Unbroken: A Pair of Historical Romances

By Vanessa Carvo

From New York To Nevada & Into The Arms Of The Wrong Cowboy - A woman travels from New York with her best friend, another mail order bride, to Nevada and both of their fiancés. When she reaches her intended cowboy she sees his twin brother and there’s an immediate attraction. However, she stays true to her promise with her feelings until her fiancé goes out of town on business with his father and it’s then that things begin to develop at a rapid pace.

Three Sisters & the Journey West - A woman and her two sisters fall on hard times in England when their alcoholic father dies, so they all decide to go out west and seek mail order husbands. Only one has actually corresponded with a rancher but throughout the long journey by ship, train and stagecoach, she wonders if he’ll still be there at the end, and also, what will happen to her beloved sisters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781365442926

Book preview

Unbroken: A Pair of Historical Romances

Unbroken: A Pair of Historical Romances

By

Vanessa Carvo

Copyright 2016 Quietly Blessed & Loved Press

From New York To Nevada & Into The Arms Of The Wrong Cowboy

Synopsis: From New York To Nevada & Into The Arms Of The Wrong Cowboy - A woman travels from New York with her best friend, another mail order bride, to Nevada and both of their fiancés. When she reaches her intended cowboy she sees his twin brother and there’s an immediate attraction. However, she stays true to her promise with her feelings until her fiancé goes out of town on business with his father and it’s then that things begin to develop at a rapid pace.

Absently twisting a strand of her long auburn hair, Charlotte strained to get a glimpse of her new home amidst the frantic bouncing of the stagecoach. Yet all there was to see was an endless rocky desert; it was so different from the city she’d left behind.

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a hand grasped her sweaty palm and gently pulled it away from the nervous habit.

It’ll be okay. Lennie’s voice was soothing, as always and Charlotte looked up to stare into the reassuring eyes of her companion. But, I swear, if you don’t stop messing with your hair, you’re going to be bald by the time we get there.

With a sheepish half-smile, Charlotte turned her attention to the picture and pile of letters that were sitting in her lap. They hadn’t parted from her side since she’d left New York nearly a month before. The photo depicted an attractive young man with unkempt hair and the faint hint of a well-worn smile. The letters, written in hurried and sloppy form, were short and simple, vaguely detailing what her life in Nevada would be like.

Are we crazy, Len? Charlotte turned to her friend, whose towhead blonde hair was as wild as her personality.

Lennie looked amused. Barely more than twenty years ago, your parents were starving in Ireland. Now their orphaned daughter is traveling to the infamous Wild West of America to marry a man she’s never met and knows little about. Life is unpredictable and cruel and it drives us to do strange things. She shrugged and gently placed her arm around her Charlotte’s shoulder. So what’s the point of trying to define ‘crazy’?

With a defeated laugh, Charlotte let her head fall back against the rigid seat. I guess you’re right. Surely, you’re at least a bit nervous, though? She paused briefly before switching to a more playful tone. After all, you know less about his royal highness, Sir Jonathan Lanier, than I know about my desperate groom-to-be.

Lennie feigned offense and scoffed dramatically. That is Mister Jonathan Lanier to you, Madame Gallagher.

When their quiet laughter subsided, Lennie became serious again. Honestly, I am quite nervous. I think that any girl in our position would be nervous—if not scared out of her mind. But I’m also optimistic. There was nothing for us in New York. We left no families; we didn’t have money. This is our chance to find a home and maybe even love.

Charlotte knew her friend was right. Her parents had migrated to the United States to escape the famine in Ireland. But soon after they’d settled in New York and finally started the family they’d always wanted, they came down with smallpox. Her parents died from the illness, but she—deemed the miracle baby—had survived.

Their only child, Charlotte was sent to live with distant relatives, who were so busy tending to their brood of spoiled, hysterical children—whom Lennie had dubbed the shrieking seven—that she was often overlooked. Upon deciding to venture west, she’d slipped a short note underneath their door and slipped out without saying a word.

Shaking herself from thoughts of her own past, Charlotte turned to Lennie. Her friend since childhood, the girl had always been lively and tomboyish, often rebelling against social norms, much to the displeasure of her parents and three sisters. She often said that the only practice of sophistication that she wanted any part of were the books. She loathed her given name, which was Eleanor and had obstinately insisted on being called Lennie for as long as she could remember.

Lennie’s story had never been a happy one. Throughout their childhood, Lennie had often shown up at Charlotte’s door with black eyes and bruises, courtesy of her father. Her manic mother and older sisters never seemed to fare much better. When she was eight, the story took an even darker turn: Her mother abandoned the family, her sisters—who’d always viewed her as the outcast—married well and never looked back and her father had drunk his way into oblivion, no longer caring for or even recognizing his last remaining daughter. However, despite it all, Lennie was one of the merriest people that Charlotte had ever known.

The inseparable pair had always been a site to see: Lennie with her short, gangly figure and chronically disheveled blonde mane and her, the ever-quiet redhead who towered over her. As they sat together in the crowded carriage, Charlotte realized—not for the first time—that she couldn’t imagine a life without Lennie.

So, when Lennie had suggested that they answer mail-order ads for brides out west, Charlotte had agreed without much hesitation. And although she never admitted it to herself, Charlotte would’ve followed Lennie anywhere. And she knew that Lennie would’ve never left without her.

As the sky grew slowly darker, she reached for her friend’s hand and the two slowly drifted to sleep as the coach carried on through the night.

When is she supposed to get here? The question was followed by a soft grunt and the whooshing sound of an axe before it spliced a log in half.

Umm, I’m not really sure. The answer was nonchalant.

Robert stopped his swing in midair to look at the man who sat propped against the side of the barn, lazily reading. For two people who looked so much alike, they’d always had a hard time understanding one another.

Wiping the sweat from his brow and pushing back the blonde strands of hair that had fallen into his face, Robert waited for his brother to say more. When only silence followed, he spoke again. So…you have no idea?

Tommy looked up from his book, confused by the tone in his twin’s voice. No, not really. I received a telegram from St. Louis over a fortnight ago, saying that she was on her way. But you know how unpredictable coaches are. Why do you ask?

Robert looked at him with subtle disbelief. Because your life—our lives are about to change considerably.

Tommy grinned. With his twinkling green eyes and deep dimples, his boyish smile had managed to get him out of a lot of trouble throughout his life. And while he’d never gotten into any serious mischief—settling instead for harmless pranks and carefully timed jokes—his mannerisms starkly contrasted those of his soft-spoken and responsible twin.

Snapping his book shut and clambering up from his shady reading spot, Tommy teased his brother. I think you’re just scared to have a woman in the house.

Robert shook his head and turned his focus back to splitting wood. Smiling, Tommy began to whistle as he