"Rosie Stanton climbed on a
west-bound train to answer his ad for a wife and mother, everything she
wants to be."
Book Synopsis
Rosie Stanton climbed on a
west-bound train to answer his ad for a wife and mother, everything she
wants to be. But Tom Harris lied. He doesn’t want a wife, merely a
mother for his two abandoned children and a cook and cleaner for his
ranch.
Betrayed once, he’s vowed
never to let another woman into his heart. Sexy Rosie upsets all his
plans and threatens to invade his scarred heart. How will he maintain
his vow to keep his hands off her as she charms his children, his cow
hands, his life?
An Excerpt
Rosemary Stanton stood on the train platform
sweating and waiting. Sweating because it was an especially hot day in
late June. Waiting for her husband. A husband she wouldn’t recognize
if he were standing right next to her.
She’d been desperate when she answered the
advertisement for a mail order bride. Wanted: Single woman to cook,
clean, and care for children on a cattle ranch in southwestern
Colorado. Will marry upon arrival.
Well, she was twenty-six with no prospects. Her
brother just got married and his new wife, Beatrice, didn’t want Rosie
around. She could answer this advertisement or become a governess.
Help someone else’s children grow up into adults. Live in someone
else’s house. For the rest of her life, she’d have nothing she could
call her own.
Rosie wanted a home. She wanted a husband and
children. All the things she’d never have if she stayed in
Philadelphia. When she’d seen the ad in the morning paper, she’d nearly
shouted with glee. However, she managed to restrain herself until she
got to her room before she yelled with joy. The advertisement was
tailor-made for her needs. It got her away from Beatrice and got her
her own home all in one fell swoop.
Her brother, Robert, though was not happy with the
idea of his baby sister traveling across the country to marry a
stranger. He grudgingly agreed to give her her dowry to take with her.
Five thousand dollars. She’d take the draft to the bank as soon as she
arrived in Creede, Colorado, and married Mr. Thomas Harris. Cattle
rancher. It was her “in case it doesn’t work out” money. Though she
supposed it would belong to her husband once she married. Perhaps she
just wouldn’t tell him about it. Her conscience spoke up. That’s no
way to start a marriage. With lies and secrets. Oh, all right. She’d
tell him and have him take her to the bank. But not until after she’d
taken his measure. If he was a cruel man, she would leave and she sure
as heck wouldn’t tell him about her money.
Even with the dowry, there’d been few prospects
for Rosie back in Philadelphia. She wasn’t pretty in the conventional
sense. She thought her face with its big brown eyes and full lips was
pleasing enough, but men apparently hadn’t. Her one beau had said her
eyes were the color of warm brandy. That was before he left her to
marry another more suitable woman. More suitable, hah! Richer was more
like it.
Paul had expensive tastes and married a
rabbit-faced girl, heir to a substantial fortune to which he’d have
access. Well, good luck and good riddance.
Rosie did have one feature she’d been told was
extraordinary. Her hair. It was waist length, wavy and a clear, golden
blonde. Right now, standing on the train platform in Creede it was
bound up in a loose bun on top of her head under her hat. It, like the
rest of her, was covered in dust and soot from the train. She’d
discovered on the second day that she could minimize the grime by
sitting in the front of the car with the window closed. But sooner or
later the heat and mugginess of the car would force her to open the
window. The air came rushing in, cooling her, but bringing with it the
dirt and ash from the train’s boilers.
On the long trip, she’d told herself again and again she’d made the right decision. This was her future.
Tour Giveaway
Comment for a chance to win a copy of "Tame a Wild Bride" and a $5 Starbucks Gift Card at each tour stop!
The Author
Cynthia Woolf was born in
Denver, Colorado and raised in the mountains west of Golden. She spent
her early years running wild around the mountain side with her friends.
She worked her way through
college and went to work full time straight after graduation and there
was little time to write. Then in 1990 she and two friends started a
round robin writing a story about pirates. She found that she missed
the writing and kept on with other stories. In 1992 she joined Colorado
Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America.
Unfortunately, the loss of her job demanded the she not renew her memberships and her writing stagnated for many years.
In 2001, she saw an ad in
the paper for a writers conference being put on by CRW and decided she'd
attend. One of her favorite authors, Catherine Coulter, was the
keynote speaker. Cynthia was lucky enough to have a seat at Ms.
Coulter's table at the luncheon and after talking with her, decided she
needed to get back to her writing. She rejoined both CRW and RWA that
day and hasn't looked back.
Sept 10 - Black Lion Tour Blog/introduction
Sept 12 - Caroline Clemmons Blog/interview
Sept 14 - MK McClintock Blog/review and spotlight
Sept 18 - Bunny's Reviews/review
Sept 20 - Books, Books, the Magical Fruit/interview
Sept 24 - Reviews by Molly/review
Sept 26 - The Bookish Dame/review and guest post
Sept 27 - Nothing Better than a Book/review
Sept 29 - Black Lion Tour Blog/wrap-up
Sept 30 - A Novel Idea LIVE/interview (airs 1:00 PM MST)
