Love Finds You In Last Chance, California By Miralee Ferrell Publisher: Summerside Press Release Date: Feb. 1, 2009 ISBN: 978-1934770399
Copyright © 2009 by Miralee Ferrell
It's 1877 and Alexia Travers is alone in the world. Her father has died unexpectedly, leaving her burdened with a heavily mortgaged horse ranch. Marrying one of the town's all-too-willing bachelors would offer an easy solution, but Alex has no interest in marriage. Instead, she dons men's trousers and rides the range, determined to make the ranch a success on her own.
But despite Alex's best efforts, everything seems to go wrong: ranch hands quit, horses are stolen, and her father's gold goes missing. Alex is at her wit's end when wrangler Justin Phillips arrives in Last Chance with his young son, looking for a job. But there seems to be more to Justin's story than he's willing to share. Will Alex ever be able to trust him? More importantly, will the independent woman finally learn to depend on God?
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Prologue
June, 1877—two miles outside of Last Chance, California
Benjamin Travers trotted his horse across the mesquite dotted meadow just beginning to show patches of green. Spots of snow still clung to protected areas under the spreading boughs of cedar trees where the sun hadn’t yet stretched its warm fingers. The nearby ridges of the Sierra Nevada Mountains failed to stir his appreciation today. Getting to town and ridding himself of his heavy burden filled his thoughts and drove him forward.
A bright glint flashed, pulling his gaze to the nearby tree-covered hills. He reined in his horse and stared but didn’t see it again. His unease deepened and his horse seemed to sense it, snorting and spooking at every log and boulder along the way. He picked up his reins, determined to get to town, and the sooner the better. Once he’d paid for the horses, dropped off his ore samples and headed back home, he’d breathe easy again.
The loud bark of a rifle report struck his ears a split second before a bullet pinged off a nearby rock, scattering bits of flint. His Morgan gelding snorted and jumped to the side, dancing and rearing.
Ben jerked on the reins, pulling his horse back to a standstill. “Easy, Ricky.” He patted the gelding’s neck and removed one foot from his stirrup. He had started to swing off when another shot erupted from the hillside above. The bullet whistled by, only inches from his head, and struck bits of flint from a large boulder a few yards away.
His heart hurt. The pain crept up his neck and down his arm, growing so intense that he groaned and gripped his chest. He sucked in a deep breath, gasped and choked. A sharper pain somewhere in the region of his heart struck again, sending an agonizing ache all the way up to his jaw.
Somehow he managed to drag himself the few feet to the base of the rock strewn bluff. He fumbled in his pocket and withdrew the leather pouch, shoving it under a small jumble of boulders and branches. Every breath hurt. He waited a moment, praying the pain would pass. Fighting to finish his task, he piled small stones up in front of the shallow cleft where the gold lay. If the rider still waited, he’d find the spot, but if not, Alexia or Joe might discover the hiding place later.
The last rock dropped into place and Ben dragged himself away. No sense in someone finding him close by, if he did pass out or die. He managed to crawl twenty feet or so, when another fierce pain rocked him back on the sand. He uttered a deep groan, and slid forward onto his belly, his face lying against the rough pebbles. A vision of Alex and her cheerful smile flashed across his mind before everything around him grew hazy and faded into darkness.
The man sheathed his rifle with a satisfied grunt. Travers had taken a hard fall, and after crawling a few feet, hadn’t moved. His body lay partially hidden, with only his legs in view. He’d like to put a bullet into the man’s skull, but the presence of the law in the area stayed his hand. Too bad his bullet had missed, but it might be better this way. He’d best get away from this spot fast, before a passing miner came to investigate. If no one stopped by and Ben didn’t get up, so much the better. He’d wait an hour or so, and come by again to see what transpired.
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Special Considerations: “None.”
Topics Addressed: Old West, Horse ranching, Self-acceptance, Unconditional love, California mining in the Sierra Nevada Mtns.
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AUTHOR BIO
Miralee Ferrell began writing a little over three years ago, and her first book was published 18 months later. She lives with Allen, her husband of 36 yrs., in a rural area of Washington state where she enjoys riding horses with her grown daughter and tending her garden and flower beds in the summer. Miralee and Allen hope to spend a few months each summer on their sailboat. She serves on staff at her church as a licensed minister, counseling and ministering to the needs of women.
Visit Miralee's Website at http://www.miraleeferrell.com/
You can order this book directly from your local bookstore, or online here
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