I'm delighted that the lovely Christi Corbett is back on my blog today to tell us all about her latest book.
Tainted Dreams is the standalone sequel to Along The Way Home
and is a Historical Western Romance/Frontier and Pioneer Romance.
TAINTED DREAMS
They survived the Oregon Trail but claiming a legacy would be
their biggest challenge yet...
Sometimes, the end justifies the means…
Kate Davis arrived into Oregon City
transformed from a pampered daughter of fortune into a determined woman with a
plan--fulfill her father's dream of starting a horse ranch in Oregon Territory.
She quickly discovers a harsh
truth--even thousands of miles from home, on an unsettled land America doesn't
yet own or govern, gender still takes precedence over ability. Refusing to be
ruled once again by the stifling laws and societal norms she'd escaped by
leaving Virginia, Kate begins creatively claiming what is rightfully hers.
Until a visit to the land office changes
everything.
Jake Fitzpatrick guided Kate across the
Oregon Trail, and fell in love with her along the way. Now he wants to marry
her and build a life together, but a ruthless man from Jake's past threatens to
reveal a dark secret, and destroy everything he's worked so hard to achieve.
READ AN EXTRACT:
Excerpt
#1: (Jake, Kate, and two people they rescued on
the Oregon Trail, William and Margaret, have entered Oregon City. They are looking
for the hotel.)
At the end of the block a man burst from
the saloon and stumbled into the street, stopping mere inches from Jake's
horse, Plug. Instead of backing away, the man lurched forward and reached for
Jake's saddle horn.
"Hey there!" Jake said.
Raising his left leg, he ignored the resulting twinge of pain and shoved the
stranger aside with his boot heel. "Watch it!"
The man drew back and stared at him, his
eyes bloodshot and unfocused. He raised an unsteady finger, slurred an
unintelligible response, and then fell face-first into a patch of mud.
"Drunken fool," Jake muttered,
then faced the others. "Let's keep moving."
High-pitched squealing foiled his plan.
On the upper deck of the saloon a horde
of harlots stood clustered together, giggling and shrieking as they pointed
toward him. Clenching his jaw, he focused on the street ahead, all the while
hoping Kate didn't notice one woman in particular who'd separated herself from
the others and was now hanging over the railing, calling him by name.
Jake pressed his boot heels into Plug's
side, urging him to a steady trot. Thankfully the others followed and they
quickly left the saloon behind.
Minutes later, Kate motioned to the end
of the street. "William, we're running out of road and I still don't see a
hotel."
William pulled a rumpled paper from his
pocket. He studied it briefly and then eyed the surrounding buildings. "My
uncle sent me a rough sketch of where it's located, but there are so many new
buildings, it's useless. Jake, do you know where it's at?"
Jake shook his head. "There wasn't
a hotel the last time I was here."
"Perhaps one of those men sitting
in front of the apothecary would know?" Margaret suggested.
"We'll find it ourselves,"
Jake replied. He led the group around the corner and onto the next street.
Buildings, so new their fresh pine scent
still hung in the air, lined one side of the street while the other side held
only two—an enormous livery and a two-story building with the word Hotel
prominently displayed on a white sign with black lettering. A matching sign
beside a light-rimmed window read Rooms Available by the Day or Week.
They dismounted, secured their horses to
the empty hitching posts in front of the hotel, and headed for the door.
William reached for the glass knob, then turned to the others with a worried
frown.
"I haven't seen my uncle in over
seven years, so I don't know what to expect. Though from what I've observed so
far, living out west doesn't seem to improve manners." He stepped inside
and ushered Margaret and Kate through the doorway. Jake followed them, then
stopped cold.
Behind the hotel's front desk sat
Theodore Martin—the one man Jake never wanted to see again as long as he lived.
Excerpt
#2 (Kate meets a man from Jake’s past.)
Kate entered the hotel lobby and stood
behind William and Margaret. While she waited for Jake to join her, she gazed
around the spacious room.
Rag rugs dotted the gleaming pine board
floor and a marble-topped oak desk sat in the back left corner. Navy plaid
curtains on both windows—one overlooking the front steps and the other facing
the alley—were pulled closed, yet the room was well lit by three oil lamps and
warmed by flames flickering in the stone fireplace at the back wall.
Behind her, Jake shut the door and then
stepped so close she felt the brim of her hat brush against his chest.
Jake—the man who'd hired on as her
family's guide across the Oregon Trail.
Jake—the man who'd supported her through
the darkest time of her life.
Jake—the man she loved.
"William! You're finally
here!" The man Kate assumed to be William's uncle rose to his feet and
hurried around the desk and across the room. Though by the creases around his
eyes he looked to be in his early forties, he had hair the color of coal, broad
shoulders, and a trim waist. His clothing, while outdated by nearly a decade,
was impeccable, and a brown silk cravat perfectly arranged at his neck and
embellished with a gold pin completed the outfit.
