Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Warming Up the Wilderness

Would-Be Wilderness Wife, the second in my Frontier Bachelors series set around pioneer Seattle, was just released, and I couldn't be happier with the reception.

RT Book Reviews gave it 4.5 stars and a Top Pick for March. “Plenty of drama and a mystery that will keep readers turning pages.”

But I was truly humbled by the 5 star reviews from the delightful Britt Reads Fiction and the amazing Huntress Reviews.  Said the latter:  "The character of Catherine is a strong one. No simpering miss here! She is intelligent, brave, and knows what she wants. She is also wise enough to know when to bow to another's expertise; such as when a large cougar appears and she does not know how to shoot. Drew's character is a perfect match for Catherine. Family is very important to him. This gentleman is brave, skilled, and has much honor. I cannot express how great this story is, nor can I recommend it highly enough. Absolutely wonderful!"  

I hope you’ll agree.  Here’s a little taste:

He carried himself as proudly as a knight from the tales of King Arthur her father had read to her as a child. His rough-cut light brown hair brushed the top of the door jamb, his shoulders in the wrinkled blue cotton shirt reached either side. He took a step into the room, and she was certain she felt the floor tremble.

Finding her voice, she raised her chin. “I can help you.”

He walked down the narrow room toward her, the thud of his worn leather boots like the sound of a hammer on the planks of the floor. The blue apothecary bottles lined up on the shelves behind the counter chimed against one another as he passed. He was like a warrior approaching his leader, a soldier his commanding officer. Mrs. Witherspoon, waiting on a chair for the doctor to reset her shoulder, clutched her arm close, wide eyed. Others stared at him or quickly looked away.

He stopped beside Catherine and lay his fingers on the curved back of the chair where the elderly Mr. Jenkins snoozed while he waited for his monthly dose of medicine. Scars crossed the skin of the massive hand, white against the bronze.

Up close, Catherine could see that his face was more heart-shaped than oval, his unkempt hair drawing down in a peak over his forehead. His liberally lashed eyes were a mixture of clear green and blue, like the waves that lapped the Puget Sound shores. The gold of his skin said he worked outdoors; the wear on this clothes said he made little income from it.

He was easily the most healthy male she’d ever seen, so why did he need medical assistance?

“Are you a doctor?” he asked. Everything from the way he cocked his head to the slow cadence of the question spoke of his doubt.

Her spine stiffened, lifting her blue skirts off the floor and bringing her head level with his breastbone. She was used to the surprise, the doubts about her vocation here in Seattle. Even where she’d been raised, a few had questioned that the prominent physician George Stanway had trained his daughter to be a nurse. More had wondered why their beloved doctor and his promising son had felt it necessary to get themselves killed serving in the Union Army. At times, Catherine wondered the same thing.

“I’m a nurse,” she told their visitor, keeping her voice calm, professional. “I was trained by my father, a practicing physician, and served for a year at the New England Hospital for Women and Children. I came West with the Mercer expedition. Doctor Maynard was sufficiently pleased with my credentials to hire me to assist him and his wife.”

“So you’re a Mercer belle.” He straightened, towering over her. “I didn't come looking for a bride. I need a doctor.”

A Mercer belle. That, she knew from the newspapers back East, was synonymous with husband hunter. Obviously her credentials as a medical practitioner meant nothing to him.

Well, he might not have come to the hospital seeking a bride, but she hadn't come to Seattle after a husband either. She’d already refused three offers of marriage since arriving two weeks ago. Her friend, Madeleine O’Rourke, had turned away six. Even her friend Allegra had had to argue with two would-be suitors before she’d wed her childhood sweetheart, Clay Howard, a successful local businessman, only two days after landing.

None of them had left the East Coast expecting such attentions. When Seattle’s self-proclaimed emigration agent, Asa Mercer, had recruited her and nearly seventy other women to settle in Washington Territory, he’d talked of the jobs that needed filling, the culture they could bring to the fledgling community. Already some of her traveling companions were teaching schools in far-flung settlements. Others had taken jobs they had never dreamed of back home, including tending a lighthouse. They were innovative and industrious, just as Catherine had hoped she’d be when she’d journeyed west.

“I’m not interested in marriage either, sir,” she told him. “And I assure you, I am perfectly suited to deal with medical emergencies. Now, what’s the trouble?”
~~~
Would-Be Wilderness Wife is available from fine retailers such as

Amazon  
Kobo  
The Book Depository (free shipping worldwide)  

2 comments:

Lynn Lovegreen said...

Sounds great, Regina! And now I'm behind on my reading--The Bride Ship is still in my TBR stack! :-)

Regina Scott said...

Thanks, Lynn! Hope you enjoy both of the books.