RUN WITH THE WIND by Judy DuCharme

 

BLURB:

Ride with the Cracker Cowboys in historical Florida as they take the cattle to market and follow the journey of Linney Merritt as one cowboy steals her heart. Marrying held no interest for either, but now, against all their determination, they are drawn to each other. And then, just before Christmas, they find themselves fighting together to save the life of a calf, all the while discovering the One who can remove fears and provide forgiveness.

 

EXCERPTS:

1. Nellie moaned, and Linney pulled. The emerging calf licked her face. “We better hurry, Pa. He just done licked me. Don’t want him thinkin’ I’m his mama.” 

“You’ll make a good one someday.”

“That ain’t happenin’. Why would anyone want to go through this?”

Pa looked around Nellie’s bulk. His eyes found Linney’s. “For the likes of you, girl. It’s worth it.”

 

2. Her eyes shifted to the rider. He appeared to be a few years older’n her. She caught her breath. What was that? His square shoulders and square jaw made him much wider than most Crackers. But there was something else. It made her feel jittery. She must have overeaten, or that new calf licked her too much. Her stomach didn’t normally flop around like a snake hit by a cowman’s whip.

 

3. A rock buried in a shrub derailed the wagon. The abrupt stop shrugged Linney from her seat atop the wagon. The wind roared above her holler for help, and she wondered if Cy even heard her. Landing on her arm, she cried out in pain. Thunder rumbled too close while her completely sodden clothes held her like a web. Her attempt to stand was met with a small gulley of water created by the torrential nature of the storm. She slid backward down the hill, already a slippery mass of mud, all the while futilely grasping at the shrubs and smaller trees. Get up, Linney, you’re a survivor. You cannot lose control.

 

4. “Cy, you okay? Look like you just ate a skunk. You sick?”

Icey stood right in front of Cy. Cy only heard his voice as in a distance. He was in a fog. He felt he was underwater. He pulled himself back to reality. “Ah, I’m fine…just…well…did you ask me somethin’?” 

Icey bent over and slapped his hat against his leg. Dust flew everywhere. Icey coughed and  laughed. “You know what I think? I think you look like a lovesick puppy. You’re a sight.” Icey didn’t wait for a response. He sauntered down the dirt road chuckling.

 

 

INSPIRATION:

I had just read A Land Remembered, by Patrick D. Smith, about the history of Florida. My family wintered in Florida and shortly after reading the book, PBG asked for ideas for a Christmas series. It was decided that it would be a Cowboy Christmas series. I emailed the publisher and asked if she’d like a historical Cracker Cowboy story from Florida. She asked for a blurb. I sent her one, and before I knew it, a contract was sent to me. I think I had two months and that’s how Run With the Wind came to be.

 

LINK:

https://www.amazon.com/Run-Wind-Christmas-Holiday-Extravaganza-ebook/dp/B07PTPCXXN