Tender Hope (Cimarron Creek Trilogy Book #3) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Amanda Cabot

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191 pages

English

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Description

As far as Thea Michener is concerned, it's time for a change. With her husband murdered and her much-anticipated baby stillborn, there is nothing left for her in Ladreville. Having accepted a position as Cimarron Creek's midwife, she has no intention of remarrying and trying for another child. So when a handsome Texas Ranger appears on her doorstep with an abandoned baby, Thea isn't sure her heart can take it.Ranger Jackson Guthrie isn't concerned only with the baby's welfare. He's been looking for Thea, convinced that her late husband was part of the gang that killed his brother. But it soon becomes clear that the situation is far more complicated than he anticipated--and he'll need Thea's help if he's ever to find the justice he seeks.Amanda Cabot invites readers back to Cimarron Creek for a tender story of loss, betrayal, and love in the majestic Texas Hill Country.

Sujets

Historical romance

Texas

Informations

Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	05 mars 2019
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781493416578
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	4 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0461€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Cover
Half Title Page
Books by Amanda Cabot
Historical Romance
T EXAS D REAMS S ERIES
Paper Roses
Scattered Petals
Tomorrow’s Garden
W ESTWARD W INDS S ERIES
Summer of Promise
Waiting for Spring
With Autumn’s Return
C IMARRON C REEK T RILOGY
A Stolen Heart
A Borrowed Dream
A Tender Hope
Christmas Roses
One Little Word: A Sincerely Yours Novella
Contemporary Romance
T EXAS C ROSSROADS S ERIES
At Bluebonnet Lake
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2019 by Amanda Cabot
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2019
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-1657-8
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Dedication

