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #88,340 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievable!!! 5 Stars! So Touching and Heartfelt!, March 31, 2004

By	Tracy Talley "Book Addict" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

So emotional and deep, this book is become one of my all time favs. I love how Ms. Anderson makes the situations so real and different from the typical. No one is rich and well off and their problems are very real and not simply well, not to be blunt, but trivial.
Sometimes you read some romances and they make it seem as though the problems are so trivial and easily solved if the characters would just stop and pay attention. Not with Ms. Anderson and I am glad. Its a breath of fresh air. These are REAL problems we ALL face and even if we don't all face them they are serious enough to warrant the angst and worry in the story.
The heroine is strong and the hero is not overbearing and dramatic. He is REAL. He is your own husband and your father, brother and someone you would really meet. Not a conjured character. She makes them so real, you feel as though you know them.

In this book, Chloe Evans leaves a tough past behind to bring her child Jeremy to a new place to start fresh. A tiny place called Jack Pine, Oregon. But all is not well in Jack Pine, even though from the outside all seems quiet. A horrible past and poison is lurking in town and trying to keep Jeremy safe from her own past, Chloe goes to the only man she thinks can help her and her son, Ben Longtree.

Ben is by far not to be befriended. Long a go he was rumored to have murdered a man and possibly murders people that step onto his wilderness property. He lives with his ill mother and in isolation with the injured animals that come to him mysteriously. Once a veterinarian, his past destroyed what was left of his practice. So when red-haired Chloe comes to him for help with her son, he is angry. They must be trying to turn him in for the animals on his property.

As time goes by, Ben realizes that Chloe is just the balm for his battered and tortured soul. Fate threw them together and he just may be able to start anew. But that poison lurking is seeping into their lives already...

Tracy Talley~@

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My First Anderson book!, December 1, 2005

By	Busy Mom (Ohio) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I picked this book up at a library fund-raiser sale ~~ and while taking care of two sick kids ~~ I picked this book expecting it to be a light fluffy read. Well, it is definitely not a fluffy read ~~ it is a light read but it is also intense. I have to admit that I loved every minute of this book! I know that it's fiction and I know that it's too good to be true, but when I read, I read to escape from reality and this book is definitely one of the better ones I've read in quite some time.

Chloe moves to a small town with her son, Jeremy, to start over. Settled in a good job as a dispatcher for the local sheriff, she thinks that she would definitely find peace again. However, once she ran into Ben Longtree, the local outcast, her life was not going to be as tranquil as she had hoped. Pitted against a local deputy who was stalking her, and fighting her feelings for Ben, life just got to be interesting for Chloe.

I have to say that Ben Longtree is probably my favorite hero lately ~~ able to tame wild animals, live in a secluded forest ~~ and big and gentle ~~ what is there NOT to love? And Chloe is a strong and determined woman ~~ fighting for what she believes in. What is there not to like?

If you're looking for the perfect escape, this book would be it! It's entertaining and my favorite, it's very well-written ~~ I couldn't stop turning the pages! This is perfect reading for anytime of the year ~~ snuggling on the couch at night or sunbathing at the local pool. And since this is my first introduction to this author, I will definitely keep an eye out for her other books!

12-1-05

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A poignant tale that will hook you from page one...., April 11, 2003

By	iheartjackbauer - See all my reviews

Chloe Evans has been to hell and back and has relocated with her son, Jeremy, to Jack Pine, Oregon. Leaving her husband, whom, after an accident turned into an abusive man she didn't recognize, Chloe wanted the bring Jeremey the security of being safe. She felt that life in a small town would be exactly what Jeremey needed. When her son begs her for a puppy, Chloe doesn't have to heart to turn him down. When Jeremy's puppy gets sick and the vet it unwilling to treat him without the money up front, Jeremy takes Rowdy to the town outcast, Ben Longtree who is a vet, but unable to practice. Soon, Chloe finds herself entangled in Ben's enchanting world on Cinnamon Ridge. With a wolf and a mountain lion for pets, Chloe has never met anyone like Ben, and for a reason she can't begin to define, she feels safe in his presence and trust him with her son's safety.

Ben Longtree loves the solitude of Cinnamon Ridge. When it is envaded by a six year old boy, Ben tries to turn him away. His annoyance quickly turns acceptance and he soon finds himself impressed by the young boy who would stand up to who people in town believe is a cold-blooded murderer. Ben's world shifts when Chloe and Jeremy start spending more time in the ridge and Ben experiences the magic of love. He is wary, however, for there is more than one person who would happily destroy his life. Always having a gift with animals, Ben can't turn away the wounded that turn up on his property. From owls to skunks to bears, Ben will not turn one animal away, even if it means spending the rest of his life in jail. The more he gets to know Chloe, and the more he feels himself falling in love, the more he wants to tell her all his secrets. There is evil lurking though, evil that both Ben and Chloe underestimated.

Catherine Anderson weaves an emotional read in Only by Your Touch. Reading about Chloe learning to trust and letting go of her fear of men and Ben learning to trust in love again will almost have you in tears. Even Jermey's remarkable recovery will pull your heartstrings. You won't regret reading this book!