Cherry Creek by Linda Griffin

Cherry Creek

by Linda Griffin

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Book Blurb:

When her fiancé died, Eileen said, “Then I’m free,” words that her younger sister Molly didn’t understand and never forgot. In 1850s Ohio, a girl doesn’t have that many options, and marrying Andrew MacLeith may be the best she can hope for. He promises to cherish her, but they have to live with his parents, and he can’t even protect her from his mother’s sharp tongue. After a quarrel, Molly impulsively joins his gambler brother Hugh on a journey to the Pike’s Peak gold region. Perhaps the romance and freedom she longs for lie elsewhere. Or were they right under her nose all along? 

Excerpt:

 “When I get to Pike’s Peak,” he assured me, “I’ll send back more money than this to Ma and Pa and anybody I owe money to. But not to Andrew. He wouldn’t know how to spend it. You would, though, wouldn’t you, Molly?” he teased.  

“Yes,” I said wistfully. My prospects were even more dismal than before. If he ran off to  

Kansas, he wouldn’t return for a long time, if he ever did. I was on the verge of tears again.  

“Hey now, cheer up. Aren’t you glad of my good fortune?”  

“Yes,” I said, although I wasn’t. I was envious.  

“Do you mean to say it’s serious between you and Andrew?” he asked, frowning.  

“I hate living here,” I burst out, as I had to Andrew. Complaining to his brother was wrong, but I was too unhappy to contain myself.  

Hugh was briefly taken aback before he said, with his usual charming insouciance, “Come to Pike’s Peak with me, then.”  

I didn’t think he meant it, and I was only half serious when I said, “I wish I could.” Decamping to Kansas would be an adventure and an escape, and it would teach Andrew a thing or two.  

“Why can’t you?” he asked, making it sound almost logical “If you don’t like it here, what’s 

keeping you? Pike’s Peak is the future, the new Eldorado. Don’t you want a piece of it?”  

“I couldn’t dig for gold,” I said. “And I don’t have any money.”  

“I do,” he said. He fanned out his winnings. “Come on, Molly. It will be fun.”  

Author Bio:

Linda Griffin knew she wanted to be a “book maker” as soon as she learned to read, and she wrote her first story, “Judy and the Fairies,” at the age of six. Her passion for the printed word also led her to a career with the San Diego Public Library. She retired to spend more time on her writing and has had stories published in numerous literary journals. Cherry Creek is her eleventh novel, published by the Wild Rose Press. In addition to the three R’s—reading, writing, and research—she enjoys travel, movies, Scrabble, and visiting museums and art galleries.