Angeline is one of the women Lydia Harrison brought to Tarnation, Texas, to marry young men who would otherwise leave town. Lydia was making a last-ditch attempt to save the town. Angeline was about to jump in front of a train because her fiancé forced her to have sex with him before the marriage, then dumped her when she got pregnant. Her parents turned her out, and she had nowhere to go. This book is perfect for readers who love western historical romance, redemption romance, preacher hero romance, Texas frontier stories, marriage of convenience romance, strong heroine romance, and small town romance series.

Enjoy the Excerpt, which takes place at a picnic Lydia threw for the women to get to know the men.

He gestured with his punch cup. “Why don’t we take our food and go sit on a bench outside?”

She led the way. “Sounds nice. The almanac predicts rain later in the week, but tonight is lovely.”

“So you read the about the weather, do you?”

“Mrs. Eppes has me read to her. She can’t see the small print any longer. Neither can Mrs. Arrenton. I’m reading her Little Women. Reading is so important, don’t you agree? Not being able to enjoy a book would be awful.”

“You have a lot of compassion for others.”

She smiled at him. “You said we should. In fact, you mentioned that very thing last Sunday.”

He shook his head. “I suspect yours has always been there. That quality is not one that suddenly appears because one day you heard a sermon.”

She nudged him with her shoulder. “Don’t sell yourself short. You’re a very forceful preacher. You don’t need to yell to get across your message.”

“I’d like to think so, but I don’t delude myself that I’m powerful or charismatic. I’ll bet in…wherever you lived—”

“Missouri. I lived in Missouri.”

“I’d wager that in Missouri, you were working with some charity or other.”

“A couple, but I didn’t visit those trapped at home. No one ever mentioned their need and I simply didn’t consider them. I thought about orphaned children and homeless who were without food or a safe place to sleep.”

He pretended to be dejected. “I thought so. Now I’m disillusioned that my sermons didn’t convert you to serve mankind.”

She giggled. “You are not.”

He set his cup and plate at the end of the bench. “Miss Chandler. I’d like your permission to pay you court. I think we would do well together.”

She scooted away. How she wished she could say yes, but she thought too much of this fine man to cause him more problems. “Me? Oh, no, you mustn’t. You need a fine upstanding woman who will set an example and be a plus to your ministry.”

“You just described yourself.”

“No, Grad…Reverend McIntyre, you don’t understand all my problems. I’d be a liability that Mr. Jackson and Mr. McGinnis would use as a weapon against you.”

“Those two are not worth considering. They’ll always find something about me to criticize.”

“I-I haven’t told you why I needed forgiveness. Please, believe me when I say I’d harm your standing in the community.”

He took her hand. “I know about your… situation, Miss Chandler. I watched my wife as she carried our son. I recognize the symptoms.”

She covered her face with her free hand. “I’m so humiliated and ashamed. Please, Reverend McIntyre, go before I turn so weepy you’ll accuse me of watering the garden.”

With a gentle squeeze of her hand, he stood. His voice came soft and filled with compassion, “I’ll go for now, but I’ll look forward to seeing you in church on Sunday.”

She sat alone for several minutes fighting for calm. When she’d composed herself enough to face people, she picked up the two plates and cups and made her way to the kitchen. For the rest of the evening, she washed cups and plates and tidied for Mrs. Murphy. When everyone had gone and leftover food put away, she hung her apron on the hook and climbed the back stairs.

She managed to control her tears until she reached her room. Pushing by Cassandra, she sat in the chair and sobbed.

Cassandra put an arm around her shoulders and leaned down. “What on earth happened to cause this reaction? I saw you and the preacher go into the garden. Everything looked promising.”

Between sobs, she said, “He asked to court me. I wanted to say yes but couldn’t let him ruin his life.”

“Now I know you’re mad. Marrying him would be perfect. You and he like the same things, you love his son. I simply don’t understand you.”

“Grady McIntyre is the finest man I’ve ever known. I can’t let him ruin his reputation and possibly his professional standing by marrying me. Look at me, I’m showing. I’m surprised the other girls haven’t confronted me about my weight gain.”

“So you’re looking as if you’re expecting. If the preacher doesn’t care, why can’t you say yes to him? Who better to accept you without criticizing you?”

“Please, Cassandra, don’t say anything else. I feel just awful.”

Cassandra threw her hands in the air. “All right, get ready for bed. Life is sure to look better tomorrow.”

Buy Angeline from Amazon or read about her through Kindle Unlimited.

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