THE BARTERED BRIDE
COLORADO 1880
Jem Wheeler has always been a survivor. He just wants to make a fresh start in
Colorado Springs after the loss of his wife. But then he happens upon a young
mute woman being sold off to the highest bidder. He wasn’t looking for a
mail-order bride. He wasn’t looking to rescue anyone either. But desperate
circumstances can drive a good man to do things he hadn’t planned on
doing...
When Jem steps into Annie’s life, she’s not expecting anyone to save her. Mute
from birth, she’s just using all her wits to survive. All she’s ever really
wanted is a family of her own. For someone to see her. To look at her long enough
to hear the things she can’t say.
Can a rescued bride who can’t speak communicate her love for a grieving
widower and his little girl? Will her love ever be returned?
The Brides Series #3
Note: Each book in The Brides Series can be read as a stand-alone novel,
but reading in order will provide a more complete reading experience.
EXCERPT
Jem took the apple core from
his daughter and passed her one of the remaining crackers with a piece of
cheese on it. Mae munched that down and looked to him immediately for another,
the last one.
He gave it to her, then showed her his empty hands.
She frowned. “More?”
“No more,” Jem said, and
showed her his empty hands again, making a bigger gesture out of it, as if the
little girl was accusing him of hiding some.
If Annie weren’t so intent on
eating her share of cheese and crackers she might have smiled at the sight of
them, one of the most dangerous men she’d ever seen sitting side by side with
that tiny little girl. They made quite a mismatched pair.
Mae looked over at Annie, at
the last cracker in her hand and the last bit of cheese.
Annie gulped down the
mouthful she was chewing. She looked down at the last of her meal and back at
the little girl. To her shame, she didn’t want to give up her last cracker. She
could barely remember the last meal she’d eaten.
“That’s Annie’s food,” Jem
admonished the little girl. “You’ve had yours.”
Mae bit her lip. She glanced
down at her lap, then back at Annie again.
I can share, Annie attempted to tell Mae with her
eyes alone. She snapped her cracker in half—simply unable to bear parting with
the whole thing—and passed it across to the little girl. Mae took it and popped
the whole thing in her mouth, making Annie smile.
“Mae!” her father said.
She looked at him wide-eyed,
her mouth full of cracker. “Whaf dafdda?” she
said, muffled, spraying a few cracker crumbs onto his trousers.
He closed his eyes briefly
and brushed them off. “You didn’t have to give her any,” he said to Annie, “but
thanks.”
Annie grunted, her way of
saying she didn’t mind that much. She looked down quickly and finished her last
bit of food. The crackers had been crispy and the cheese silky and smooth.
They’d tasted like heaven.
“You must be thirsty,” he
said. “Do you mind sharing?”
She shook her head and
automatically lifted two fingers.
“Two’s no?” he asked.
She nodded, pleased, and
lifted one finger. She’d grown up sending signals through the floor of the Ruskins’
house, one stomp for yes, two for no. It came natural as rain now.
“And one’s yes,” he said,
catching on quick.
Annie drank deep when he
passed her the flask of water, amazed he’d let her drink from it. She tried her
best to pour it down her throat without touching her lips to the flask, so he
wouldn’t regret giving it to someone so dirty. She wished she could tell him
thanks, but after Mae had her fill and he took his own swallow, he was back
under his hat, likely going over the events of the day.
How he’d stuck himself with
her.
How he probably regretted
even stepping off the train at the last stop.
She couldn’t say she blamed
him.
She hadn’t much wanted to
marry a stranger herself.
BOOK LINKS
THE BARTERED BRIDE
THE UNEXPECTED BRIDE
SLEIGH BELLS &
MISTLETOE
AUTHOR BIO
LENA GOLDFINCH writes sweet
Historical Western Romance / Inspirational Romance and books for teens. She’s
always been a sucker for a good old-fashioned romance, whether it’s a novel or
short story, young adult or adult, fantasy or realistic, contemporary or
historical. Lena has been a finalist in several national writing contests,
including the RWA Golden Heart and ACFW Genesis contests. She enjoys life in a
quiet, small town with her husband, two kids, and two very spoiled Black Labs.
SOCIAL LINKS
RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
In celebration of the release of The Bartered Bride, Lena is giving away
some awesome prizes!
·
Grand
Prize: $25 gift card (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks,
Kobo, or Google Play—winner’s choice) + all three ebooks in The Brides series
(Open internationally)
·
Second
Prize: Paperback copy of The Bartered Bride (Open to US residents only)
·
Third
Prize: All three ebooks in The Brides series (Open
internationally)
To enter these drawings, just fill out the
Rafflecopter form below. Winners will be chosen after the end of the blog tour
(December 19, 2015).
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