12/15/2020 0 Comments Gift of Restitution by Zina Abbott
My name is Robyn Echols. Zina Abbott is the pen name I use for my American historical romance novels. Iâm a member of Women Writing the West and Western Writers of America, and American Night Writers Association. I currently live with my husband in Californiaâs central valley near the âGateway to Yosemite.â
I love to read, quilt, work with digital images on my photo editing program, and work on my own family history.
I am a blogger. In addition to my own blog, I blog for several group blogs including the Sweet Americana Sweethearts blog, which I started and administer.
The gift of peace of spirit that comes from restitution.
A year after Luke McDaniels broke away from the control of two eastern Sierra Nevada Mountain outlaws and freed Ling Loi from the Chinese brothel in Lundy, one aspect of their escape still plagues his conscience. Even though he made a point to take only what was owed him, and he left sufficient funds to cover the cost of anything he took from others without the ownersâ knowledge or consent, there had been one exception. The second horse he planned to âbuyâ to assure a successful early winter journey was snatched away before his gaze. Another was left in its place. The ten gold half-eagles he allowed was less than the value of the one available to him. He hated short-changing the owner, but Loi, who took on the name of Joy when they married, had been his first priority.
Joy, grateful she has been restored to the way of decency, senses that Luke needs his own restoration. Can she convince him to do what he must to enjoy peace at Christmas?
Snippet:
Feeling Caldwell grow restless beneath him, Luke slowly exhaled. It was time to return to the liveryâa place he hoped to soon leave behind him. By the time he returned home, he would be gone slightly over a month. He hoped, in his absence, Pastor and Mrs. Campbell visited to answer Joyâs questions. He wondered if they or his mother already read to Joy the part of the Christmas story she held so dearly in her heart. If not, after he arrived home, he would read it to her. I need to teach Joy to read in English. Perhaps this winter. Luke pondered over the extent Joyâs love of the Jesus stories changed how they spent their evenings. His mother had been baptized Catholic, but, as an adult, had not attended church. After she married his father who came from a Presbyterian background, they attended his churchâwhen they went. Once David McDaniels died, and the white community of Duluth slowly turned their backs on her, Odette gathered up her little family and fled to the reservation. There she attached herself to her motherâs band. She became more comfortable with the centuries-old midewikwe beliefs of the Ojibwa than she did with the so-called Christianity of white Americansâa religion so many of them did not practice. Yet, one Chinese womanâsomeone most Americans considered a heathenâreintroduced a study of the teachings of Jesus to his family. a Rafflecopter giveaway
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12/14/2020 0 Comments Rebekah's Quilt by Sara Harris
Sara Harris makes her home with her family of seven, which includes her romance novelesque husband and her five children.
She holds her BA in history and is currently back in school seeking her BSN.
An Amish settlement. An English stranger. The Blizzard of 1888. Who can Rebekah trust when the line between the Amish and the English becomes blurred?
A sweet and gentle love blossoms between Rebekah Stoll and her childhood friend Joseph Graber, despite attempts by her saucy nemesis, Katie Knepp, to sway the young man's affections her way.
When Joseph hints at the promise of forever, Rebekah is positive she should say yes to his proposal - until a mysterious English stranger shows up at her homestead and sets everything she thought she knew about her world on end.
Snippet:
“I understand you wanting to keep her, Elnora,” Samuel’s patient voice was gentle when he finally returned to the wagon. Gentle and firm. “Especially since the Lord has yet to bless us with children of our own.”
Elnora fixed her eyes on the baby who lay asleep in the nest of pillowy quilts in the wagon bed. Usually, Elnora was unable to tear her gaze from the stars in the night sky. They seemed to wink at each other in the blackness, making her think they were simply bright young children, playing gotcha-games in Heaven. Tonight though, Elnora couldn’t force herself to look away from the tiny miracle of a girl. “Gelassenheit,” she whispered. “We must trust His divine reasons and timing.”
Samuel exhaled, swiping his gritty hands on his britches. “We simply can’t keep her. She is not one of us.” Exhaustion weighted his words.
“Ja Samuel, but those she belonged to are now with Our Lord.” Elnora sucked in a breath. “Aren’t we all children of God?” Her gentle voice wafted with the night breezes.
Samuel rubbed the bridge of his nose. The other men had returned to their families and were already fast asleep in their wagons, evident by several different tones of snoring. “Ah, Elnora. I love you and your compassionate heart. I want so to make you a happy wife.” He stifled a yawn.
“You do, Samuel.” The baby stirred and began to squeak.
Elnora’s voice was tender as she plucked the rooting babe from the nest of blankets. “Come here, Rebekah.”
“Oh mein! You’ve given her a name?”
She smiled, rocking Rebekah to and fro.
Sarah Wagler’s shy voice came from somewhere in the near darkness. “Elnora? Samuel? Are you awake?”
“Yes Sarah, we are.” Elnora bounced Rebekah in her arms as the infants squeaks grew into angry coughs and sputters.
“I heard the baby fussing.”
Crimson colored Elnora’s cheeks. “I’m sorry to have woken you Sarah–”
Waving a hand, Sarah cut her off. “Oh no, you see, the baby sounds hungry.” The flickering firelight from the Wagler’s dying fire illuminated her timidity. “And Elijah is only six months old. So I thought I might feed her until…”
The worried creases melted from Elnora’s face. “Thank you for your kind offer, Sarah. We call her Rebekah. Danke.”
Sarah accepted Rebekah and turned back to her wagon, picking her way carefully amid the carefully stacked wares and items. “Ah, sweet Rebekah,” she cooed. “I will share with you the story of your namesake.”
“Wake me when you bring her back,” Elnora whispered loud enough for Sarah to hear.
As Sarah and Rebekah retreated to the Wagler wagon, Samuel turned back to his wife. His hazel eyes shined with the tender light of a father. Squatting, he scooped both her hands into his. “Elnora, would it be agreeable to you if we keep the child-”
She nodded emphatically, the straps to her covering bouncing against her shoulders.
Samuel’s face clouded over. “Dear Wife, if we keep her safe only until another English wagon happens by?”
With pain cramping her heart, Elnora managed a compliant smile. “That is agreeable, Husband.” Her words hung in the air as the song of a night bird laced the momentary silence with hope. “But what should become of Rebekah should we not meet another English traveler?”
Samuel’s gleaming white teeth were visible above his inky beard. He stood and ran his thumbs along the inside of his black braces. “Elnora, the English are moving west in droves.” He extended his hand and helped Elnora to her feet. “The Pike is rumored to be the most traveled route in The United States now. We will meet more English, you’ll see.”
Unable to meet his warm and weary gaze, Elnora nodded at the ground.
“Come Wife, let’s go to bed.”
With a heavy heart, Elnora closed her eyes. Though whether it was to hasten sleep or hold in the tears, she couldn’t be sure.
a Rafflecopter giveaway This blog post is just a quick explanation of where to find Imaginative Mama's Dragonfly Reads. That blog will be moving to over here on this website along with my actual blog about writing. Please bare with me as I make the transition over from the other website. I will be shutting down The Book Social until I find the right way to organize it where it isn't as crazy. When that is finished I will re-open The Book Social.
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