Ben Blair w/ Direct link technology (A Western Classic)

Florence Baker is not exactly a winning heroine. Spoiled by her indulgent father, she is heedlessly headstrong. While admirably independent, she lacks the maturity to know what’s in her best interest. When Ben shows up at her doorstep, she is not above being rude to him. Nonetheless, in his quiet, firm way, he simply lays siege to her attentions.

The head-scratcher is that Ben continues to like her and is determined to marry her. We know that her rejection has hurt him deeply, and her absence makes him ache with loneliness. But have her he must, and while a glimpse into his heart might clarify this puzzle, Lillibridge offers us hardly a peek.

What no one troubles to sort out is how the cold resolve of Ben Blair to have Florence for himself against all odds passes for anything like romantic intentions. That there are men like him isn’t in question. But how he ranks as marriage material certainly is. Admirable in so many respects, he’s a man’s man. It would take a trusting woman to expect any degree of conjugal warmth from him.