Blub:
When a wagon train is attacked leaving women and children alone and
vulnerable, churches throughout the Ozarks take them in. Maggie Lynn and her
wards along with three other women end up in West Ridge, a small,
out-of-the-way town in Arkansas. Maggie has seen her fair share of loss. Now
responsible for raising her orphaned nieces, she must find a way to support
them. A sensible small-town sheriff, Owen Sommers tries to keep the peace when
a wagon full of women descends on his city of bachelors. The sheriff tries to
keep the peace, but his principles are challenged when he suspects the ladies
have something to hide. His suspicions are confirmed when strangers appear in
town looking for what they believe is rightfully theirs.
Extract:
“Hey,
this is too tight.”
“Stop
your bellyaching.” Owen picked up the man’s gun and put it in his belt. “Just
be glad I don’t shoot you and leave you for dead.”
“I
should have put you down when I had the chance.”
“When
was that?” Owen snorted. The man never had him in his sights.
“The
first day you came poking around my campsite.”
“Start
walking.”
The
man did as he was ordered. Owen marched him back to the road at gunpoint.
Maggie stood beside the gate, rubbing her arm. The urge to sweep those dark
curls away from her face and kiss her was strong. He resisted, though. It
wasn’t proper and, besides, it would most likely earn him a slap in the face.
This wasn’t a time for him to give in to his emotions. Especially when they
were unwanted.
“Are
you sure you’re all right?”
She
was still favoring her right arm. He’d have Dr. Gentry look at it when they got
back to town. Maggie nodded silently and walked alongside him, with her head
down. His mount trailed behind them. It was a short walk, but he was anxious to
get her back to the restaurant and home to her family. She wiped tears from her
cheeks, and he longed to wrap his arms around her shoulders and hug her close.
An action she was sure to spurn. As much as it pained him, the smart thing to
do would be to keep his distance and guard his heart.
Maggie
wrapped her arms around her waist and started to sob. Owen froze in his tracks.
He draped his free arm over her shoulders and pulled her close to his side. She
responded by leaning into him.
They
all stopped walking and she pressed her face into his chest. He rubbed his hand
over her back and held her tight. Her shoulders shook.
He
raised his face to the sky. Lord, he pleaded. If there were anything in
the world he could do to take the pain from Maggie, he would. His heart ached
for her, but it was nothing compared to the pain she bore. He lowered his gaze
and softly rested his chin on top of her head. His prisoner let out a
disgruntled groan.
Buster
growled and snapped at his feet.
“Hey,
get your dog off of me.”
Owen
ignored him. There would be a treat for Buster when they got back to town and a
cold cot for the prisoner.
Bio:
Jamie
Adams fell in love with books at an early age. Little Women by Louisa May
Alcott opened her imagination and sparked a dream to be a writer. She wrote her
first book as a school project in sixth grade.
A
graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature as well as member of
American Christian Fiction Writers, Sisters in Crime, The Writing Desk, and
several critique groups she spends hours writing, reading, or learning more
about the craft dear to her heart.
An online tutor by day and a writer by
night, she loves spending her free time playing with one of her daughter’s
foster kittens, binge reading or hanging out with the family.
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