New Year, new family!
Heading West, pregnant widow Jenna Borland's life surely
can't get any more complicated -- until fate throws Lee Carver across her path.
She resents his help, but she needs him to drive her wagon over the Great
Plains.
Lee can't fathom why this prickly woman gets under his
skin. But as the journey brings these two outsiders together, he wonders if
Jenna and her baby could be just what he needs to begin a new life with a
brand-new family!
Very good book, with a different storyline than most.
Jenna, her husband, and her stepdaughters are part of a wagon train on the
Oregon trail. At the beginning of the book, her husband is shot and killed
while trying to steal a horse, leaving Jenna to continue the journey.
Jenna hadn't wanted this journey in the first place and
now she is really stuck. She is unprepared for the hardships, including her
fear of the oxen and horses. The leader of the wagon train assigns someone to
help her with her wagon - the man responsible for her husband's death. She's
furious, but doesn't really have any choice.
I have to admit that Jenna irritated me at the beginning.
I understood that the journey hadn't been her choice, but she seemed awfully
whiny to me. She griped about her two older stepdaughters' attitudes, but hers
wasn't much better. Her anger at Lee was logical, given the circumstances, but
I felt she could have shown a bit more gratitude. She also considered herself
an outsider once she was widowed, and seemed to spend a fair amount of time
feeling sorry for herself. I grew to like her more as she faced the challenges
ahead of her.
On the other hand, I liked Lee right from the start. He
had every right to defend his property according to the rules of the times. He
didn't have to volunteer to help her continue the journey, but he is a
gentleman at heart and felt it was only right. He is treated as an outsider by most of the
others because of his Southern background, while the others were all Northerners.
I loved seeing the relationship grow between them with
the backdrop of the Trail and its hardships. The relationship was strained at
first because of the circumstances, but forced into each other's company day
after day they had to learn to get along. I loved Lee's protectiveness and his
insistence on teaching them all the skills they needed. It was sweet to see the
way that the youngest, Ruthie, took to Lee, and the effect it had on him. I
also loved seeing him handle the two older girls. As the days and weeks went
by, he and Jenna slowly began to get to know each other. They are able to share
the pain and secrets of their pasts, without experiencing any judgment from the
other. And though the attraction and feelings grow between them, there are
still obstacles that keep them apart. Lee is bound for a more remote part of
the state to build his horse breeding ranch. Jenna is determined to remain in
town and find a way to make a living while making sure the girls get the
schooling and upbringing they need. The concerns were real and believable and I
ached for their inability to find their way for a future together. The ending
was sweet as Lee comes through with the answers they need.
Even more than the romance, I enjoyed the journey itself.
Outside of a brief mention in school history books, and the computer game my
kids used to play, I had very little exposure to that part of the past. The
descriptions were vivid enough that I frequently felt I was there, from the
incredible heat of the trek across the Plains to the arduous trip over the
mountains. The encounter with the Indians was nerve wracking, with an
unexpected result, and the dangers of having a baby on the trail were
excellently portrayed.
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