Would-Be Wilderness Wife,
the second in my Frontier Bachelors series set around pioneer Seattle, was just
released, and I couldn't be happier with the reception.
RT Book Reviews gave it 4.5 stars and a Top Pick for March.
“Plenty of drama and a mystery that will keep readers turning pages.”
But I was truly humbled by the 5 star reviews from the
delightful Britt Reads Fiction and the amazing Huntress Reviews. Said the latter: "The character of Catherine is a strong
one. No simpering miss here! She is intelligent, brave, and knows what she
wants. She is also wise enough to know when to bow to another's expertise; such
as when a large cougar appears and she does not know how to shoot. Drew's
character is a perfect match for Catherine. Family is very important to him.
This gentleman is brave, skilled, and has much honor. I cannot express how
great this story is, nor can I recommend it highly enough. Absolutely
wonderful!"
I hope you’ll agree.
Here’s a little taste:
He carried himself as
proudly as a knight from the tales of King Arthur her father had read to her as
a child. His rough-cut light brown hair brushed the top of the door jamb, his
shoulders in the wrinkled blue cotton shirt reached either side. He took a step
into the room, and she was certain she felt the floor tremble.
Finding her voice, she
raised her chin. “I can help you.”
He walked down the
narrow room toward her, the thud of his worn leather boots like the sound of a
hammer on the planks of the floor. The blue apothecary bottles lined up on the
shelves behind the counter chimed against one another as he passed. He was like
a warrior approaching his leader, a soldier his commanding officer. Mrs.
Witherspoon, waiting on a chair for the doctor to reset her shoulder, clutched
her arm close, wide eyed. Others stared at him or quickly looked away.
He stopped beside Catherine
and lay his fingers on the curved back of the chair where the elderly Mr.
Jenkins snoozed while he waited for his monthly dose of medicine. Scars crossed
the skin of the massive hand, white against the bronze.
Up close, Catherine
could see that his face was more heart-shaped than oval, his unkempt hair
drawing down in a peak over his forehead. His liberally lashed eyes were a
mixture of clear green and blue, like the waves that lapped the Puget Sound
shores. The gold of his skin said he worked outdoors; the wear on this clothes
said he made little income from it.
He was easily the most
healthy male she’d ever seen, so why did he need medical assistance?
“Are you a doctor?” he
asked. Everything from the way he cocked his head to the slow cadence of the
question spoke of his doubt.
Her spine stiffened,
lifting her blue skirts off the floor and bringing her head level with his
breastbone. She was used to the surprise, the doubts about her vocation here in
Seattle. Even where she’d been raised, a few had questioned that the prominent
physician George Stanway had trained his daughter to be a nurse. More had
wondered why their beloved doctor and his promising son had felt it necessary
to get themselves killed serving in the Union Army. At times, Catherine
wondered the same thing.
“I’m a nurse,” she told
their visitor, keeping her voice calm, professional. “I was trained by my
father, a practicing physician, and served for a year at the New England
Hospital for Women and Children. I came West with the Mercer expedition. Doctor
Maynard was sufficiently pleased with my credentials to hire me to assist him
and his wife.”
“So you’re a Mercer
belle.” He straightened, towering over her. “I didn't come looking for a bride.
I need a doctor.”
A Mercer belle. That,
she knew from the newspapers back East, was synonymous with husband hunter.
Obviously her credentials as a medical practitioner meant nothing to him.
Well, he might not have
come to the hospital seeking a bride, but she hadn't come to Seattle after a husband
either. She’d already refused three offers of marriage since arriving two weeks
ago. Her friend, Madeleine O’Rourke, had turned away six. Even her friend
Allegra had had to argue with two would-be suitors before she’d wed her
childhood sweetheart, Clay Howard, a successful local businessman, only two
days after landing.
None of them had left the
East Coast expecting such attentions. When Seattle’s self-proclaimed emigration
agent, Asa Mercer, had recruited her and nearly seventy other women to settle
in Washington Territory, he’d talked of the jobs that needed filling, the
culture they could bring to the fledgling community. Already some of her
traveling companions were teaching schools in far-flung settlements. Others had
taken jobs they had never dreamed of back home, including tending a lighthouse.
They were innovative and industrious, just as Catherine had hoped she’d be when
she’d journeyed west.
“I’m not interested in marriage
either, sir,” she told him. “And I assure you, I am perfectly suited to deal
with medical emergencies. Now, what’s the trouble?”
~~~
Would-Be Wilderness Wife is available from fine retailers
such as
The Book Depository (free shipping worldwide)
2 comments:
Sounds great, Regina! And now I'm behind on my reading--The Bride Ship is still in my TBR stack! :-)
Thanks, Lynn! Hope you enjoy both of the books.
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