A gratifying tale about a man with a gift for protecting, a woman with modest hopes, and their blooming frontier romance with its promise of a brighter tomorrow.
Loved it. Kept me I interested and even shed a tear now and then. Will recommend for others to enjoy." - Carole Bewley, Goodreads
Outrider Noah Ericson isn't Mercy Atkins' idea of a hotel guest, but the bank pays cash - a week in advance - for their stage coach shotgun. She worries about how long she can get away with not replacing the hotel's battered roof and she never turns away a paying guest - even if he holsters a loaded weapon.
Mercy's husband Haman disappeared and she hides a shameful secret, running a decent boarding house while caring for her young son and addled elderly father. She has spent her whole life doing for others ... "there's always plenty needs doing." She is bone tired by the end of the day what with feeding the chickens, fetching from the pantry, cooking, pouring, serving, washing up. Haman's vicious brother Jehu circles like a vulture, determined to lay claim to Haman's stake and take the hotel away from her. Mercy finds everything about Noah - his sweet face, his quiet strength, his thoughtful ways - a welcome comfort at her supper table.
But war cost Noah dearly. When he came back he found the graves of his wife and young daughter who had been viciously violated and murdered. He walks with guilt and grief as his constant companions. I should have been there to protect them. With his troubling past, Noah at first resists his deepening attraction to Mercy.
But when bank stagecoaches are ambushed more than once, Noah grows suspicious. When he discovers Mercy's shameful secret, which could ruin their life together, he makes up his mind.
A man knows what needs protecting.
4.80 average rating, 15 ratings, 1 review, added by 40 people, 2 to-reads, 100% of people like it - Goodreads
5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) - Amazon
This edition contains a bonus excerpt from MORGAN'S WOMAN by Judith E. French.
Colleen French has a unique gift for capturing the essence of passion in her breathtaking tales of romance and adventure. Winner of the Delaware Diamond Award for Literary Excellence and the P.E.A.R.L. award, she is the daughter of bestselling novelist Judith E. French who first taught her how to write novels. Colleen has written more than 130 print novels which have sold more than 5 million copies and been translated into Bulgarian, French, German, Italian, Mandarin, and Spanish. Her Native American novels are inspired by her English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and Lenni - Lenape ancestry and her home near the Chesapeake Bay, where her family has lived for more than 300 years. Her books appeal to fans of Christi Caldwell, Mary Balogh, C. J. Petit, Shirleen Davies, Karen Kay, Madeline Baker, Elle Marlow, Ellen O'Connell, Vonna Harper, Judith E. French, Kathryn Le Veque, Julie Garwood, Caroline Fyffe, and Hannah Howell.
Genre: Romance
Loved it. Kept me I interested and even shed a tear now and then. Will recommend for others to enjoy." - Carole Bewley, Goodreads
IF YOU WERE MINE...
Outrider Noah Ericson isn't Mercy Atkins' idea of a hotel guest, but the bank pays cash - a week in advance - for their stage coach shotgun. She worries about how long she can get away with not replacing the hotel's battered roof and she never turns away a paying guest - even if he holsters a loaded weapon.
Mercy's husband Haman disappeared and she hides a shameful secret, running a decent boarding house while caring for her young son and addled elderly father. She has spent her whole life doing for others ... "there's always plenty needs doing." She is bone tired by the end of the day what with feeding the chickens, fetching from the pantry, cooking, pouring, serving, washing up. Haman's vicious brother Jehu circles like a vulture, determined to lay claim to Haman's stake and take the hotel away from her. Mercy finds everything about Noah - his sweet face, his quiet strength, his thoughtful ways - a welcome comfort at her supper table.
SUSPICION...
But war cost Noah dearly. When he came back he found the graves of his wife and young daughter who had been viciously violated and murdered. He walks with guilt and grief as his constant companions. I should have been there to protect them. With his troubling past, Noah at first resists his deepening attraction to Mercy.
But when bank stagecoaches are ambushed more than once, Noah grows suspicious. When he discovers Mercy's shameful secret, which could ruin their life together, he makes up his mind.
A man knows what needs protecting.
REVIEWS OF OUTRIDER
4.80 average rating, 15 ratings, 1 review, added by 40 people, 2 to-reads, 100% of people like it - Goodreads
5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) - Amazon
BONUS
This edition contains a bonus excerpt from MORGAN'S WOMAN by Judith E. French.
ABOUT COLLEEN FRENCH
Colleen French has a unique gift for capturing the essence of passion in her breathtaking tales of romance and adventure. Winner of the Delaware Diamond Award for Literary Excellence and the P.E.A.R.L. award, she is the daughter of bestselling novelist Judith E. French who first taught her how to write novels. Colleen has written more than 130 print novels which have sold more than 5 million copies and been translated into Bulgarian, French, German, Italian, Mandarin, and Spanish. Her Native American novels are inspired by her English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and Lenni - Lenape ancestry and her home near the Chesapeake Bay, where her family has lived for more than 300 years. Her books appeal to fans of Christi Caldwell, Mary Balogh, C. J. Petit, Shirleen Davies, Karen Kay, Madeline Baker, Elle Marlow, Ellen O'Connell, Vonna Harper, Judith E. French, Kathryn Le Veque, Julie Garwood, Caroline Fyffe, and Hannah Howell.
Genre: Romance
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