LIFE IS FULL OF UNEXPECTED EVENTS
I enjoyed this story that is part of a new series, A Texas Lawkeeper Romance, by a group of talented authors. Each story in the series will read as a stand-alone and can be read in any order. The stories will all feature law enforcement heroes and the women who love them. The stories are sweet, clean based stories where the lawman finds his woman.
Mary Katherine Whidby, better known as Kate, has decided that it is time to leave Boston and probably head west. Checking out ads seeking mail-order brides, she will write to a man in Texas, and he will respond back. With both parents deceased, and her only sibling, a brother, Robert now married, she needs to make her own way.
Back in Sage Creek, Texas along with neighboring townships are having a rash of robberies, they will enter the bank, shots will ring out, and a deputy and innocent woman will be casualties. Jesse Jennings has been working hard to get his homestead ready for his marriage to Pauline, and in one afternoon his world will spin out of control with her death. She has time to give him a description of one of the robbers before she dies.
“We can’t always see God’s plan, but he has one, Jesse, and we have to trust that good will come even in the midst of our trials.” –Pastor Lewis
The plot will have Kate leaving Boston on her way to Texas to become a mail-order bride to Bill Easterly. She will meet an older woman, Ellen along the journey and they become fast friends on the train and stagecoach. With about an hour left in Ellen’s journey, the stagecoach will be stopped and robbed, taking all of the passenger's valuables. While the bandits wear a mask, Kate still is able to make out some distinguishing features.
When Kate goes on to her destination, she has a bad feeling about Bill Easterly and knows she can’t marry him. But how can she escape and where will she go without money or transportation. By luck and the grace of God, Kate will make it back to Sage Creek, and Jesse will find her, but she is still penniless and now without her clothing. Some good people will give her lodging for a couple of nights. What are her choices now? The only job for a woman is the saloon or to marry.
Two people, both placed in unusual circumstances can help each other. Can Jesse move forward and offer marriage to Kate? What starts out as a marriage of convenience at least has a common ground that both of them are Christians. Can they find happiness and even love?
“You both have had a rough patch starting out, but maybe you can find a greener pasture together. Besides, here in Sage Creek, we take care of our own.” --Martha Davis
The story has a Christian element but isn’t preachy. There is plenty of mystery, suspense, angst, danger, and also two people who trust the Lord to lead them. The story is a clean western romance of a lawman and the woman who will help heal his heart, and teach him that he has room for happiness.