Originally Published: 05-03-2018
Book Summary
Here to Stay is the 10th book in the Kendrick Coulter Harrigan Series by Catherine Anderson.
This book brings us another one of the Harrigan brothers. So it’s called A Harrigan Family Novel as well.
This story is about Zach Harrigan and Mandy Pajeck.
This story is about Luke as well. He’s Mandy’s 19yr old brother, whose been blind since he was little.
Oh, and Rosebud. She’s a great addition to the story.
So this story is just as much about Zach and Mandy as it’s about Luke and Rosebud.
Mandy is Luke’s sister as well as his caregiver. She’s frustrated and annoyed about the situation with Luke. He’s a belligerent teenager that takes all his frustrations and anger out on Mandy. And Mandy just takes it. She takes it because she feels guilty for being the reason he’s blind.
Needless to say, both of them have some major issues to deal with.
When she sees a news story about a guide horse, she knows that she must find out more.
So she forces her way onto Zach’s property and ends up helping him with the mini horse, Rosebud. You see, Zach is using his training skills to take it a different angle, by training mini horses to guide the blind.
It’s a very interesting story. You can tell that the author had to do quite a bit of research to add the details about the training and what it takes to train a mini horse! She also presents some interesting facts around the politics regarding the regulations of mini horses.
So, Rosebud gets sick right at the beginning and Mandy just happens to be there for a chunk of that. That opens up the relationship that happens with Mandy and Zach. They “see” each other in deeper ways right from the beginning.
Now when Zach finally meets Luke, he’s not impressed with the kid’s attitude and doesn’t think it’s gonna go anywhere.
But Mandy is persistent and keeps fighting to get Zach to give Luke a chance. Luckily, he does and Luke steps up as well. This is where you get to know Mandy and Luke and their story with the whos and whys.
So the majority of the story is a get-to-know-you type of story. As Zach gets to know Mandy, he finds that she’s like a filly that been abused. And he knows this when she meets a horse that he is trying to rehabilitate.
Tornado is a beautiful black stallion that is the bane of his work at the moment. Mandy takes one look at him and finds out that he has been horribly abused by a previous owner. Zach feels horrible and realizes that he has to go about the rehabilitation a completely different way.
But he also now understands that Mandy is like Tornado as well. And is in need of some tender care.
This is the beginning of Zach using his training skills to not only earn Tornado’s trust but also to earn Mandy’s trust as well.
They spend most of the storyline being together and learning about each other. Mandy and Luke have a lot of issues that make it difficult for either of them to have healthy relationships. And it’s with Zach’s help that they learn and grow.
And it’s while this is happening that Zach and Mandy start a personal relationship.
And yes, there are a few scenes that you have to watch out for. They are a bit detailed, but you can skip them if that’s what you do.
It’s a book worth reading. Check it out!
Check out the other books in the Kendrick Coulter Harrigan Series:
