Meeting Her Match: A Match Made in Texas Novella 4

By Mary Connealy

When the tables are turned and a tenderhearted meddler becomes the beneficiary of a matchmaking scheme, her world is turned upside down. As her entire life changes, will she finally be able to tell the banker's son how much she cares for him?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
• Release date: May 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781441263360

Mary Connealy

Mary Connealy (MaryConnealy.com) writes "romantic comedies with cowboys" and is celebrated for her fun, zany, action-packed style. She has sold more than 1.5 million books and is the author of the popular series Wyoming Sunrise, The Lumber Baron's Daughters, and many other books. Mary lives on a ranch in eastern Nebraska with her very own romantic cowboy hero.

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DRY GULCH, TEXAS

DECEMBER 1893

It was downright silly to be the mother to three boys and running a busy household when you were twenty-one and single.

It was a good thing Hannah Taylor was up to it.

Abraham Taylor, you leave Kevin alone! Hannah, big sister and schoolmarm, stood at the bottom of the schoolhouse steps. Hannah was a quiet woman and too busy to have much in the way of friends. But when it came to her little brothers, she could melt stubborn with a single glare, and she felt no great need to be quiet with the little varmints. Abe settled down fast. Then she added, Abe, remember you have to get the clinkers out of the stove.

It’s Jeremy’s turn! Abe wailed.

You traded with Jeremy for a chance to get out of pitching hay to the horses just yesterday. Now it’s time to pay. Hannah went up the steps to the schoolhouse. She paused to wave at Dottie Brighton, who was on her way to Claasen’s General Store for supplies. After Dottie smiled and waved back, Hannah hurried inside, leaving her little brothers on the playground. The oldest of them, Jeremy, took charge while Hannah got ready to start the school day. She didn’t scold Abe anymore. He was a good boy, just active and noisy. He’d be in to clean out the heating stove soon enough.

Hannah heaved a sigh of relief when she shut the schoolhouse door on the chilly December morning. Thank heavens I’m back at work so I can get some rest! She smiled at herself when she thought it. But it was true. The town of Dry Gulch, Texas, halted school for harvest, which was as much work for the women as it was for the men. And Hannah had convinced the school board to give her an extra week of freedom to help prepare for Nelda’s wedding. It was Hannah’s second little sister to marry. Two Taylor weddings in three years, leaving Hannah the only girl in the family. She had three little brothers, another baby on the way, and a ma who was mighty tired.

As always, Pa was hoping for a boy.

Now here they were, a week before Christmas. There was barely going to be time to organize a school Christmas program, and Hannah loved making Christmas special for her students.

She smiled as shouts of laughter echoed from the playground, all of the noise coming from her little brothers—including two-year-old Kevin, who was too young for school. But Hannah had informed the school board that bringing her baby brother was part of the deal. Hannah couldn’t teach if she couldn’t bring him along, because Ma wasn’t up to it.

She savored the peace of the brisk winter morning in her familiar classroom, enjoying the dusty smell of chalk and the biting odor of ashes from the stone-cold potbellied stove. She kept her cloak and bonnet on until the stove could be cleaned out and lit, yet she didn’t mind that Abe was slow in coming. She needed a few more quiet moments to enjoy her surprising success with helping some lonely friends find happiness.

She hadn’t really set out to spark a romance with her meddling. But it was a pleasure to think of her former co-teacher, Grace O’Malley, married to Clayton Weber and already expecting a baby. And word had come back to town that Neill and Clara Archer had married, as well as Lucy and Andrew Simms. Hannah had a hand in all of that and it pleased her to no end. It gave her such a warm feeling that she thought maybe she had a true gift for helping others.

She’d never had much luck helping herself.

Hannah heard the schoolhouse door open and looked up, expecting Abe.

Marcus Whitfield came in with an armful of wood. He’d never delivered the wood before. A member of the school board saw to their wood supply, usually dropping off a week’s supply at one time, stacked behind the schoolhouse, but it had never been Marcus. And Hannah routinely assigned the chore of hauling it inside to one of her students.

Good morning. Hannah had been his classmate in this very school. Now she was the teacher and he was a partner in his father’s bank.

Marcus glanced up at her awkwardly and nodded without speaking, then concentrated on where he was walking as if the floor were riddled with holes.

I hadn’t heard that you’d be bringing wood, Hannah said politely, trying not to roll her eyes at Marcus’s strange ways.

Pa’s turn. Marcus kept his chin down as he made his way to the stove at the front of the room.

Hannah couldn’t imagine Mr. Whitfield, the rather regal president of the town’s only bank, ever dropping off wood. And she knew he wasn’t on the school board. But maybe he’d volunteered just recently.

From the way he moved along the side of the room, it seemed Marcus was doing his best to stay as far away from her as possible. Marcus was the only unattached churchgoing man in town. Hannah should probably set her cap for him, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to feel any romantic notions about the poor, shy man. Marcus had no interest in her, either. In fact, judging by his effort to keep space between them, he actively disliked her.

Hannah felt a twinge of resentment. She had a sudden desire to march over to him and say, You can’t reject me. I’m rejecting you first, so there!

She didn’t do any such thing, of course. She even had the grace to realize she was having too strong a reaction to a man whose only provable crime was shyness. Why, maybe she’d make Marcus her next project. The man quite obviously needed a wife.

She mulled that over, watching him. So she was gazing right at him when he glanced up at her, saw her looking at him, and fell on his face.

Marcus! Jumping up, she rushed over to him. Are you all right?

He was sprawled awkwardly on his armload of wood. When he shoved himself up, a piece of kindling under his hand rolled and he fell again. Hannah got to her knees and pulled the small logs scattered under poor Marcus away and tossed them toward the place they’d be stacked. She had most of them removed when Marcus finally managed to get to his knees.

Your glasses are bent. Hannah’s whole life was spent helping people, so it came naturally for her to pluck his spectacles away.

Here, let me— she said.

Hannah, I can fix . . . Marcus grabbed at her hands.

She looked up to see a streak of blood trickle from the corner of his mouth. Oh, Marcus, your lip is bleeding. She abandoned his glasses to pull her handkerchief out of the sleeve of her blue gingham dress and dabbed at the small cut.

Marcus rushed to put his glasses on, and his hand tangled with hers as they knelt facing each other. Their eyes locked and held.

Hannah noticed that Marcus, up close, wasn’t quite so gangly as she remembered. His eyes were a clear light blue. His hair was blond, almost the same color as hers. His poor lip was mildly swollen and tender looking. The bleeding stopped after only a second or two of pressure from her handkerchief. Not a serious injury and yet she kept glancing at it.

Between looking at his eyes and lips, quite a bit of time passed.

Marcus’s hand on hers tightened. He seemed to draw her closer, and she was already very close. Hannah, I wonder if you’d like to . . . to . . .

I have an idea, Hannie! Abe shouted, charging into the schoolhouse. He stumbled and caught himself against a desk at the back of the room, knocking it out of line.

Hannah surged to her feet and almost ran to her desk, not sure what had just happened between her and Marcus Whitfield.

If we don’t start the stove, we don’t have to clean it, Abe said. It’s warm enough.

Hannah almost laughed out loud. Abe had the earflaps pulled down on his beloved red hat, and his mittens firmly on. Hannah had knitted them for Christmas but made the mistake of telling Pa, who’d insisted on giving the boys their hats and mittens early for the sake of being practical. Abe’s cheeks and nose were as red as the cap on his head. But he would rather freeze, and all his classmates along with him, than struggle with the minimal chore of collecting and disposing of the built-up ash in the stove.

Hannah didn’t blame him for trying, but it was his turn and he knew it.

Marcus quickly finished stacking the firewood and then nearly ran out of the place. He’d said, Hannah, I wonder if you’d like to . . . If she’d like to what?

Nice try, Abe, she said. Now get to work. She spoke firmly, but her thoughts were drawn back to Marcus and his question. Could he possibly not be quite so indifferent to her as she’d imagined?

Hannah, I wonder if you’d like to go for a carriage ride with me?

Or did he wonder something quite different.

Hannah, I wonder if you’d

Reviews for Meeting Her Match

[lyssa73 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

7/10

I think Novellas in this genre have a decent shot at being, well, decent. A lot of the things that I complain about when reading historical christian romances (such as: stereotypical characters, way too predictable plots, and drawing out the obvious in attempt to create tension and suspense thereby making the ending sweeter just to name a few) don't really have the time to develop in a novella. If they do dip into any of these areas, it's easily forgiven due to consideration for length.

