Defending His Own

The Protectors #4

by Beverly Barton

Once Deborah Vaughn had loved Ashe McLaughlin with all of her heart. Then he'd disappeared, leaving Deborah with the son they'd created. Now Ashe was back, insisting she play the part of his lover. Ashe had never forgotten Deborah and the night of passion they'd shared, or the way her father had run him out of town. But as the star witness in a murder trial, Deborah needed Ashe, and he would do anything to keep her safe . . . and the safest place for her was in his arms.

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Suspense, Category Romance, Harlequin

375 pages, Hardcover

First published August 25, 1995

About the author

Beverly Marie Inman was born on 23 December 1946 in Tuscumbia, Alabama, USA. Daughter of Doris Marie and Walter D. Inman Jr. A born romantic, she fell in love with The Beauty and the Beast epic at an early age, when her grandfather bought her an illustrated copy of the famous fairy tale. Even before she learned to read and write, her vivid imagination created magical words and fabulous characters inside her mind. Movies fascinated her, and by the time she was seven she was rewriting the movies she saw on television and at the local theater to give them all happy endings. By the age of nine she'd penned her first novel. She wrote short stories, TV scripts, poetry, and novels throughout high school and into college.

After her marriage to Billy Ray Beaver, the "love of her life", and the births of her two children, Beverly continued to be a voracious reader and a devoted moviegoer, but she put her writing aspirations on hold until her children were teenagers. At every age of their lives, from infancy to adulthood, the children had been a true joy to her. She devoted herself to her husband and children and considered herself one of the many selfless "supermoms" who put their family's needs first. She believed she had had it all, just not all at the same time.

In her mid-30s, Beverly returned to her former passion — writing — as a hobby, but before 40, she decided that she wanted to make writing a full-time career. And when she rediscovered an old dream — of becoming a published writer — no one was more supportive of her aspirations than her family. Her children were her greatest cheerleaders and her husband was her biggest supporter. After writing over 40 books and receiving numerous awards and nominations, as well as having books on the USA Today list and consistently on the Waldenbooks bestseller list, her career was indeed a dream come true. Having a fantastic family and fabulous friends, as well as making a living doing the one thing she had loved doing since childhood, she considered herself truly blessed. Beverly died suddenly of heart failure on 21 April 2011.

Reviews

[Christa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having enjoyed the full length novels of Beverly Barton, I decided to go back and read her entire series of "The Protectors." Defending His Own had an interesting story and sympathetic characters. Ashe McLaughlin believed he was betrayed by Deborah Vaughn when her father forced him out of town. He has resented her for years, but when her life is placed in danger, Ashe agrees to return as her bodyguard. Deborah is horrified to discover that her mother has summoned Ashe to be her bodyguard. She has hated him ever since he told her that he didn't love her after spending one passionate evening together when she was seventeen. Deborah fears that Ashe will find out that her ten year old brother is actually their son. Ashe and Deborah soon find that they have feelings for one another, and they begin a relationship. Ashe has to protect Deborah from harm while she tries to find a way to tell him about his son. Defending his own was a good addition to "The Protectors."

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

17 year old heroine loves hero will all her heart. They spend one night together but when Deborah's father finds out he threatens to put Ashe in jail by saying that Ashe raped Deborah. Ashe believes Deborah betrayed him so he hates her ever since. Deborah thinks he left town and that he never loved her the way she loved him. Years later Ashe agrees to become her bodyguard. Deborah is still in love with him but she fears that Ashe will find out that her ten year old brother is actually their son.

Intense read, angsty and passionate! Loved all the characters and the super cute epilogue with their son graduating and their two other small kids!

[Alex is The Romance Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can’t make up my mind if I like this author’s books. The first book of hers I read was Killing Her Softly which I enjoyed. I then started reading Dead by Morning which I am struggling to finish….more about that when I get to the last page and then I will do a full review. Decided to switch to The Protectors which I thought was a full length novel. Imagine my surprise to discover it’s a Mills & Boon special (I wasn’t ever aware she had been a Silhouette writer!!!! – not that I have some favorite authors who have written for them!!!!), that includes 2 stories – this time I did not give up, thought it did take a bit of time for me to get to the end.
What I like and didn’t like about the 1st story – Defending His Own.