This man was a welcome change from the
other men she’d seen so far in the town.
"I've been waiting for you to walk
through that door for weeks." He grabbed William into a fierce hug, then
pulled back to look at him again. "I was worried you'd run into
trouble."
"We did," William replied.
"We?" William's uncle finally
took note of the others lingering at his door. His eyes scanned the ragged
group, narrowed briefly when they reached Jake, and then returned to his
nephew.
William removed his hat and beckoned
Margaret a few steps forward to join him. "Uncle Theodore, I'm proud to
introduce you to my wife, Margaret. We married the day before departing from
Independence."
Theodore took Margaret's hand and bowed
with a grace and confidence Kate hadn't seen since the ballrooms of Virginia.
"Please pardon my initial shock. My nephew is a lucky man to have a bride
as lovely as you."
"Thank you," Margaret
murmured, absently running her free hand along the curve of her waist.
"You're welcome." Theodore
released her hand. "ʺI consider it a privilege to have you as a member of
our family." He straightened and eyed the lobby doorway, where Kate still
waited with Jake at her back. His smile faded. "William, you mentioned trouble
earlier, a fact that doesn't surprise me now that I see who you kept company
with on the trail."
Kate's mouth dropped open. What had she
or Jake done to offend this man?
"The return to civilization can be
a tough adjustment." Theodore motioned to William's bare head, then to his
hat clutched against his leg. "I'm pleased to see you haven't forgotten
the formalities of polite society."
Kate's cheeks flamed. Propriety had been
ingrained in her since birth, but she'd only been wearing a man's hat since
July—her father's hat, willed to her on his deathbed. While she had no intention
of replacing it with a bonnet any time soon, she did intend to do her best to
act according to society's conventions. She quickly pulled off the hat and ran
her free hand from her forehead to her collar several times in a futile attempt
to tame her wild curls.
Sighting Theodore's slack-jawed
astonishment, Kate bit her tongue to stifle a laugh. He likely regretted his
pointed words; she didn't need to further add to his embarrassment.
"Seems your companion has better
manners than you." Theodore nodded toward Jake, who, to Kate's surprise,
still hadn't removed his hat.
"Seems so," Jake replied,
slowly pushing up the brim with one finger.
Kate kept quiet, but wondered what would
possess Jake to purposely be so rude to someone he'd just met. Especially a prominent
business owner, one that could potentially serve as an ally if she ran into
trouble with her future plans.
"William," Theodore said,
smoothly turning to address his nephew again, "who is this beautiful
creature hiding beneath those ill-fitting clothes?"
William glanced at Jake and gave a
nearly imperceptible shrug of apology, then focused again on his uncle. "I'm
pleased to introduce Katherine Davis—"
"And the infamous trail guide, Jake
Fitzpatrick," Theodore finished.
"You know each other?" William
asked, his tone mirroring Kate's own surprise.
Jake gave a curt nod. "We've
met."
"And then some." Theodore's
laugh seemed more smug than jovial. "We came across the trail together a
few years ago."
Margaret clapped her hands together in
delight. "Isn't that something? Two friends meet again after all this
time."
"Friend isn't a word I'd use to
describe him," Jake said, removing his hat and stepping beside Kate in one
fluid move.
End
of Excerpt
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Along The Way Home
They lost everything but their dreams on the Oregon Trail…
Kate Davis is intrigued when her father
reveals his dream of starting a horse ranch in Oregon Territory. Settlers out
west value a strong woman, and though she manages the financials of her
father's mercantile her competence earns her ridicule, not respect, from
Virginia's elite society.
Jake Fitzpatrick, an experienced trail
guide, wants land out west to raise cattle and crops. But dreams require money
and he's eating dandelion greens for dinner. So when a wealthy businessman
offers double wages to guide his family across the Oregon Trail, Jake accepts
with one stipulation--he is in complete control.
Departure day finds Kate clinging to her
possessions as Jake demands she abandon all he deems frivolous, including her
deceased mother's heirlooms. Jake stands firm, refusing to let the whims of a
headstrong woman jeopardize the wages he so desperately needs--even a beautiful
one with fiery green eyes and a temper to match.
Trail life is a battle of wills between
them until tragedy strikes, leaving Jake with an honor-bound promise to protect
her from harm and Kate with a monumental choice--go back to everything she's
ever known or toward everything she's ever wanted?
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
The home's location holds a special place in her writing life; it stands just six hundred feet from the original Applegate Trail and the view from her back door is a hill travelers looked upon years ago as they explored the Oregon Territory and beyond.
Social Media Links for Christi:
Thank you for featuring me on your blog today, Zanna! If anyone has any questions for me about the books, or anything at all, let me know here in the comments and I'll reply back as soon as I can.
ReplyDeleteThanks again!