When I heard that this was being published and that Karen Witemeyer was one of the authors, I was very eager to get my hands on it. I don't know if I didn't read the plot synopsis very thoroughly or if it's not mentioned, but imagine my surprise when the opening line tells of an Archer's story. !!!! Yay! I thought to myself, cozied up in a blanket with a warm mug of cocoa and snow gently falling outside my window, "it's like Christmas again." Short straw bride was possibly the first book of this kind that I really fell in love with, because of how different it was. I might have loved Stealing the Preacher even more. My only disappointment with this story is that I believe it's the last of the Archer tales (unless Ms. Witemeyer does something unheard of and writes more stories about them, focusing on their married life. I vote for this!) and I would have preferred a full blown novel to a novella. It's like getting a fun size candy bar instead of a King size.


Surprisingly, I liked the second story even better. I've only read one other book in this genre featuring a blind woman and it was just awful. This one was very well done and interesting. A couple of parts were a tad melodramatic and cliche (but it's a novella! there wasn't time to flush these things out!) for my taste, but it was different. I didn't feel like I was reading a story I've read a thousand times before, even though I knew where it was going. Reading about how a woman in that time period might approach blindness was very interesting to me. I also liked how Clayton viewed his scars as if they were lit up with fire, yet everyone else noticed them, but were more struck by his good looks. Isn't that the truth? Our perception of ourselves is rather distorted and we often let our insecurities get the best of us. Anyway, I was very pleasantly surprised by this author. I'm going to have to look up some of her other books now.


The third story I was not particularly taken with. This is probably because extreme drama (fires, kidnappings, dirty dealings, really any kind of danger that directly and aggressively threatens a character's life/wellbeing) comes off as very cheesy to me. Rarely do I read a book with one of those events and think to myself, wow. Unless it's a sarcastic 'wow.' On the opposite end of the spectrum, I'm very impressed when daily activities and turmoils are portrayed very honestly and accurately (like Lawana Blackwell's Gresham series for example). Anyway, this story was set up to be more exciting with an unwanted aggressive suitor, potential insanity, frequent threat of being shot, trespassers with ill intent and fire. All of which rubbed me the wrong way. I did learn something though- I had not previously known that you could burn tea. I guess it makes sense since you can also scorch coffee. I just never thought about it before. It's amazing to me, the conveniences of modern life that we never even think twice about, which is one of my favorite things about reading historical fiction- being transported to another time and learning something new.


I almost did not read the last story by Ms. Connealy. I had attempted to read a book of hers before- one of the Kincaid Bride series- and it just was not my taste at all. But I felt it wouldn't be fair to ignore her in this review, nor mention something about how her style isn't my taste, without even giving it a try. So I resolved to take a few tentative steps into the story. My first thoughts were that the language didn't fit the period. But before I knew it, I was really into the story. What sets Ms. Connealy apart is that she allows her characters to have flaws and she allows them to be wrong. Some of the characters development happened too rapidly, but in a short story, an authors options are limited. I wonder how she would approach these themes in a full length novel. I also liked Hannah's resolve to marry a man of faith and how she acknowledged that the really only left one man in town. Her reasons for putting romance on the back burner (and Mark's giving her space) were genuinely good reasons. I actually liked the super fast pace. I feel like a lot of historical romances really drag out major changes and decisions, so the abruptness was refreshing, and also, probably accurate for the time. Life did happen in the blink of an eye. People, family members, did get sick, did die, did marry etc at a much faster pace, usually, than today. A couple other tidbits- I liked that Mark blushed and how their families blindsided them into a shotgun wedding.

There were a couple of things that, though they did not stop me from devouring the story, did take some of the glossiness off.
1. Hannah and Mark's character lines blur a little. They use the exact same phrases (someone moving like a locomotive, and "poor Marcus," "that poor girl," "his poor lip" etc) that sometimes made me feel like I was in the head of one person and not two.
2. Along the same lines, Hannah immediately realizes that Marcus is probably shy, as he acknowledges it to himself. And then, at the end of the story, she seems to have forgotten that and states that she thought he didn't like her and just went out of his way to avoid her. Maybe I misunderstood, but these thoughts didn't seem to match up.
3. Chapter 11- the declarations of love and feelings- was just not my taste. It was too over dramatic for me. I do believe that there are many different degrees of love and that feelings, once sparked and acknowledged can consume like a wildfire. So I'm not saying this would never happen, just that it's not the kind of love story that makes me smile stupidly all day, unless I get to see that story play out for a long while to come (like in Short Straw Bride for example).
4. And this is super minor, but I love historical romances because I like being transported, wholly, back to those times. It bugs me when it's half baked (characters having modern concerns, conversations, goals, opinions etc- like modern people plucked into a different century) and so any anachronisms stick out to me like a sore thumb. The biggest one to me was the conversation about kids at the end of the story. While it's true that not every family was a big one, people did not have control over the number of kids they had like they do today. Maybe the conversation was meant to be more cute than serious, but I just couldn't see it taking place.


