It's been hot and humid for days on end now. The thought of
going outside for more than a few minutes to check on the wildlife that has
taken over the backyard (glad to share with the rabbits and birds) doesn't
sound very pleasant. Thunderstorms and rain also create a humidity that's hard
to bear and the low pressure is hard on those with respiratory ailments.
I'm keeping my thermostat on 75-76 to conserve what I can and,
of course, the ceiling fans are on to move the air around so I'm comfy in the
house at least.
We did not have air conditioning when I was growing up, but we
lived in an old house with high ceilings, shaded by plenty of big oaks and
Mulberry trees, and we had a screened-in porch to escape to on the worst days.
There was also a breezeway that Pop thought was a waste of space, but as it
turns out when he used it to build a pantry on the kitchen end and a linen
closet on the end where the bathroom was, that the breezeway was a major factor
in keeping the house cool. Just saying…
Thunderstorms are just par for the course when the heat of
summer takes over the south. Sometimes it helps to drive the temperatures down,
but other times it just makes the humidity soar. The worst thing about
thunderstorms is it can knock out the power and bring the air conditioning to a
standstill—and no fans to create a breeze either. BTW, there is a thunderstorm
rolling through right now.
Is it hot where you live? What do you do when it gets unbearable? What’s
your backup plan if the power goes out? What about tornadoes and hurricanes?
Well, maybe you'd like to cool off with some historical western Christmas romances from my Wildings series.
WHEN
LOVE COMES KNOCKING
Prairie Rose Publications
A lonely widow…an indiscretion…a gift for
redemption
Blurb:
Penelope Witherspoon was charmed into marriage by Evan
Thoroughgood only to learn she loved a philanderer, who gambled away his
inheritance and drank too heavily. It came as no surprise that four months
after their marriage, Evan was shot dead for cheating at cards. Since his
death, Penelope has come to depend on his older brother, Gil. In fact, she has
come to love and respect him. No two men could be further apart in character.
But, if Gil learns of her secret indiscretion, he will want nothing further to
do with her. What is Penelope to do?
Excerpt:
Once he took a sip or
two of the coffee she poured for him, Banjo studied her for a moment. “You’ve
got dark circles under your eyes like you haven’t slept and you’re running
around like a maniac. What’s troubling you? Wait. Let me guess. You thinking about
Gil Thoroughgood by some chance?”
“Are you mocking me?”
“Certainly not. The two
of you are about to make me crazy. Gil came to see me the other night after he
left your place—the night we put up the clothesline and the Christmas tree. He
wanted to know my intentions.” Banjo grinned. “Maybe I ought to marry you, but
he’d kill me for sure then.”
“Stop kidding around,
Banjo. He suspects something is between you and me and he probably hates me.”
She buried her face in her hands. “I don’t know what to do. I haven’t seen him
since that night.”
“Penelope, darlin’, it’s
not like you to sit back and do nothing. Where’s the woman I know you to be?
What do you want from Gil? What does he mean to you? What do you really want?”
A
CHRISTMAS VISITOR
Prairie Rose Publications
He left her…Now he’s back…But not for long…
Blurb:
Sterling Thoroughgood was Matilda Barton’s first and only
love, but he left her three years ago to seek his fortune in Wyoming. And now
he’s come back with a puzzle box as a gift with a secret inside. But as far as
Matilda’s concerned, it’s three years too late.
Is love lost forever or does the mysterious puzzle box hold
the key to happiness?
Excerpt:
“Don’t
you even think about stepping up on this porch, Sterling Alexander
Thoroughgood, or I’ll shoot a hole in you big enough for a team of horses to
jump through.” The woman wearing a faded blue calico dress aimed the shotgun
straight at his heart…and sometimes his liver since she wasn’t holding the
shotgun all that steady.
Sterling
raised his hands in the air. His bare hands were practically numb from the
cold. He glanced up at the slate gray sky. Snow’s
comin’. Then he grinned at the woman holding the shotgun. “Merry Christmas
to you, too, Matilda.”
She
dipped the shotgun for just a moment, but raised it again as if on a second
thought. “What do you want here after being gone for three years? Did you break
some hearts up in Wyoming? Maybe you have some fathers and brothers gunning for
you and you thought you’d come running back here to hide.”
Well, there it was. He’d hurt her when he left and she
wasn’t about to let him forget it.
A
HUSBAND FOR CHRISTMAS
A
night of horror… a wish for a new life...and a secret love
Blurb:
Jane Pierpont and her
son, Robin, survived the Titanic, but her husband went down with the ship and
the emotional scars of that night have kept her and her son locked into that
frightening event. Robin is terrified of deep water and Jane has nightmares and
survivor’s guilt. She yearns for a family, a loving husband and maybe another
child, but she feels disloyal to Michael’s memory whenever Teekonka Red Sky
comes near her.
Teekonka Red Sky loves Jane and her son, but all his efforts to help them past
their painful memories of the night Michael Pierpont died have been
unsuccessful. Unwilling to give up, can his Lakota beliefs help him bring peace
to Robin and free Jane to love again?
Excerpt:
He laughed, the
sound rich and deep, interrupting her. “I know your name…Jane.” He spoke her
name softly, reverently as if it were a treasure. He chuckled a little. “My first name’s about
as long as my last.”
“Does Teekonka
mean something in Lakota, like brave or warrior, or some such thing?”
“It means ‘talks
too much.’ Figures, doesn’t it?” He did laugh then, and Jane couldn’t help
laughing along with him.
He touched her
face at the corner of her mouth with his finger. “Your face brightens when you
laugh.”
Jane backed
away. “You’re just flirting with me now.”
He flashed her a
wide grin. “Yes ma’am, I am, but I also mean it. You are very pretty.”
She stood
speechless unable to respond to him. She couldn’t remember the last time a man
complimented her, let alone blatantly flirted with her. It felt good, like a
warm hug on a cold day. He bent his head and kissed her. His lips, warm and
supple, took hers in a tender way, so sensual, yet asking nothing more. Jane’s
heart beat against her ribs, and heat flooded her core. All too soon, Teekonka
pulled away and grinned.
Diverse
stories filled with heart
