Love's Double Blessing by Linda Hubalek

CAN THEY HANDLE BECOMING INSTANT PARENTS TO TWO ORPHANED CHILDREN?


In Love's Blessing: A Clear Creek Legacy, widow Jenna McDowell, and medically discharged soldier Riel (Gabriel) Shepard meet at his grandfather's Cooper Ranch near Sweet Grove, Texas. They both came to the ranch to heal from their individual heartbreaks. Time and help from their family and pastor finds them healing, falling in love, and ready to marry each other.

In Love's Double Blessing, the sequel to Love's Blessing, as Jenna and Riel plan their December wedding and remodel an old ranch house, their lives are instantly changed by a call from the Dallas police. Jenna's friends die in an auto accident and she's named the guardian of their children, six-year-old Amie, and four-year-old RJ.

Because of Riel's PTSD, caused by a military accident in Afghanistan which involved a child's death, Jenna doesn't believe Riel can handle an instant family. She calls off the wedding, so Riel doesn't have to raise the children.

But Riel bonds with the children and wants to be their new father. Can Riel convince Jenna to marry him? Doesn't this situation count as a "for better or worse" their pastor had been counseling them about?


(Riel's ancestors, Reuben Shepard, was featured in Darcie Desires a Drover in the Brides with Grit series, and Gabriel Shepard, was featured in Gabe's Pledge in the Grooms with Honor series.)

WHAT HAPPENED TO ORPHANED CHILDREN IN THE 1800S?

Even though Love's Double Blessing was a contemporary story, I couldn't help but wonder what happened to orphaned children in rural America in the 1800s. 

I assume children were taken in by family members, neighbors, or sent to an orphanage in a city if no one stepped forward to help. In some cases, older children struggled to make a living and keep the young children within their family.

Except for the kindness of neighbors and the community, orphaned children were on their own. Even though our modern-day system has some flaws, I'm sure glad children have people and resources to help them.

If you're blessed with the Christmas spirit this year, I hope you can share it with a child less fortunate. Then it would be a "double" blessing, for you, and for them.

Happy Holidays from the Kansas prairie!

Linda Hubalek

Cowboys, Animals, and Romance by Paty Jager

Men who take up jobs that deal with animals can find themselves in less than heroic situations a good deal of the time. Yet, seeing a man deal with animals and children without losing their tempers, can also be an endearing quality for a hero.

You'll find six such heroes in the 6 novella contemporary western box set, Cowboy Six Pack. 

Each of the stories has a hero in a job that requires them to deal with animals and in many cases, feisty or ornery women. ;) 

To Steal a Cowboy’s Heart by Kari Lynn Dell has a hero who is a rodeo announcer. Here is the tagline -  Rule #1: when undercover, never get personal. He’s the exception she can’t afford…or resist. If lying is your job, is true love possible?

In Cowboy Courtship by Allison Merritt the hero is an auctioneer, running his family's auction yard. Here is the tagline -  Despite work-place trauma and domestic drama, Dean and London might be able to overcome any relationship trouble with a little patience and a sweet cowboy courtship.

Changing a Cowboy's Tune by Stephanie Berget uses a past relationship to spark the attention of the hero who has come home to help out with the family ranch. Here's the tagline -  After years apart, can the barrel racer and her cowboy see past their own dreams and cultivate a life they both love?

Catch the Rain by Paty Jager has a hero who is a veterinarian. A city boy who loved the country when visiting his grandparents in the summer and set up practice in a rural community. Here is the tagline -  Zach MacDonald, the new veterinarian in town, sees in stable hand, Kitty Baxter, more than she sees in herself.

Broken Vows by Melissa Keir has a cowboy turned big city firefighter. Tagline -  Distance causes problems for Rick and Julie. It turns their world upside down. When Julie puts her foot down, will Rick make the right choice or will their vows break?

Cowboy Wrecked by D’Ann Lindun has an injured bull rider as the hero. Tagline -  Can a schoolteacher who wants nothing more than a family of her own and a bull rider unable to father children find a way to build a life together.

This collection of novellas are all well worth the read for $.99!

Every woman loves a six-pack! Six sexy cowboy stories sure to make you swoon as they ride, rope and two-step into your heart!

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072LR2WFL

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 30+ novels, novellas, and short stories of murder mystery, western romance, and action adventure. She has a RomCon Reader’s Choice Award for her Action Adventure and received the EPPIE Award for Best Contemporary Western Romance and a RONE for her Murder Mystery. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

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