The Bride Ship
SWEETHEART REUNIONWhat was his brother's widow–his first love–doing on a ship full of prospective brides headed out West? Clay Howard had been tasked with escorting the Boston belle home, but he didn't anticipate Allegra being so strong-willed–or that he'd wind up traveling with her just to keep her from leaving without him!Allegra Banks Howard isn't going to let Clay interfere with her plans for a new life with her daughter on the frontier. True, Allegra needs his wilderness savvy, but if Clay thinks he can rekindle what they once shared, he had better think again. Because risking her heart for a second chance at being his bride isn't something she'll undertake lightly….Frontier Bachelors: Bold, rugged–and bound to be grooms
Читать The Bride Ship онлайн беплатно
SWEETHEART REUNION
What was his brotherâs widowâhis first loveâdoing on a ship full of prospective brides headed out West? Clay Howard had been tasked with escorting the Boston belle home, but he didnât anticipate Allegra being so strong-willedâor that heâd wind up traveling with her just to keep her from leaving without him!
Allegra Banks Howard isnât going to let Clay interfere with her plans for a new life with her daughter on the frontier. True, Allegra needs his wilderness savvy, but if Clay thinks he can rekindle what they once shared, he had better think again. Because risking her heart for a second chance at being his bride isnât something sheâll undertake lightlyâ¦.
Frontier Bachelors: Bold, ruggedâand bound to be grooms
âItâs not your responsibility to save me from myself. Frankly, itâs not your responsibility to save me at all.â
Oh, but she was going to have a mutiny on her hands any moment. She could almost see the arguments mustering behind Clayâs pale eyes. It wasnât in him to give up on something he believed. Perhaps that was one of the things she admired most about him.
But Allie wasnât about to give up either.
She pulled away from him. âLet me offer you a compromise, though I know how much you hate the concept.â
Clay cocked his head. âIâm listening.â
That was more than sheâd once thought possible. âGive me the opportunity to make my own mistakes,â she said, âto chart my own course, just as you did when you left Boston. And I promise, if I feel myself incapable of resolving a problem, Iâll come to you for advice.â
She held out her hand. âDo we have a bargain, sir?â
He eyed her hand a moment, then swallowed it in his grip. His fingers were as firm as his convictions. âWe have a bargain, madam, though I have my doubts that either of us can keep it.â
REGINA SCOTT
started writing novels in the third grade. Thankfully for literature as we know it, she didnât actually sell her first novel until she learned a bit more about writing. Since her first book was published in 1998, her stories have traveled the globe, with translations in many languages, including Dutch, German, Italian and Portuguese.
She and her husband of over twenty-five years reside in southeast Washington State with their overactive Irish terrier. Regina Scott is a decent fencer, owns a historical costume collection that takes up over a third of her large closet, and she is an active member of the Church of the Nazarene. You can find her online blogging at www.nineteenteen.blogspot.com. Learn more about her at www.reginascott.com, or connect with her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/authorreginascott.
She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
âProverbs 31:25
To my Larry, who encourages me to take the right path, and to the Lord, who always lights the way.
Contents
Pier 2, New York Harbor January 16, 1866
Head high, Allegra Banks Howard held her daughterâs hand and marched down the rough planks of the pier to join the queue of women about to board the S.S. Continental. In the frigid air that blew up the Hudson, the four-year-oldâs skin looked nearly as blue as her wide eyes inside the hood of her fur-lined cloak.
âIâm not seeing that fellow whoâs been following you,â her friend Madeleine OâRourke reported, standing beside Allie on tiptoe to peer through the crowd that surrounded them.
âNeither am I,â Allie replied, but she wished she could be certain. She and Maddie werenât tall enough to look over the othersâ heads. With so many people about, their pursuer might be within a few feet of them, and Allie wouldnât know until he swooped down to grab them. Her hand tightened on her daughterâs.
Stay with us, Lord! Weâre so close!
âAnd when will we catch sight of Mr. Mercer?â her other friend Catherine Stanway asked behind them. With her pale hair smoothed back under a fashionable feathered hat, she did not appear overly troubled by the absence of their leader. âWill the man miss his own sailing?â
Allie shook her head. All sheâd wanted this afternoon was to take Gillian aboard the ship bound for Washington Territory. They would travel with Asa Mercer and the dozens of women who had pledged themselves to live and work in the new city of Seattle, to help make it a community.
Sheâd already met many of the other travelers, from the ever-so-proper Catherine to the outspoken Maddie. She could hear the women in line now, chatting with excitement. Each had a story to tell, of loss, of hope, of faith. Each believed her destiny lay on the far-off shores of Puget Sound. After all Allie had gone through, she refused to be left behind!
