This week’s Blog Tour
Tuesday features
Chloe’s Sanctuary
Stones Creek Series
#3
By Sophie Dawson
About Chloe’s Sanctuary:
A
different sort of Mail Order Bride story
Five
years ago Chloe Ashburn and her two children were rescued by Nugget Nate and
Penny. Since then they’d lived at Nate’s mission for troubled women called
Sanctuary Place. Now, with Sanctuary House ready she, and several other
rehabilitated women, are moving to Stones Creek, Colorado to find a loving
husband. When a person from her past is revealed she worries that her new start
might be over for good. She just wants to find a Sanctuary where she and her
children can feel loved, wanted, and useful. Can Stones Creek be that place or
will she once again be cast aside? Will the men who abandoned her five years
ago ruin her chance at a Happy Ever After? Or will she find Sanctuary in the
arms of the local blacksmith?
McIlroy
has a secret. He lost a wife and family during the Civil War. He wants nothing
to do with any of the women at Sanctuary House, or so he tells himself. Yet,
he’s drawn to the tall, dark-haired Chloe and her children. Can he learn to
forgive himself and allow love into his life again? Or will he push the woman
away out of fear and guilt?
Eight
women are getting a second chance at Sanctuary House. Will they find it, or is
the past too strong to overcome? Will they find husbands for themselves and
fathers for their children, or was Nugget Nate wrong to send them here? Can the
past be overcome? Is there really a chance for any of them to find Sanctuary?
The answers lie in the pages of Chloe’s Sanctuary.
It
is a stand alone book but reading the series in order is recommended.
Chloe's
Choice Free if you sign up for Sophie’s VIP email list or .99 on
Amazon
Excerpt
McIlroy pounded the nail a last
time. He was working on a side of the school building the town’s people were
constructing. The goal was to frame and raise the sides of the building during
the morning and the roof and siding in the afternoon.
“Would you like a donut and
coffee?” It was the voice that caused his chest to ache.
Straightening from his crouch,
McIlroy stood and looked at her. “Thank you.”
She was tall and thin. Thinner
than he thought she should be. Her hair was shiny black, piled up in that way
women did. Her oval face framed large dark eyes. So dark he couldn’t tell if
they were a deep blue or brown. She lifted the tray of donuts urging him to
take one.
“McIlroy,” Leah’s voice broke
through his paralysis. “This is Mrs. Chloe Ashburn. She’s new in town.”
McIlroy wiped his sweaty hand
on his britches and carefully picked up one donut between two fingers and his
thumb. Leah poured a mug of coffee and handed it to him.
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am.” He glanced down at his hands wondering how he could offer
one for her to shake. He lifted the coffee mug as a sort of salute.
“Likewise.”
McIlroy
didn’t have a clue what to say so he took a bite of his donut, getting sugar
around his mouth and down his shirt. Not able to brush it off because his hands
were full, he licked around his mouth.
Chloe
cleared her throat and looked at the ground. McIlroy hoped he didn’t look as
dumb as he felt. It was as if he was sixteen again. This wasn’t good. He wasn’t
interested in her. He’d had a woman before and he didn’t think he wanted one
again. But she sure was pretty.
“Mama,
can I have a donut?” It was a little girl asking. She was cute. Black hair like
her mother, but with big bright blue eyes. A tightness came around his heart.
“May I
have a donut?” Chloe corrected.
“Okay,
may I have one?”
Chloe
leaned down so the girl could take one from the tray. “Here you go. Mr.
McIlroy, this is my daughter Lil-Pen. Lil-Pen this is Mr. McIlroy.”
Lil-Pen
gave a small curtsy. “Pleased to make your quaintness.”
McIlroy
smiled at the pretty little thing. His heart hurt but he kept his smile clear.
“Pleased to meet you, too. So you like donuts, huh?”
“Yes,
sir. Mrs. Almeda makes the bestest donuts.”
Several
other men came up at the moment. Their intent was donuts and an introduction to
the pretty Mrs. Ashburn. McIlroy backed away and turned to look over the crowd
milling around the school yard. They’d been working for a couple of hours and
were taking a break.
Not only
was the day’s purpose to raise the school building, but also to introduce the
ladies living in Sanctuary House to more of the community. That’s the way
Pastor Preston had explained it anyway. McIlroy took that to mean for the women
to meet the men of Stones Creek and the surrounding area.
Everyone
knew the reason the women and children were here was to provide wives for the
men. This event was a perfect way to begin that process.
McIlroy
set his coffee mug down on a pile of boards and brushed the sugar off his
shirt. He’d do well to stay away from all the women. Mrs. Chloe Ashburn
especially. She reminded him too much of his past. Not that she was similar in
looks or physical form, but how that form made him feel.
“Pretty
good donuts, huh?” asked Dak Levine, one of the cowboys from the Chasing R
Ranch.
“Yeah,
they’re Almeda’s. You don’t want to miss them. Coffee’s good, too.” McIlroy
looked around and saw several other cowboys from the ranch.
“Mr.
McIlroy, Mama told me to ask if you wanted another donut.” Lil-Pen was holding
up a plate with several donuts on it. Dak already had one in his hand. The
plate was tipped dangerously with the donuts sliding to the edge.