I think this is the longest review I've ever written, but considering there were four seperate stories in one, it's not too crazy. All in all, this was a sweet collection of novellas, with my favorite being An Unforseen Match by Regina Jennings.

[rayleighann · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Synopsis:

“In the small town of Dry Gulch, Texas, a good-hearted busybody just can’t keep herself from surreptitiously trying to match up women in dire straits with men of good character she hopes can help them. How is she to know she’s also giving each couple a little nudge toward love?

A Cowboy Unmatched by Karen Witemeyer

Neill isn’t sure who hired him to repair Clara’s roof–he only knows Clara desperately needs his help. Can he convince this stubborn widow to let down her guard and take another chance on love?

An Unforeseen Match by Regina Jennings

Hoping to earn an honest wage on his way to the land rush, Clayton ends up on Grace’s doorstep, lured by a classified ad. He may have signed on for more than he expected though–and he may have found the one woman who can keep him from moving on.

No Match For Love Carol Cox

Andrew can’t fathom how refined Lucy ended up as the caretaker to his dotty aunt, and somehow her arrival has prompted even more bizarre occurrences around the ranch. When they join forces to unearth the truth, will the attraction between Andrew and Lucy develop into more?

Meeting Her Match by Mary Connealy

When the tables are turned and a tender-hearted meddler becomes the beneficiary of a matchmaking scheme, her world is turned upside down. As her entire life changes, will she finally be able to tell the banker’s son how much she cares for him?”

My Review:

My mom read this book, so she has supplied me with a review:-)

Each of these books takes place in the same town and they all tied together at the end. The first had a little mystery in it and had a few funny parts. The second book was very sweet and had a curve-ball that was nice to read. The third had some action and was pretty funny in places. While the fourth left me frustrated because of how the family operated, but it did work out nicely in the end.

The overall book was sweet and it was nice to see as the reader, that God was in control of every situation throughout the story. However, the book did have quite a bit of description that had me just skipping paragraphs at a time. Also, each story is extremely predictable. But, this book was nice to read and I did enjoy reading it.

“I received this book from Bethany House for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions are my own.”

[passionforbooks_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A Match Made In Texas has four different Novella’s to read and enjoy!A Cowboy Unmatched by Karen Witemeyer:I loved this novella for the simple reason the author wrote about Neill Archer. Oh how I love those Archer Brothers. Neill is the youngest and he feels it is time for him to venture out on his own and make his mark in the world. He is tired of being treated like a child. He ends up in Dry Gulch, Texas and sets about looking for work. Enter the, very pregnant, beautiful widow Clara Danvers and watch this story unfold. This is one you don’t want to miss!An Unforeseen Match by Regina Jennings: I loved how this Novella ties in with the first story in this book. We read about familiar places and familiar character names.Grace O’Malley is forced to leave her teaching duties because of her declining eyesight. She has now been banished, if you will, to the old homestead that belonged to Clara Danvers. However will she survive being alone but dependent on others to bring meals to her?Clayton Weber arrives in Dry Gulch long enough to earn some money to replace his horse Sal that broke his leg by stepping in a jackrabbit hole. Clayton is on his way to the Cherokee Strip land run. It is his only hope to have a ranch of his own.Will Grace survive on her own or will help arrive? Does Clayton finally reach his dreams of owning his own ranch?Through sheer determination of two lonely souls and God’s hand in their lives we read about their courage, faith, and love. No Match For Love by Carol Cox:Lucy Benson learns upon her Father’s death, because of bad investments he made, she is now penniless and dependent on her friend’s family. Not wanting to impose on them any longer she accepts a companion position for Martha Simms in North Folk, Texas. She isn’t sad to leave Dry Gulch behind and the likes of Walter Harris who wishes to marry her.Andrew Simms, Martha Simms nephew, meets Lucy at the train station and cannot believe someone as refined as Lucy would accept this position to be a companion for his widowed Aunt.There are a few mysterious and strange things that happen a short time after Lucy arrives. Will this bring Andrew and Lucy closer together? Meeting Her Match by Mary Connealy:Once again we find ourselves back in Dry Gulch. Hannah Taylor has been a successful match maker and is quite pleased with herself. Now she is wondering if she is destined to be a lonely spinster for the rest of her life. Is there anyone out there that might be a match for her in the future?Hannah is a school teacher and loves her job, at least she did until some unforeseen things take place that steals her joy. I found my heart going out to Hannah. Will she ever know true happiness?Marcus Whitfield works in his Dad’s bank. He has admired Hannah from afar for many years. He is positive she could never be interested in a shy man like him who doesn’t talk much. Is it possible that someday he might get up the nerve to tell Hannah how he feels?I thoroughly enjoyed this book as well as the other three novellas. If you want some good stories to read this is the one. You will love it!I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author and Bethany House Publishers to enjoy and review. The opinions expressed are mine alone.

