Part of Series
Gentle widow, Faith Randolph, took her young daughter, Charity, and fled her wealthy, pampered life in Brooklyn to escape a cruel and manipulative father. Her first marriage had been nothing more than a loveless business arrangement, so when Faith's father tries to marry her off a second time to an elderly man who wants to send Charity away to boarding school, she decides to run away and start a new life. They made it as far a No Name, Colorado, where all Faith's money was stolen, and she found herself rummaging in trash bins for food and sleeping in a livery stable. Half-starved and worried about her daughter's well-being, Faith goes looking around town for gainful employment, and encounters a peddler who insists that she take a beautiful wedding gown that he hasn't been able to sell. After reluctantly accepting the generous gift, Faith sees an advertisement for a housekeeper in the general store window, which she would have sworn was not there before. The store keeper says the ad is months old and the position has likely already been filled, but he points her in the direction of a ranch belonging to Patrick O'Shannessy, the man who placed the notice. At first Patrick doesn't want to hire Faith, thinking she is too young and dainty to make a good ranch housekeeper, but when the miles-long walk from town on an empty stomach causes Faith to collapse in Patrick's front yard, the compassionate man in him can do nothing else but tend to both mother and daughter. When Faith is recovered, Patrick hires her anyway, but it soon becomes clear that the pampered city girl doesn't have the first idea how to perform her duties. Faith refuses to stay without pulling her own weight, but Patrick knows the only other job available in town is for a saloon girl. Since his honor will not allow him to place a needy woman and child in that kind of position, Patrick strikes a risky bargain to keep Faith and Charity with him, but her ruthless father will stop at nothing to get them back.
Author
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information. (1)romance author: Adeline Catherine was born and raised in Grants Pass, Oregon, USA. She always yearned to be a writer like her mother. The morning that one of her professors asked if she could use samples of Catherine’s creative writing on an overhead projector to teach was a dream come true. In 1988, she sold her first book to Harlequin Intrigue and went on to write three more before she tried her hand at a single-title historical romance. Nine books later, she did her first single-title contemporary. Catherine married Sidney D. Anderson, an industrial electrician and entrepreneur. They had two sons, Sidney D. Jr. and John G. In 2001 she and her husband purchased a central Oregon home located on a ridge with incredible mountain views and surrounded by forestland honeycombed with trails. It was her dream home, a wonderland in the winter and beyond beautiful in the summer. She named it Cinnamon Ridge after the huge ponderosa pines on the property, which sport bark the color of cinnamon. Sadly, Catherine lost her husband to a long-term illness in 2014. She has kept Cinnamon Ridge as her primary residence but divides her time between there and her son John's farm, where she has the support of her loved ones and can enjoy his horses, cows, and raise her own chickens. Catherine loves animals and birds, both wild and domestic. She presently has two Australian shepherds, six cats, and a very old canary. She is very family oriented as well. Her older son has lived in Japan, Australia, and now resides in New Zealand. Catherine and her stateside family will celebrate Christmas on the north island with Sidney, his wife Mary, and their two sons, Liam and Jonas.