1 This book was first released in 1995 by Silhouette and at times it found some things a bit outdated….like the hero using his “cellular” fone
2 Sweet story of a plain teenager, Deborah Vaughn who has a crush on the local bad boy, Ashe McLaughlin. She loses her virginity to him, he is chased out of town by her rich father, she is left pregnant, she doesn’t tell him……the usual secret baby story
3 After 10 years Ashe is asked by her mother to protect Deborah who is a witness to a murder and is being threatened with her life
4 Misunderstandings, secrets abound…..he believes that Deborah betrayed him when he was forced to leave his hometown and family. She hates him because he told her he didn’t love her and did not want to tell him that he had a son (which by the way is passed off as her brother…..talk about complications!!!) because of her father’s decision of either her giving up the baby for adoption or passing it off has her mother’s son…… boy that scenario would never work these days!!!!!!!
5 I liked the son, Allen…..what a sassy and charming character….my favorite….also Deborah’s mom…in fact there are quite a few interesting characters in the story….Ashe’s grandmother, his cousin….too many characters to include here
6 Some of the dialogue was a bit “old” and how many times did Ashe have to use the word ‘honey”!!!!
7 A few twists in the story but they never really grabbed me
8 I liked Deborah….she’s an interesting heroine….strong, loyal, loving and an amazing sense of responsibility to her entire family….really, she owns a company that keeps not only her mother and son but her awful, lazy, wastrel cousin Whitney
9 Apart from the constant “honey, honey” I grew to like Ashe
10 Of course there is a HEA and enjoyed the epilogue….knowing that the whole family finds love and happiness together

PS…I could not find the cover of the edition I have…..I wonder why?????

Would I read another book by this author???? Yes, they remind me a bit of the older Mills & Boon novels I read in the past.
I am now determined to read more of her books in the different series that she has written.

[May Mostly Romance · Rating 1 out of 5]

ในที่สุดก็มาถึงเล่มแรกอย่างเป็นทางการในชุดผู้พิทักษ์เสียที น่าแปลกที่แม้จะเป็นเล่มแรก แต่ตัวละครในเรื่องนี้กลับถูกพูดถึงน้อยที่สุด ไม่เป็นที่จดจำเอาเสียเลย พล็อตเรื่องไม่มีอะไรแปลกใหม่ เป็นเรื่องการกลับมาบ้านเกิดอีกครั้งของบอดี้การ์ดหนุ่ม แอช แม็คลาฟลินที่ทำให้เขาได้พบกับถ่านไฟเก่า ในหนังสือของเบฟเวอรี่นี่ เรื่องแนวถ่านไฟเก่ามีเยอะมาก และนั่นอาจเป็นสาเหตุที่แม็กซ์ชอบงานของเธอ เพราะแม็กซ์ชอบพล็อตอย่างนี้ น่าเสียดายเรื่องนี้ไม่เป็นที่น่าจดจำเลยล่ะค่ะ อ่านเรื่องอื่นดีกว่านะคะ แต่ในเล่มนี้เองก็ได้แนะนำให้คนอ่านได้รู้จักกับตัวละครที่น่าจดจำที่สุดของชุดนี้ ไซม่อน โร้ค ที่ต่อมากลายเป็นพระเอกในหนังสืออีกเล่มที่แม็กซ์ยังคงกรี๊ดสลบจนถึงทุกวันนี้

[Andrew Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Linda Howard, Sandra Brown type story....easy read ......

[Jeniver Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much drama. I also hate secret

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of Witness that I read.

[RowenaPotter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, 2 spice. It was fine. I wasn't thrilled with this particular secret child plot. Epilogue was too short for me, I wanted more. There are other books in this series that are better.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once Deborah Vaughn had loved Ashe McLaughlin with all of her teenage heart. Then he'd disappeared, leaving Deborah with nothing... except the son they'd created. Now Ashe was back, insisting she play the part of his lover.

Ashe had never forgotten Deborah and the night of passion they'd shared, or the way her father had railroaded him out of town. But as the star witness in a murder trial, Deborah needed Ashe, and he would do anything to keep her safe...and the safest place for her was in his arms.

Great plot! Well written! Enough suspense to keep you hanging on to the edge of your seat! And as always enough love to make you want to know how it ends. 4.5 stars.

[F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-developed characters with sensitive, fluctuating emotions. My first Barton novel, probably will not be my last. Barton made one profound statement in Chapter 3 -- "Unrequited love was a bitch."

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

His name is Ashe. That's all you need to know.

[Alisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Protector's series seems to get better with every book.