He took
one, then decided he needed to be more polite. He gently lifted the plate to be
more level. “Thank you. So, Lil-Pen, how are you liking Stones Creek?” It was a
question he thought she could answer. He figured she was around five-years-old.
“It’s
fun. At least, so far. Dunc isn’t bothering me much. He sure did when we were
on the train. He bossed me around something fierce. Mama finally made him
stop.”
“Dunc?”
McIlroy asked.
“My
brother. He’s thirteen and thinks he knows everything. That’s him over there.”
She pointed to a skinny youth just on the verge of puberty. He stood with a few
other boys who all looked as if they wanted to be doing something like the rest
of the men, but didn’t know quite how to start.
McIlroy
took pity on them. He remembered being too old and too young at the same time.
Maybe he could help them out.
“Lil-Pen,
how about you go get another plate full of donuts and meet me over where your
brother is?”
“Why?”
“Cause
those boys need energy for what I’m going to set them to doing.”
“Okay.”
McIlroy
went over to Massot and caught his attention. “Massot, how about we set those
boys to laying out the boards for the roof struts?” He tipped his head toward
the group. “Gives them something constructive to do, and it’s a very important
job.” The last words were said in an exaggerated manner.
Massot
looked over at the boys and rubbed the stubble on his chin. “McIlroy, you’re
smarter than you look. Come on, you can help me explain their job and help lay
out the first one so they understand how to do it.”
Lil-Pen
and Mrs. Ashburn met him and Massot as they approached the boys. They handed
out the donuts as Massot explained what he wanted done.
McIlroy
was impressed with the boys’ eagerness to do the job and how they listened
carefully to the instructions. Soon the boys were moving the planks into
position. They stood watching for a few moments then Lil-Pen pulled on
McIlroy’s pant leg. He looked down into the upturned face.
“How come
you talk funny?”
“Lil-Pen,
that’s rude. Mr. McIlroy doesn’t talk funny. He speaks with an accent. Remember
how Uncle Nate speaks with an accent.” Mrs. Ashburn’s cheeks had turned bright
red with embarrassment over her daughter’s question.
“Tis
fine. Lil-Pen, I come from a different country. I’m from Scotland. I came over
to America nye onto fifteen years ago. We speak a wee bit differently over
there.” McIlroy strengthened his brogue for emphasis.
“I like
it. Can you teach me to talk like that?” Lil-Pen was jumping with excitement.
“Well, I
ken try, but you’ll be a needin’ ta ken ‘at most will na be understood.”
“What did
you say?” Lil-Pen looked confused and McIlroy laughed. So did Mrs. Ashburn.
Ach, but she was a pretty thing.
“I said I
can try to teach you to talk that way but you’ll need to understand that people
won’t be able to understand you.”
“Oh.”
Lil-Pen drooped, dejected. “I don’t think I want to learn then. Mama, there’s
Nancy. Can I go see what she’s helping with?”
“Yes, but
be sure to mind the other ladies.”
“Yes,
ma’am.”
McIlroy
watched the little girl run across the yard. He wasn’t sure how to keep the
conversation going. He just knew he wanted to.
“Mr.
McIlroy, thank you for getting the boys involved. I heard you speak with Massot
about giving them a job to do.”
“Just
McIlroy. No mister. It was no problem, Mrs. Ashburn. They looked like they
wanted to help but didn’t know how to ask.”
“It’s
just Chloe. You don’t need to call me Mrs. Ashburn. Thank you anyway. The boys
are good workers and helpful, but they are boys and tend to fall into mischief
if not kept busy.”
McIlroy
smiled. “Ach, don’t I just know it. I was a boy meself once.”
You can
get Chloe’s Choice, the prequel to
Chloe’s Sanctuary, for free by signing up for Sophie’s VIP mailing list.
Chloe’s Choice - Chloe was
kidnapped as a ten-year-old child. Now she's been abandoned by the gang who
held her for years. She's alone, except for her 8-year-old son, and in labor.
What choice does she have? A broken down shack, little food and out in the
middle of nowhere aren't the way she wants to deliver the baby.
~~~~~
To purchase Chloe's Sanctuary
please click here.
About Sophie Dawson:
Sophie Dawson
has made up stories in her head all her life. It wasn’t until 2011 that she
began writing typing them out.
Sophie writes Christian fiction(translate that
to romance). Her first books were all historical fiction romance. They’ve won
multiple awards and garnered rave reviews. Now, Sophie is branching out into
contemporary romance though she plans to continue writing historical and hopes
to add more books in her popular Cottonwood and Stones Creek series.
Sophie lives with her husband and cat on a farm
in western Illinois. She’s an avid seamstress and was a professional quilter
for a number of years before the writing bug bit. She’s just thankful it’s not
fatal.
She lives on a farm in western Illinois with her
husband and extremely old cat. She loves
reading, sewing, gardening, computer games and traveling. An avid seamstress
she was a professional quilter before the writing bug bit. Thankfully, the bite
wasn't fatal.
Sophie’s Links:
Amazon Page ~ Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest
Nicely done. Congratulations. Doris
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