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Eden
Could she lay the past to rest and make Eden the land of new beginnings? Paradise, Texas, had been Jessica's home - until rustlers murdered her parents and forced her to run for her life, the words "half-breed" searing her soul.
That was ten years ago. Now, a beautiful Boston-bred lady, she's come back to fulfill her father's dream of owning a successful ranch. It was time to wreak her vengeance on the masked man who stole that dream and to reclaim her proud Cherokee heritage.
And then the handsome marshal, Brand Stockton, showed up, and Jessie learned what it felt to be a flesh and blood woman. But Brand had a score to settle, too, with outlaw Wade Fleming - Jessica's long lost brother who was headed for her ranch.
That was ten years ago. Now, a beautiful Boston-bred lady, she's come back to fulfill her father's dream of owning a successful ranch. It was time to wreak her vengeance on the masked man who stole that dream and to reclaim her proud Cherokee heritage.
And then the handsome marshal, Brand Stockton, showed up, and Jessie learned what it felt to be a flesh and blood woman. But Brand had a score to settle, too, with outlaw Wade Fleming - Jessica's long lost brother who was headed for her ranch.
340 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 24, 1991
62 people want to read
About the author
Cordia Byers
18 books21 followersCatherine Blair (a.k.a. Cordia Byers) grew up in Texas, were she spent her high school years writing romances for her friends. She received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from Cornell University and currently studies opiate addiction. No one else thinks that the pun between "heroin addiction" and "heroine addiction" is as funny as she does. Catherine is a member of the Romance Writers of America and lives with her husband in San Diego, California.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 23, 2022
It's funny, how you can like some books a lot and not care for others at all, when they're written by the same author. That's the case with Claudia Byers. I've read several of her novels, thought a few were crummy, and really enjoyed the others. "Eden" is up there with the winners.
The story of Jessie Fleming (a.k.a. Nolan). who leaves her adopted Boston home, to return to her Texas roots and discover who murdered her parents 12 years prior, is more than a tale of revenge and finding true love. It's also the sad story of prejudice, how you can be despised and thought inferior because of your race (she's Cherokee on her mother's side) and feel compelled to hide it, in order to be accepted by "respectable" people. Too often, "half-breeds" were torn between two worlds and never fully accepted in either.
The book's also about Jessie's older brother, Wade, who left Boston years before Jessie because he was tired of all the insults and slights. (Their adopted mother, Kate, shielded the younger Jessie from this as best she could.) He returned west, also determined to find their parents killer, and became an outlaw, known as "Man With No People", an appropriate title.
The H of the novel, Texas Ranger Brand Stockton, has demons of his own to fight. He's assigned to bring Wade to justice, and takes his duty personally, as the massacre of his family and abduction of his kid sister by Comanche, has made him hate all Indians. When Jessie buys the ranch once owned by her family (with money she inherited from Kate), she's determined to have it up and running, find the masked killer who destroyed her family (he had an unusually designed rifle that she never forgot) and also find Wade and try to talk him out of his life of crime. (Ironically, when Wade discovers his family's former ranch is now occupied, not knowing his sister is the owner, he rustles some of her cattle.) Brand suspects a connection between Jessie and Wade, and gets a job as foreman on her ranch, hoping she'll lead him to the outlaw. At the time, he mistakenly thought Jessie and Wade were lovers.
Brand's long-lost sister, Mercy, is in the story too, when Wade discovers her being kept as a slave by a Mexican bandit he has dealings with. Brand has never given up on finding her, and the more he thinks about her, the stronger his hatred for Indians grows.
It goes without saying that Jessie and Brand have a romance full of obstacles, one of which is Brand's desire to be free of commitments, telling Jessie all she can ever be is his mistress. This prompts Jessie to seriously consider the marriage proposal of wealthy rancher Clint Ramsey, who has his own agenda, as well as a dark side. Sad to say, Jessie also fears Brand's reaction when he finds out she's half Cherokee.
There's some comic relief to the story, in the relationship between Slim, an older ranger, working with Brand and hired as cook for the ranch hands, and Edwina, companion/chaperone to Jessie.
There's also plenty of drama when Jessie discovers who it was that murdered her parents.
I won't give anything more away, and will just recommend you read this book, I guarantee you won't regret it.
The story of Jessie Fleming (a.k.a. Nolan). who leaves her adopted Boston home, to return to her Texas roots and discover who murdered her parents 12 years prior, is more than a tale of revenge and finding true love. It's also the sad story of prejudice, how you can be despised and thought inferior because of your race (she's Cherokee on her mother's side) and feel compelled to hide it, in order to be accepted by "respectable" people. Too often, "half-breeds" were torn between two worlds and never fully accepted in either.
The book's also about Jessie's older brother, Wade, who left Boston years before Jessie because he was tired of all the insults and slights. (Their adopted mother, Kate, shielded the younger Jessie from this as best she could.) He returned west, also determined to find their parents killer, and became an outlaw, known as "Man With No People", an appropriate title.
The H of the novel, Texas Ranger Brand Stockton, has demons of his own to fight. He's assigned to bring Wade to justice, and takes his duty personally, as the massacre of his family and abduction of his kid sister by Comanche, has made him hate all Indians. When Jessie buys the ranch once owned by her family (with money she inherited from Kate), she's determined to have it up and running, find the masked killer who destroyed her family (he had an unusually designed rifle that she never forgot) and also find Wade and try to talk him out of his life of crime. (Ironically, when Wade discovers his family's former ranch is now occupied, not knowing his sister is the owner, he rustles some of her cattle.) Brand suspects a connection between Jessie and Wade, and gets a job as foreman on her ranch, hoping she'll lead him to the outlaw. At the time, he mistakenly thought Jessie and Wade were lovers.
Brand's long-lost sister, Mercy, is in the story too, when Wade discovers her being kept as a slave by a Mexican bandit he has dealings with. Brand has never given up on finding her, and the more he thinks about her, the stronger his hatred for Indians grows.
It goes without saying that Jessie and Brand have a romance full of obstacles, one of which is Brand's desire to be free of commitments, telling Jessie all she can ever be is his mistress. This prompts Jessie to seriously consider the marriage proposal of wealthy rancher Clint Ramsey, who has his own agenda, as well as a dark side. Sad to say, Jessie also fears Brand's reaction when he finds out she's half Cherokee.
There's some comic relief to the story, in the relationship between Slim, an older ranger, working with Brand and hired as cook for the ranch hands, and Edwina, companion/chaperone to Jessie.
There's also plenty of drama when Jessie discovers who it was that murdered her parents.
I won't give anything more away, and will just recommend you read this book, I guarantee you won't regret it.
July 19, 2023
A story of revenge, hatred, prejudices, and love wrapped up in a western setting in Promise, Texas, and surrounding territory back in 1877. A pretty good read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews