Tanya has agreed to giveaway one electronic copy of this book to one lucky blog reader. You can enter by using the Rafflecopter link at the end of the post. (Giveaway ends September 26, 2019. If you are the randomly chosen winner, I'll contact you.)
Blurb...
Sometimes the path to freedom is found in an unexpected future.
Upon the death of her mother, Rosalind Standford’s life shatters, the
pieces scattering to the wind when she is forced into a betrothal to
a cunning banker. But when a telegram arrives announcing the man who
captured her heart is on a train to Boston, Rosalind must hide her true
feelings before the thin cord of her existence unravels the deadly secrets she
keeps.
Cowboy Trent Easton returns to his roots in Boston society to find his
childhood friend, the love of his heart. Instead he finds a broken woman engaged to a man close to
her father’s age. Though she once rejected him, when Trent learns she’s in danger, he determines to do whatever it takes to keep her safe—even
taking her to the altar in the black of night. But will his name and the remote
wilds of his Texas ranch be enough to protect her? Or will freedom cost them
their lives?
Excerpt...
“Father, can we do nothing?” Rosalind asked. “Mother?” She
looked from one to the other, but they both looked afraid and lost, an
expression she’d never before seen on either of their faces.
When they arrived at the house, Father instructed Mr.
Richards to find the doctor, and only after several stumbles did they manage to
get Mother inside. Mother’s strength had simply vanished, leaving her pale and
aged, too weak to even keep her eyes open as they helped her to bed.
It seemed a lifetime passed before the doctor arrived.
During the examination, Mother lay still. Too still. Fear surged to Rosalind’s
core at Mother’s motionless state. Then another cough raked through Mother’s
body, blood dripped from her nose, and Rosalind didn’t know which was
worse—watching Mother lie still as death or seeing the spasms and hearing the
awful retching. Tears filled Rosalind’s eyes as she stroked strands of soft
brown hair from her mother’s face and tucked them behind her ear.
“Do you know what’s wrong with her, Doctor? Is it consumption?” her father asked.
Kneeling next to the bed, the physician wiped her mother’s
nose and folded the cloth. “Her coughing is worse. I’m afraid you are correct.
She has tuberculosis.”
Rosalind shook her head and ran from the room. She flew down
the stairs, faltered into the stagnant night air, and stopped on the porch as
reality weighed heavily on her shoulders. She swallowed down her screams. “God,
are You listening? Don’t You see? You must help my mother. Please don’t take
her. Don’t …” She fell to her knees, sobbing into her palms.
Arms came around her shoulders, and she jerked back, biting
back her tears. “Mr. Richards.” She moved from him and stumbled on the hem of
her gown but caught her balance.
“It’s all right.” He followed her. “I have your father’s
permission.”
She wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. “What do you
mean you have his permission?”
“We will be married.”
Rosalind fought to understand what Mr. Richards was saying,
but the words seemed scrambled, incomprehensible. Her mind a fog. “What do you
mean, married?”
“Earlier tonight I asked permission to court you, but
moments ago, he gave me his full blessing.”
Surely she’d misheard him. “You asked for my hand in
marriage now, while we’re learning my mother is dying? My father is as
distraught as I am.”
“Perhaps the doctor’s wrong,” Mr. Richards whispered against
her ear. “Perhaps she will recover. Nevertheless …”
“We shouldn’t be … you shouldn’t be alone with me here like
this. Propriety …”
He dragged a fingertip along her jaw, then down her bare
arm, his expression declaring ownership even as it dared her to argue.
Though her heart galloped, she fought her instincts to
flinch. Glover Richards was a very powerful man, she’d overheard her father
saying once, powerful enough to harm his enemies. Father must need the man’s
friendship, otherwise he would never have agreed. “Why? Why me?”
“I will court you as your father wishes.” A slow smile slid
up one side of his face. “And at nineteen you will be my bride.”
Rosalind’s pulse pounded in her ears. None of this made
sense. If only Mother were well. She’d never let Father agree to this marriage,
and he would listen to her.
She balled her hands into fists at her waist, squeezing the
satin lace crisscrossing there—satin meant to draw Trenton’s eye. Yet Trenton
was packing his trunk for Texas, even as Mr. Richards’s gaze roamed her hair,
her face and throat, and her bodice and cinched gown.
“We don’t have to announce our betrothal … yet,” he said as
if the deed was done.
She swallowed, meeting Mr. Richards’s stare.
He took her hand and slid it through the crook of his arm.
“Let’s get you back inside, shall we?”
She let him lead her, but her heart recoiled, and she threw
a desperate prayer toward heaven. Lord,
You must heal my mother and rescue me. Save us.
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About Tanya...
Tanya Eavenson is an international bestselling and award-winning inspirational romance author. She enjoys spending time with her husband and their three children. Her favorite pastime is grabbing a cup of coffee, eating chocolate, and reading a good book.
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