Thank you for pre-ordering Fire Dancer.
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So while you wait for your new eBook, here’s an excerpt from another Bella Books title we think you’ll enjoy!
Synopsis
Finding a husband after the American Civil War isn’t easy.
When twenty-two-year-old Bostonian Clara Stapleton discovers the address of a likely bachelor in the wilds of the Alaskan bush, she throws caution to the wind and sends him a letter. Soon she’s on the adventure of her life, leaving the comfort and stability of a well-to-do family for a man she’s never met and a life of uncertainty.
Callie Glass isn’t happy with her brother Jasper’s proposal to a mail-order bride, though she knows it’s not her call. And when a tragic accident takes Jasper Glass’s life, Callie doesn’t hesitate to call off the wedding in a letter to Clara. Callie is soon surprised to find a strange woman settling into her cabin, a stranger who had never received news of Jasper’s demise.
While Callie insists that the other woman should return home, Clara digs in her heels. If Callie can live without a man in this isolated land, why can’t she? Both headstrong women struggle in the ashes of their dashed hopes and dreams, slowly coming together to forge an alliance for which neither is prepared.
Copyright © 2016 by D Jordan Redhawk
Bella Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 10543
Tallahassee, FL 32302
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
First Bella Books Edition 2016
eBook released 2016
Editor: Shelly Rafferty
Cover Designer: Judith Fellows
ISBN: 978-1-59493-501-5
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Chapter One
“Are you cutting a shine with me?” The young woman rattled the section of newspaper across the table at her companion. Her cheeks dimpled as she smiled. “You? A mail-order bride?”
Clara Stapleton felt the skin of her face and throat heat. Her eyes darted about the cafe, and she prayed to God that the nearest patrons hadn’t overheard Emma Whitman’s loud proclamation. None of the half-dozen other habitués paid their table any mind, either having missed the implications of Emma’s words or perhaps being too polite to exhibit a response. Clara’s stomach quivered with a mixture of relief, excitement and quiet audacity that she even considered this controversial topic. The idea of searching for a husband via matrimonial agencies smacked of desperation. Confident that the occupants of neighboring tables remained oblivious, she snatched the newspaper from Emma’s hand. “Hush!” She leaned over the table to scold her best friend. “Keep your voice down!”
Emma glanced around the small establishment, the impish joy on her round face extinguished by sudden concern. The expression didn’t last long as she too judged there had been no witnesses to her outburst. A familiar mischievous light returned to her brown eyes, and her bow mouth creased to allow the dimples a speedy return. She mimicked Clara and leaned close across the detritus of their afternoon tea. “Are you serious? Searching the advertisements for a husband?”
Clara’s butterflies intensified. The revelation of her intentions to her dearest friend somehow brought her purpose into sharper focus. Her scheme was no longer an amorphous wondering in her mind now that she’d dared speak the words aloud. For a brief moment she entertained the notion of naysaying herself, of capitulating to Emma’s delighted question with a negative. To do so would conjure a prevarication between them, something to which they’d promised one another as children they would never fall prey. Such a lie would chip away at the foundation of their closeness and eventually destroy that which Clara held so dear. She pressed her hand against her trembling stomach. “Yes Em. I’m serious.”
Emma flounced backward in her chair, eyes wide, smile turned incredulous. Her fingers worried her napkin ring, the silver flashing reflections from the sunlight that splayed across the tablecloth. She studied Clara for a long moment. “I must say, Clara, the idea never occurred to me.” She gazed at the newspaper clutched in Clara’s hand and lowered her voice. “But it sounds positively wicked!”
Relief briefly overrode all other concerns, and Clara wondered why. She and Emma had supported one another through dozens of escapades throughout their shared childhood, some undertakings more questionable than not. Why wouldn’t Emma throw her full support behind Clara for this cockamamie idea? She
