Heart Junction Series

Heart Junction, South Dakota, 1912 Laura will do anything to keep her little girl. Gavin will do whatever he must to take the child away. Shortly after Laura Windsor happily meets little Angelina, the orphan she intends to take into her home, she learns she may have a difficult time keeping the child. Gavin Maitland hates shattering lovely Laura’s dreams of motherhood, but he has no choice. He is bound to follow the rules of the town council regarding the placement of orphan train children: orphans may be placed with married couples only. If Laura doesn’t marry soon, Gavin tells her, little Angelina, who’s been given to her temporarily, will be taken away. Laura is undaunted by the handsome man’s threats. There is more than one way for a woman to have the family she wants, and, by thunder, she intends to prove it. Golden Rose Award, Recommended Read Award Excerpt: Setup: Laura and Gavin discuss what should be done about Angelina. Mr. Maitland reached for the child’s hand. “Come, Angelina. Betty will show you her new typewriter. When she presses buttons, it writes words.” Angelina took his hand. Mr. Maitland opened the door and led her through it to the lobby of the depot. “Can you read yet, Angelina?” Laura knew the answer even though she didn’t hear what Angelina told Mr. Maitland. She’d learned from the Children’s Home in New York Angelina could read English as well as Spanish. Laura let her gaze drift around the office. She appreciated the fine look of the large hardwood desk, but she could have done without the stale stench of cigar ashes emanating from the ash tray on Mr. Farrah’s desk. Mr. Maitland’s melodious, deep voice drifted through the open door. Angelina’s sweet laughter followed the sounds of keys striking paper on a modern typewriter. Laura relaxed a little knowing Angelina seemed to be content. She peeked around the frame of the door into the lobby. Mr. Maitland touched Angelina’s cheek and smiled at her. The man who was trying to ruin Laura’s life appeared to be charming the daughter he was ready to destroy. Gavin Maitland was most assuredly two men in one. Charming, handsome, some women might say irresistible with his mass of caramel hair and his hazel-brown eyes. Yet heartless, cruel, uncaring had to be accurate words to describe him if he intended to stop Laura from making Angelina her daughter. She withdrew her gaze from the lobby and leaned against the door jamb. She closed her eyes. He just can’t take my daughter from my arms. We need each other. Mr. Maitland came through the door, nearly brushing his broad chest against her shoulder as she opened her eyes. He shut the door and stood inches from Laura, looking down at her. She stared up at him, studying his eyes, wondering what she had to say or do to convince this sober, unrelenting stickler for the law to bend the rules this one time so she might keep Angelina with her in Heart Junction. “Shall we sit down?” he asked in a coarse, husky voice. Laura blinked and gazed up at him thoughtfully. Would charm work? Scolding? Intimidation? Seduction? Her cheeks burned. She looked away. “Yes, let’s sit.” Just the thought of how far she may or may not go to keep Angelina warmed her whole body. ... I will find a way to overcome any and all obstacles keeping my daughter from me,” Laura said. “I have to because nothing matters more than finding and keeping love.” Mr. Maitland took her arm and led her to the door. “I appreciate your commitment to Angelina, but I’m afraid there is only one way you won’t lose the girl. You’ll have to get married.”

