By
Caroline Clemmons
Yay! Time to preorder KEITH AND THE MAIL ORDER BRIDE! Yes, I
finally finished book 5 of the Texas Hill Country Mail Order Brides Series,
which will be released on March 8th. Here’s the preorder link at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW7B2GZS
Once it's released, it will be in e-book and in print. As usual, it will be enrolled in KU. And, here is the cover, designed by Charlene
Raddon at Silver Sage Covers.
Let me share the blurb with you:
Elliana
Barrington has to escape from Evansville before a deranged cousin learns the
terms of their grandmother’s will. So, Elliana is sent to marry a man in Texas,
who hopefully can protect her. She knows her greedy cousin expected to inherit
everything. Although he received a generous inheritance, the desperate cousin
has debts he can’t pay, debts owed to dangerous men. He plans to force Elliana’s
to sign over her money to him. She is kind and generous and willing to share
her legacy. But her grandmother’s unbreakable will is specific—if Elliana
attempts to give her cousin any funds, everything they each inherited will be forfeited
to charity.
After escaping a
difficult situation, Keith Martin created a new life as the banker of Harrigan
Springs, Texas. He’s won the respect of the community and has made many good
friends. After buying a house, he sends for a mail order bride. What a surprised
to receive a letter from a young woman’s attorney, complete with a contract.
Although not sure he’s doing the right thing, Keith agrees to marry the woman
and fulfill the contract’s conditions. He expects a shy, overprotected bride—but
he’s in for a surprise!
I couldn’t find exactly the model for Elliana Barrington, but this
is very close.
Here’s an excerpt
She sat erect and sent him an unyielding glare. “What an unkind
thing to say. What have I said or done to give you that impression?”
Uh-oh, he had better tiptoe around that subject. “Nothing at all.
I just meant that most people, even kind and generous ones, want to control
their funds.”
“Well, you’ll find that I am not ‘most people.’ I am just what I
say and what you see.”
He held his hands out at his sides then dropped them back to the
arms of his chair. “I apologize for offending you. I assure you it was not my
intention.”
Her lovely brow remained furrowed and her vivid blue eyes
narrowed. “I should hope not. Were you not told I’m quiet, kind, and generous?”
“As a matter of fact, you were described as so perfect that the
description would only fit a saint. I see now that you possess many of those qualities.
I suppose I’ll see more of them as we become better acquainted.”
“Now you’re making fun of me, but it’s all right. I’m not a bad
sport unless you try to bully me.”
“I wasn’t making fun, and I don’t like bullies, either. An uncle
and a couple of my cousins are terrible bullies and mean as anyone can be. The
only reason they’re not in jail is that they’ve paid off some of the police and
haven’t been caught by others. My father is almost as bad and does as my uncle
tells him. I’m relieved I’ll never see them again.”
“Don’t you intend to visit your parents?”
“Never!” He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “Elliana,
in my family, I’m the white sheep. The rest are not people you’d ever want to
meet. Imagine an entire family of people like Trey. They don’t even know where
I am. It’s important to keep it that way.”
“Oh, that is severe… and sad.” She stared at her hands a minute
then looked up at him. “I guess we’ll have to start our own family and include
friends here.”
“That’s my plan. We can’t choose our family members related by
blood, but we can choose good friends to become our family.”
She let out a sigh. “I’m glad we can agree.”
Thanks for stopping by. Stay safe and keep reading!
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