for a horse.”
“And Mary wed a Yankee. A captain of a ship,” I added.
“How ‘bout Jonas?”
“He asked Josephine to marry him.”
“I wondered when he’d do that. Cousin Mark?”
“He and Luke are leaving the mountains soon. They were going to
help their folks a little first.”
“Who else?”
“Well, cousin John came back early from the war, without an arm.
He’s going to stay with his folks for a bit. On our side of the family, other
than Jonas, y’all left and never came back. So I don’t know about y’all.”
“Any other news?”
“Yes,” Gage said. “My pa showed up and took Ma to California.
They got them a sweet spot near the ocean. So I won’t be bringing her here to
live. We saw them on our way. Our families are scattering out.”
“Building a country,” said Trey. “One people will be proud to
live in.”
My brother had filled out with Mally’s cooking. He was right
handsome now. And Mally told me she was five months along with their first
child.
“Mally’s been riding all over the countryside, taking care of
sick folk and delivering babies,” Trey said. “She’s getting a reputation for
being quite the doctor. People see her pony outside a place and know someone’s
either sick or having a baby.”
“Gage said you used to care for your mother,” I said.
“I did,” she replied. “We don’t have a doctor around here, and
if we did, we couldn’t pay for him. My aunt had a doctor book in the wagon,
Doctor Gunn’s work. So I go and help.”
“She hasn’t lost a baby yet,” Trey said. “She’ll have to stop
for a bit while she has ours.”
“Stay here with us,” Mally said, her eyes sparkling as she
looked at me. “Trey and the neighbors plan to put up our house this coming
week. You can look at the place Trey is talking about, buy what land you can
now, and then we can do your home. We help each other here, and log houses go
up quickly. We’re building strong,” she said.
“One home at a time,” I agreed.
I liked Mally. I liked this part of the country. And I loved my
Boaz.
THE
END
But
not the end of your reading, if you wish to read a short story. There is one
included in this book that is part of The Traherns Series, called The
Prettiest Gal on the Mountain, a story about Abigail
Courtney. To find it, use the menu in this book. There are also a couple of
prologues from other books.
Thank you for
reading “The Prettiest Girl in the Land.” If you enjoyed this
book, I would appreciate it if you'd help other readers enjoy it too by
recommending it to friends, readers' groups, and discussion boards, or by
writing a short review on Amazon. Thank you.
OTHER WORKS BY NANCY
RADKE ... Sisters
of Spirit Series
Boxed set of
#1-4 of the Sisters of Spirit novels . This gives you four super
reads, ranging from a simple love story in Turnagain Love to a life and death
struggle in Courage Dares . All are sweet, contemporary romances with lots of action but
without the language or sex offered by many authors. These are safe to give to
teenagers, grandparents, and anyone wanting pure romance.
Want
more sweet romances, this time with a strong suspense element? Try out COURAGE DARES , #4 Sisters of
Spirit
Suspense, sweet, contemporary. Mary prays for courage to overcome her tragic past
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All
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crusader, and when she discovers the danger her brother faces, she flies to the
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SAMPLE: SONGS FOR
PERRI
PROLOGUE
Tragedy
gave no warning.
Slamming
the door on her mother’s new Range
Maggie Brendan
Barbara O'Connor
Jan Washburn
Terri Blackstock
Norah Simone
Barry Kemp
G.P. Taylor
Alan Cumyn
Linda Barnes
Lisa Jackson