For Mary Gillgannon and Joanne Kennedy, fellow writers and the best of friends. Your stories inspire me; your insights into human nature continue to amaze me; your friendship buoys me during those dark moments that seem to be an intrinsic part of writing.
Thank you!
Contents
Cover
Half Title Page
Books by Amanda Cabot
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Cimarron Creek, TX
Descendants of Emil Henderson
1
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37
Author’s Letter
Sneak Peek of Amanda Cabot’s Next Story
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Back Ads
Back Cover
Cimarron Creek, TX
Descendants of Emil Henderson
1
A UGUST 8, 1881
She was free.
Thea Michener smiled as she checked the harness, then climbed into the buggy. Within minutes, she would be leaving the only home she could remember. As much as she loved Ladreville, whose half-timbered buildings and Old World charm made visitors declare it to be one of the prettiest towns in the Hill Country, it was time for a change.
While others might have trembled with fear over the thought of leaving family, friends, and all things familiar, the prospect filled Thea with relief. A new town, new possibilities, a new life beckoned her. A year ago she would not have dreamt of leaving, but that was a year ago. So much had changed in the past year, most of all Thea.
“But you haven’t changed, have you, Maggie?” Her smile widened into a grin as she looked at the bay mare that had carried her on countless journeys. The horse was the one part of her old life that she was taking with her, that and the tools of her trade. What she was leaving behind were the need for secrecy and the fear that someone would discover the truth she had tried so hard to hide.
Waving good-bye to the liveryman who’d cared for Maggie whenever Thea’s business brought her into town, she set off down the street. It was time to be gone. The sun was already high in the sky, although a layer of clouds promised some relief from the heat of a Texas summer. Not for the first time, Thea was grateful for her buggy. The padded seat that some in Ladreville had considered an extravagance would make the long journey more comfortable, while the top—another extravagance according to the town’s more frugal residents—would block most of the sun’s rays.
“You sure you won’t change your mind?” the mayor’s wife asked as Thea passed her home. She had hoped to escape last-minute farewells, but a number of the town’s matrons were outside their homes or strolling along the main street, apparently waiting to say good-bye to Thea or perhaps, like the mayor’s wife, hoping to persuade her to remain.
Thea shook her head. Though she would miss the friends she had made, not to mention her sister, brother-in-law, and their children, she wanted—no, she needed—a complete change. Cimarron Creek would provide that.
Thea smiled as she waved at another woman, then smoothed a wrinkle from her skirt. Another change was coming. Tonight when she was miles away from those who would look askance at her action, she would remove her black garments for the last time. Just the thought brought a sense of peace, as if she’d shed a heavy burden. Thea knew she would never stop mourning her husband and son and the dreams that had died with them, but the outward trappings weighed her down, both literally and figuratively.
Not only did she hate black clothes, but the sight of them wasn’t good for her patients. Women who were enceinte , to use the French word that sounded so much more genteel than the English “pregnant” with its harsh consonants, needed no reminder that not all babies were born healthy and that not all fathers lived to hold their children in their arms. They didn’t need the reminder, and neither did she.
Thea closed her eyes briefly, trying to block the painful memories. She wouldn’t dwell on what had happened. Not today. Today was a day to celebrate the beginning of a new life, a day to put the past behind her.
Less than a minute later, she reined in Maggie in front of the parsonage.
“Bonjour, Aimee,” she said as a blonde woman, only a couple inches taller than Thea’s own five foot two, hurried from the building and stowed the modestly sized valise that contained all her earthly belongings in the back of the buggy.
Thea was surprised that Aimee, the woman who’d explained that her name was pronounced eh-MAY, not Amy, was alone. She had expected the couple who had been her hosts during her time in Ladreville to accompany her to the buggy. Evidently they’d said their farewells in private.
Aimee returned the greeting in the same language, then shook her head and said, “Good morning. We should speak English, though. I need to get in the habit.” Her hazel eyes held a note of apprehension, perhaps at the prospect of going to a town where English was the only language. Cimarron Creek did not share Ladreville’s history.
Though almost everyone in Ladreville spoke English now, the town had been founded by immigrants from Alsace, and when Thea and her sister had arrived almost a quarter of a century ago, most of the residents had spoken either French or German. As a result, Thea had grown up trilingual.
It was a skill she rarely needed now that her generation had adopted English as their primary language, but it had proven helpful the day Aimee Jarre arrived. The woman had been so exhausted from her journey that she had struggled to find more than a few English words.
“Are you certain you want me to accompany you?” Aimee asked as she settled onto the seat next to Thea. While her English was practically faultless, when she was distressed or fatigued, Aimee struggled for words, and whenever she spoke, her accent belied the fact that she was a native Texan, born right here in Ladreville.
“Yes, of course, I am.” Thea’s heart ached for the painfully thin woman who’d traveled all the way from France to the heart of the Texas Hill Country in search of the mother who’d given her up for adoption. As heartbreaking as the past few months had been and as heavily as her fears weighed on her, Thea’s life had been easier than Aimee’s.
The day Aimee had arrived in Ladreville, it had been obvious to Thea that she had not eaten in days, for she’d practically fainted when she’d climbed down from the stagecoach. Fortunately, Thea had been passing by and had taken her to the parsonage. She had known Pastor and Mrs. Russell would care for Aimee, but it was only later that Thea realized that she had helped Aimee with her quest by leading her to the house where she had been born.
As the light breeze teased her bonnet strings, Thea smiled at her companion. If the breeze continued, the midday heat might feel less oppressive. Even if it did not, they were on their way, and that felt oh, so good. For Thea, it was a new beginning, a chance to forge a life where no one would learn what had happened. For Aimee, this could be the end, the final step that would reunite her with her mother.
“I’m glad you’re coming with me,” Thea told the young Frenchwoman. Though Aimee had been born in Ladreville, she had spent the rest of her life in a small French town and was, for all intents and purposes, French. It was virtually impossible to think of her as a Texan.
As they reached the town’s limits, Thea continued. While she wouldn’t share all her reasons for being grateful for Aimee’s companionship, she wanted her to understand that they were helping each other. Aimee had already bemoaned her inability to pay her share of expenses.
“You came at exactly the right time. My sister was having a conniption at the thought that I might drive to Cimarron Creek alone. Sarah forgets that I’m twenty-seven and not a child any longer.”
“Ancienne.”
Thea laughed, both at the word itself and the fact that Aimee had already forgotten her resolution to speak only English. “There are days when I do feel ancient,” she admitted, “but today’s not one of them.”
For far too much of the past year, her fears had made her feel older than Sarah despite the fact that Sarah was twenty years her elder. The need to escape those fears and put the past behind her was one of the reasons the position in Cimarron Creek had sounded so attractive to Thea.
“You seem happier this morning than I’ve ever seen you,” Aimee said in lightly accented English.
“I am.” The thought of a new life filled Thea with an almost unbelievable sense of freedom. “The announcement that Cimarron Creek needed a midwife came at exactly the right time.”
“For me too.” Aimee turned to glance back at the town where she’d been born. From this distance, it appeared peaceful, a place w