[reviewsbymolly · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful read! I'm a fan of these Christian authors and love everything that they do individually. So, when I saw this collaboration with them all together, I jumped at the chance to review this. I was not disappointed! These four lovely authors have taken the heart of Texas circa 1800s and brought it to the reader full swing. I felt like I was taken to the center of the story and made a part of romance, fun, and matchmaking beyond compare! I could feel the dust in my face, I could hear the stagecoaches rolling in, and see the beautiful dresses worn in that time. That's a plus for me when I'm completely transformed into someone from historical times! My favorite story in the collection was Karen Witemeyer's A Cowboy Unmatched. I loved watching Neill and Clara together. Neill's character was sweet and loving, and Clara was cautious and captivating. The two of them together made a fun loving pair and I had so much fun following along with their story! This collection is definitely fun and worthy of high 5 star praises. Each author has a talent beyond words and lend the perfect blend of sweetness to the novella! Grab this up if you're looking for a charming, historical romance novella about match making antics, sweet friends and a bit of laughter! --**Disclaimer: This book has been provided to Reviews By Molly free of charge by Bethany House via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review of this title. No money has been exchanged for this review. This review reflects the opinion of the individual reviewer and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any other RBM reviewer or this blog’s owner, editor or administrator.

[vintagebeckie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Dry Gulch, Texas is a town in need of some romance. A meddling matchmaker sets things in motion for some very strong women dealing with hardships to find good and faithful men to help them tackle their problems head on. And with that help comes some serious romance. A Match Made in Texas is a novella collection written by some of the best authors in the historical romance genre – Karen Witemeyer, Mary Connealy, Regina Jennings and Carol Cox. With their talents you get a very satisfying collection of sweet and sassy tales. Each novella stands alone, but shares their beginnings in Dry Gulch along with some supporting characters. The main characters are well-developed and the plots, though quick to develop, never feel rushed or thinly written. Each story was my favorite, until I read the next one! All are great and fit February’s month of love or anytime you need a romance fix.If you like female characters that are determined and independent, male characters that are hunky and faith-filled, your romance clean with a little bit of heat and a story set in the Old West then you need to grab A Match Made in Texas.Recommended.(Thanks to Bethany House for a review copy. The opinions expressed are mine alone.)

[deanna13-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A Match Made in Texas: A Novella Collection by Mary Connealy, Karen Witemeyer, and Carol Cox is a very enjoyable read and provides a lot of laughs and leaves you feeling happy. In the first story, A Cowboy Unmatched, Neill is hired to repair the roof of Clara, a young widow who is also pregnant. Clara is determined that she will never love and marry again but Neill works to change her mind. In the second story, An Unforeseen Match, Clayton is on his way to the Oklahoma Land Rush and stops in Dry Gulch to earn enough money to be able to participate in the land rush. He answers a classified ad put in the paper by Grace but to his surprise it is not the ad he thought it was. In the third story, No Match for Love, Lucy has come to Andrew’s ranch to care for his aunt and her arrival causes many bizarre things to happen.. Lucy and Andrew work together to solve the mysteries and soon other feelings develop between the two. In the fourth and final story, Meeting Her Match, the matchmaker has the tables turned on her as she is now the one being matched up with a possible husband.All three authors did an excellent job in the development of all the elements in these four novellas. Characters were brought to life on the pages of the book and I found myself cheering each one on and hoping that they would find a true and lasting love. The dialogue was many times extremely funny and gave me some good laughs. Even the serious dialogue was true to life and very interesting. As I was reading the different stories I found myself submerged in the action that was taking place. These three authors have an ability to bring characters and their dialogue to life.I highly recommend this book to everyone that likes a good romantic story with a happy ending and in this book you get four such stories.I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.