Mrs. Carrie Daly and her brother Henry Bell live on their family farm. Their parents are both long gone as well as grandparents. And Carrie lost her husband Frank during the civil war when he was killed in battle. Her brother Henry has always been the stable influence in her life.
As the story opens we are introduced to Carrie Daly, Mr. Griff Rutledge and a horse name Majestic. The horse is out of control and about runs Carrie to ground in front of the town mercantile. Griff rescues Carrie from the horse and comforts Majestic who immediately calms under the careful hand of Griff.
The story quickly moves back to the Bell farm where Henry is to be joined in marriage to Mary. Mary comes to the marriage as a widower herself and brings along her two young sons, Caleb and Joe. The three of them move in with Henry and Carrie and that's when the fireworks take off. To say the least, Carrie and Mary do not hit it off and the boys are absolutely out of control (they are little demons to tell the truth).
Carrie leaves her homestead and moves to town. Henry is left with a wife who knows little to nothing about farming. Caleb and Joe are left to run wild. Mary is left to criticize anything and everything. All the while Carrie moves into town, into a run down hotel for women and tries to figure out how she will make life work.
A romance triangle emerges between Carrie, the bookstore owner, Nate, and with the drifter, Griff Rutledge. How will things turn out. Will Carrie and Henry ever be reunited? Will Carrie ever learn to love Mary and her boys? Will Carrie follow her heart towards the drifter, or will she settle for the safety of the bookstore owner?
All these issues will be dealt with along with the sub plot of the depression following the civil war and the hard times that farmers fell into. Henry will have to leave the family farm to go to Chicago and try to get gainful employment. Hickory Ridge will try to struggle to find someway to survive as a town. God is going to be called on to help everyone sort through their issues.
There are many other sub plots that run through the story. Dorothy Love weaves them all together to bring you a romance novel that will have you eager to see how things come out in the end. The bottom line question you will have, is this as good as Gone with the Wind? Maybe not, but it sure gives it a good run for it's money. Keep a pencil and paper handy to take notes so that you can follow the many different issues that will be discussed and solved.
Oh, and by the way, not everything will be wrapped up by the end of the book. There will be some loose ends that will leave you wanting more.
I personally want to find out more about Nate Chastain and Rosaleen, but that will have to wait for another book.
Enjoy!
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