By Caroline Clemmons
Don’t you love
the cover of POLKA WITH PAULINE? The dress is lovely and one of my favorite
colors. One of the fun things in this story is that the dance floor moves as
the couples are dancing. I wonder what that sensation would be like. I’d
probably fall, but Pauline had a glorious time. This is a sweet western
historical romance set in Creede, Colorado. And, it’s on sale for 99¢ from today through Wednesday, September 15. If you
haven’t read this story, here’s a chance to get it at a bargain.
Here’s the blurb:
A woman’s mission
of mercy…
A man determined
to create…
An attack by a
crazed killer…
Pauline Brubaker
arrives in Creede, Colorado from Denver to help care for her aunt while the
aunt’s broken leg heals. Pauline’s hesitant to give in to her attraction to
Creighton because she will only be in Creede the few weeks her aunt needs her
help. Her parents and her life are in Denver.
Creighton Reed
makes amazing pieces of furniture. They sell as fast as he can create them. Creighton
meets Pauline when her aunt and the sponsor of the Matchmaker Balls conspire to
have them attend a dance together. He is immediately attracted to Pauline, but
she gives mixed signals.
Creighton barely escapes when fire bombs destroy his workshop and
his living quarters. Who wants him dead and why?
https://www.amazon.com/Polka-Pauline-Matchmakers-Ball-Book-ebook/dp/B085BT965N/
This excerpt is when Pauline has gone
to Creighton’s workshop to borrow a wheelchair for her aunt’s use:
“Is Creighton a family name?”
He grew solemn. “I don’t know. I was
dropped off at an orphanage when I was two. I know nothing of my family except
that my father had died. My mother attached a note to my shirt. She said she
couldn’t earn a living and look after me properly. She wanted me where I’d be
cared for.”
How she regretted causing him bad
memories. “That must have been so hard for her and for you. She must have loved
you a great deal to think of your well being before her wish to keep you with
her. Do you know where she is?”
“No, the orphanage is near Denver, but
she could have gone anywhere. She included a photo of her and my father with
her holding me as a baby. She wrote the names on the back of the photo.”
“I hope you can find her, Creighton.
I’ll bet she thinks of you every day. Is the photo where you can easily show it
to me? What’s her name?”
He took a cabinet card from a shelf.
“Naomi Ruth Reed but she may have married again. The orphanage let me keep my
name since my mother was alive. Usually, they change a child’s name.”
Pauline examined the photo. The man
was handsome and the mother pretty. Baby Creighton was adorable but she
wouldn’t tell him. The date on the back was 1866. Thomas Ezekiel Reed, Naomi
Ruth Sanders Reed, and Creighton David Reed, age six months.
“You were born four years before me.
I’ll bet your father was in the war, survived that, and then died when he came
home. Seems unfair.”
“It is unfair. I used to make up
stories about them where my father hadn’t died and he and my mother were coming
to get me. Sometimes we’d go to a ranch, other times to a fancy house in
Denver. Sounds silly now but it helped at the time.”
“Not silly at all.”
He accepted the return of the photo
and set it back on a shelf. “May I call you Pauline?”
“Oh, yes, please.”
“Thank you. I suppose I’ll call you
Miss Brubaker when we meet socially and anyone else is around.”
“I don’t expect situations will arise
where that will happen. Since helping them is why I’ve come to Creede I’ll stay
close to my aunt and uncle’s place.”
“Would you allow me to call on you
there?”
She smiled at him. “I’d like that,
Creighton.”
Pauline sighed and pushed the chair
toward the door. “I’ve kept you away from your work too long even though I’ve
enjoyed our conversation.”
He turned the sign on his door to Closed – Back soon. “I’ll push the chair
and escort you back to the Chambers’ home.”
“There’s no need to close your
workshop. I am quite capable of getting this to my aunt.”
“I know you can, but you need an
escort.” His voice was firm. “You forget how many rough people are in town.”
Did he think she was some fainting
miss who couldn’t handle a confrontation? He sounded like her father.
“I can see my aunt and uncle’s picket
fence from here. Certainly I’m able to push this chair a couple of blocks.”
“Pauline, you shouldn’t—”
“Good day, Creighton.” She pushed the
chair down the walkway.
Have you followed me on Amazon? If not, please do. Here’s the link:
https://amazon.com/Caroline-Clemmons/e/B001K8CXZ6/
Stay safe and keep reading!
