Desert Time

by Sally J. Walker

In 1857 naïve Matilda Beaumont marries a virtual stranger, a braggart always involved in questionable activities. He abandons her in St. Louis and heads for nefarious anonymity in the New Mexico Territory. When finally recovering from influenza, the pregnant Tildy stubbornly decides to find him and joins freighters headed to Santa Fe. Attorney and Virginia gentleman Nat Carruthers rescues Tildy from a near-drowning on her wedding day only to be haunted by the young woman's spirit. Though distancing himself, he keeps track of the Beaumont fortunes, including their departure for Santa Fe. After his partner-brother is shot down, he heads west, too. Now a Comanchero, Ike Beaumont tells Nat that Tildy died back in St. Louis. Nat turns to drinking, card-playing, and gunfights. A wealthy client drags him south to a respectable life despite his dangerous reputation. Nat encounters a very much alive and newly widowed Tildy struggling to survive with a toddler daughter on a desert homestead. Insisting he is duty-bound because of business with her late husband, a powerful Spanish Don takes Tildy into his household and becomes her overbearing nemesis. As Spanish-American tensions and Apache fears turn the valley into a tinder box, Nat must figure out why the independent-minded Tildy has become the match likely to light a political explosion.

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who knew one woman could be so much trouble? The truth is that Matilda (Tildy) Beaumont does not seek out trouble but trouble finds her. She leaves Iowa with her new husband, Ike Beaumont, who cares more about himself than her. From the beginning, I wanted to see her with Nat Carruthers because he rescued her from drowning while Ike was busy caring more about her valuable possessions than about her. In fact, that is how things progressed for Tildy. Determined to make her marriage work, she does what Ike asks her to do. She even goes to the New Mexico Territory to be with him (after he abandons her because he thinks she's so sick that she'll die). I was disgusted with Ike and was very happy to see him die. (That might sound mean, but when you read this book, you'll understand that this man wasn't a good one.)

As for Nat, he leaves his law business to be a gunman, trying to walk the fine line between life and death. Though he tries to put Tildy from his mind, he can't. I did like the way these two fought their feelings for each other. It made for great romantic tension. But another man also showed an interest in her as well. I won't spoil how that goes.

Meanwhile, there is something fishy about Don Miguel's business dealings. One of those dealings is his determination to get rid of Tildy. The reader has to wonder why he is so insistent that she return to Iowa, and this is the prevailing question that takes the reader through the second half of the book. So how does she cause so much trouble? By standing on her own two feet and deciding her own fate, rather than having Don, or any other man, decide it for her. This creates a mountain of trouble.

I won't spoil it for you, but let's just say Sally J. Walker has a few surprises that caught me off guard. I strongly recommend this western for its entertaining value and the realities of life out in the New Mexico Territory in the late 1850's. And if anyone is interested, the page quality and cover quality are excellent.