Deefur Dog

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Synopsis

Single dad, Cameron Jackson, has been trying to juggle his construction business with caring for his two-year-old daughter, Emma, ever since the tragic death of his husband in a car accident more than a year ago. He's desperately in need of a nanny but some don't even make it past the front door if their protective Great Dane, Deefur, doesn't approve, and those who do, never last more than a few days. Cam is nearly at his wits end when he meets Jason Everson, a teacher-in-training who just happens to be looking for work as a nanny. In no time at all, Jason has put Cam's house in order, charmed Emma, and made friends with Deefur. Jason fits into their little family like a missing puzzle piece, but can he heal Cam's broken heart enough for him to be ready for love again?

Review

Deefur Dog is a short contemporary romance novella that's the first story in R. J. Scott's Deefur series. It's about single dad and widower Cameron whose husband, Mark, died in a car accident more than a year earlier, not long after their little daughter, Emma, was born. With his construction business growing and every nanny the agency has sent over not staying for more than a week, Cam is at loose ends. Those who didn't leave because of Cam's sexual orientation were scared away by the overbearing nature of their big, goofy Great Dane, Deefur, who thinks he rules the house. Deefur was really Mark's dog, and although Cam loves him and hates the idea of giving him up, he feels the only real option he has is to rehome him. When Cam goes to the shelter to surrender Deefur, he meets volunteer Jason who just happens to be a teacher-in-training and coincidentally he's been looking for nanny work to pay the bills until he graduates. Jason seems like the perfect answer to Cam's dilemma. He loves both kids and dogs and he's gay like Cam. Jason sets about putting Cam's house in order and he gets along beautifully with both Emma and Deefur. Soon Jason is hanging around, even during his off time, and the more Cam and Jason get to know each other, the more an attraction takes root. But Cam is still grieving his lost love and he also doesn't feel quite right about "taking advantage" of his employee.

Deefur Dog has been on my TBR list for a long time, and it's also been a long time since I've picked up an R. J. Scott book. I'm glad I finally got around to reading it. It's a sweet, cute story about a grieving single father and the nanny who, not only becomes an indispensable part of his and his daughter's lives, but also helps heal his broken heart. I thought Cam and Jason were perfect together and Jason fit into their little family like the missing piece of a puzzle. Aside from Cam experiencing some heartache on the anniversary of his husband's death, which Jason is there to comfort him through, this is a pretty low angst read. It doesn't really reach any major emotional highs or lows, but instead stays on a pretty even keel. My only real complaint is that I wish it had been a bit longer to flesh out the characters and plot a bit more. The author tends to skip ahead by weeks or even months from one chapter or scene to the next, stretching the time frame out to nearly a year, which is a bit long for such a short story. The only other thing is that there were a number of editing issues (typos, run-on sentences, grammatically incorrect or awkwardly worded sentences, etc.), but I'm not dinging the rating for that. I have an older copy of the book from the original publisher, so I'm giving the author the benefit of the doubt that she had it re-edited before re-releasing it herself. Otherwise, this was an enjoyable story. I really liked Cam and Jason and thought they made a great couple. Emma is sweet and rendered age appropriately (bonus points for her having the same name and being the same age as my granddaughter:-)), and Deefur is an adorable, silly lug of a dog. I'm a total sucker for manny stories, too, so this little nugget was a pleasant way to spend a couple hours of my reading time. I look forward to checking out the bonus Christmas short featuring these characters, Deefur and the Great Mistletoe Incident.

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R. J. Scott

Themes

Amazing Animals
Babies & Children
Beta Heroes
Tortured Heroes