Heart Junction, South Dakota, 1913 Stephanie Porter wants to be the new school principal. Dr. Aaron Wesley, whose romantic attentions Stephanie has repeatedly rebuffed, has been placed in charge of finding the new principal for the Heart Junction School. Uh-oh... Fortunately, Aaron doesn’t hold a grudge, but Stephanie doesn’t want to give in to the handsome man’s attentions just to win the job of her dreams. After all, she does have principles--and she doesn’t like physicians, even charming, attractive ones. Circumstances force Aaron and Stephanie to work together, and Stephanie begins to wonder if she may have been wrong about a lot of things, including her opinion of Aaron. Just when she believes she’s about to get everything she’s always wanted, a revelation about her past throws her life into chaos and places her future in the hands of a man she still doesn’t trust. Excerpt: Setup: Aaron is late. Stephanie goes to search for him. When she was about two miles outside of town, Stephanie saw Aaron’s horse tethered to a lone elm tree standing near Longfellow Creek. She steered her rig off the road and angled it toward Aaron’s horse. When she’d pulled up to the tree, she dismounted the buggy. She secured the horse and rig to the tree and went to find Aaron. She found him thirty yards from the large elm. He was sitting on the bank of the creek not far from a cottonwood tree which was about half the size of the large elm. Her skirt and shoes made rustling and crunching sounds as she moved through the tall prairie grass, but Aaron did not stir. When she stood next to him, he did not look up at her. “Aaron?” He said nothing as he continued to look at the flowing water in the creek. “Aaron, you’re late. You were supposed to pick me up over an hour ago.” He stared at the creek as though he had no idea she was speaking to him. She hunched down next to him and laid her hand on his shoulder. At last he looked at her. His eyes were darker than she’d ever seen them. The intensity she saw in his gaze was indefinable. It seemed to come from a dark force...anger, mistrust or perhaps pain of the heart. “Aaron, what is wrong?” She’d never seen him looking so dark and foreboding. He stared at her and took off his hat. He laid it next to him on the creek bank. Slowly he moved his hand toward her until he touched her hair. His sapphire eyes locked on hers, and his gaze began to draw her inside of him. Her breath caught as he thrust his fingers into her neatly arranged hair. He roughly pulled her close to him and captured her lips with his. He kissed her fiercely, so intensely she could barely breathe. Stephanie found herself caught up in his passion. Within seconds she was kissing him as ardently as he was kissing her.

Heart Junction, South Dakota, 1914 Marigold Mahoney is livid when her father forces her to leave his palatial home in Minneapolis to teach school in dusty little Heart Junction. Being the driver for a spoiled little spitfire like Mari isn’t Grit Truman’s idea of a delightful job, yet he can’t turn down the opportunity to earn a little extra pay. Temperaments constantly clash from the moment Grit and Mari meet, and, the more they are together, the more often they collide--until they ultimately run into each others' arms. Once romantic feelings begin to build the conflict between them grows, and, for the first time in her life, Mari discovers she can’t always have everything she wants--or can she? Mari devises a plan to permanently win Grit’s heart, but it will take a miracle to unite an arrogant rich girl with a proud farmer. Excerpt: Setup: Mari and Grit meet in the train depot. "I presume you understood my father when he instructed you to meet me at precisely eleven-fifteen this morning?” “Yes, miss, I did. Unfortunately, my horse didn’t wish to accommodate my schedule or yours. She decided she’d drop her foal at ten, and I couldn’t abandon her.” “You’re a farmer? A man of property?” Grit rubbed his finger over his upper lip. “I am a farmer, yes, but I am not yet a man of property. I rent my buildings, and I sharecrop the land.” “You’re a sharecropper?” Her tone was far too condescending, and she immediately regretted using it. “Yes, miss. Is there anything wrong with that?” “I don’t suppose so. It’s just, as a woman of means, I’m not used to dealing with...” She stopped herself before she made matters worse by insulting him further. “You have means, Miss Mahoney, or your father has means?” “It’s all the same, Mr. Truman.” He shrugged casually and gave her an unexpected smile. “Whatever you say, miss. If you say you have money, I believe you. I shall not hold your state of wealth against you. I enjoy the company of rich people as much as I enjoy the company of the poor.” “Whether or not you enjoy my company is up to you. Your job is to take me wherever I want to go, even if you strongly dislike being with me.” “Miss Mahoney,” he said, giving her a look she could not define, “I assure you, I could never dislike being in the company of a woman as beautiful as you.” His surprising show of charm left her speechless. Worse yet, his totally improper compliment sent her heart into palpitations. “Miss Mahoney?” “Yes?” she replied without looking at him. “If you’re ready to go, I’ll take your bags to the carriage. I’ll carry three of them at once and come back for you and the rest of your luggage, if that suits you.” “Your proposal suits me fine, Mr. Truman.” He stood next to her as he picked up two bags and her trunk. Once he was walking away from her, she watched the way he moved. Her heart began to beat wildly. How strong he was! Her heavy trunk full of shoes, clothes and personal items was a feather to him. And what a confident, assured gait he had in his stride. She judged him to be over six feet tall. His dungarees clung to his legs showing their powerful muscles. His blue cotton shirt stretched tight over his broad shoulders. Grit Truman was a very attractive man. Servant, mechanic, sharecropper, whatever he wanted to call himself, he was every inch male. If she were a silly woman like Betsy Lindstrom or Luella Senilla whom she knew from her finishing school, she’d be tempted to toy with Mr. Truman’s affections. But Mari did not believe in tempting the servants...did she?