Offering Extraordinary Books by Talented Authors TM
Laura's Lost Love
The Heart Junction Series Book One
|
Laura Windsor wants to be a mother, but Gavin Maitland won’t allow it.
When the Orphan Train arrives in Heart Junction, South Dakota in 1912, Laura happily greets the little girl she intends to take into her home. Her plans are shattered when Gavin explains that the Orphan Train children may be placed with married couples only.
Gavin hates disappointing the lovely Laura, but he has no choice. He is bound to follow the rules of the town council. When he is unable to place Angelina with a willing couple because she is a sickly child, he arranges for Laura to take her in temporarily.
Circumstances surrounding Angelina’s care and placement keep Laura and Gavin close enough for each of them to realize that there is much more between them than their concern for a child. But can two people at odds ever join together? Not without breaking conventions, promises and even a few laws.
|
Click to enlarge |
About the Author
|
Fran Shaff has written and published contemporary and historical traditional romance since 1999. Her books have won awards in competitions judged by reviewers, readers and fellow romance writers. In addition to writing romance novels, she also writes children’s novels and book reviews for an on-line book promotional website. Fran and her husband Jim, who have been married since 1973, have one grown son, Zachary. They are natives of South Dakota, but they’ve also lived in Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois.
|
Praise for Fran Shaff's Novels
Fran Shaff is a wonderful storyteller, and she knows how to pull her readers immediately into the world of her characters. I like this author’s style. —eCataRomance.com
Fran Shaff has a strong talent for capturing the emotions of her characters for the reader to share. —Blether.com
Fran Shaff is an author to keep your eye on. —MyShelf.com
Ms. Shaff is definitely an author to watch. —Romance Reviews Today
Awards
Two Reviewers' Choice Awards from CataRomance.com
Placement in the traditional category of the Write Touch Readers' Award contest, sponsored by WisconsonRWA
Placement in the traditional category of the More Than Magic contest, sponsored by Romance Writers Ink chapter of RWA
Excerpt
Chapter One
Laura had waited an eternity for this day, and now everything was happening so fast. The train was due any minute.
Her tummy rumbled. She placed a hand over her abdomen as if that would help to settle an empty stomach. She'd been too excited to eat. This was the biggest day of her life.
Her daughter, yes, her daughter, a little girl she'd never even seen, would be stepping down from the train in the next few minutes. She was rushing things by thinking of Angelina as her daughter already, but she couldn't help it. In her heart, Angelina Sanchez was already Laura's very own little girl.
She stretched to look down the tracks. No sign of any movement, no sounds from the distance. She bit her lip and closed her eyes. She needed to calm down.
She opened her eyes and looked around at the other people waiting for the train. Farmers, mostly, a few other people she'd seen around town in the last week since she arrived in Heart Junction, South Dakota.
She set her focus on the landscape around the tiny town. She'd never seen land so flat in all her life. Iowa had been flat, in her estimation, but no where near as flat as northeastern South Dakota. Both towns were set on the Great Plains, but Heart Junction and land for miles around could easily be referred to as the Great Plane.
Laura smiled at her pun, but she had to occupy her mind with something besides her impatience at meeting her new daughter.
She scanned the crowd again. This time a man in a dark suit caught her attention. His attire set him apart from the other men near him. He stood at least six feet tall. His caramel-colored, thick hair was neatly groomed around his ears. His shoulders looked as though they could carry the weight of one of the boulders that hindered the plows on the prairie.
The man glanced at Laura and pinned his gaze to her when he caught her staring at him.
Laura froze for several moments until the movement of a farmer a few feet in front of her sliced the line that held her fast to the handsome man's gaze.
The whistle of a locomotive chipped at the frozen air of mid November, and Laura's heart began to melt. Angelina, her very own little angel, would be in her arms momentarily.
Laura wrapped her arms around her sapphire wool coat. She wondered if Angelina was dressed warmly enough, if she'd had enough to eat on the train, if the little girl was worn out from her long journey. New York was such a great distance from South Dakota. Angelina's adjustment wouldn't be easy. No one knew that better than Laura.
"Good day."
Laura looked to her right and found the handsome man whom she'd noticed earlier. "Hello."
"You're waiting for the Orphan Train to arrive?"
Laura smiled and nodded. "My daughter is on the train. I can't wait to meet her."
He returned her smile, his medium-brown eyes twinkling. "You're going to take in one of the needy orphans? How wonderful." He stared at her a moment.
Laura thought his gaze would melt her right where she stood. "Yes," she said, her expression sporting uncharacteristic demureness. "I'm sure it will be wonderful."
The sound of the train whistle broke their interlocking gazes.
Laura turned toward the tracks. "She's here!" She looked at the man next to her.
He put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm Gavin Maitland."
"Laura Windsor."
He drew his hand back and bowed slightly toward her. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He slipped on the black wool coat he had been holding on his arm. "Until we meet again."
"Yes, Mr. Maitland. So nice to meet you."
He bowed once more. "Best to you and Mr. Windsor."
The locomotive's whistle screamed through the air. Mr. Maitland didn't hear Laura clarify that there was no Mr. Windsor. By the time the whistle quieted, Mr. Maitland was twenty feet away.
Laura turned her attention to the arriving train. She watched as smoke and steam billowed around the trail of cars. When the mass of iron stopped, the conductor jumped down from one of the cars and lowered the steps.
The first person off the train was a severe-looking woman, well past fifty. The rotund woman, maid or matriarch, wrapped her charcoal woolen cape tightly around her shoulders. Her white hair blew in the chilling breeze. She stood at the bottom of the steps calling for the children to disembark.
Frightened faces from five to fifteen exposed themselves to the prairie air, one child at a time. The dowager below them called each by name and ordered them to form a line next to the train. Within a few minutes, a line of seven children fidgeted close to the tracks.
Bitter memories tugged at Laura's heart. She remembered exactly what it felt like to be one of those lost, little souls. Deep within her heart she wished that each of the children who'd come so far would find new families who could love them. She knew only too well how bitter life can be without love.
A little girl, her eyes cast downward, stepped onto the outer deck of the rail car. Long dark curls hung around her face.
"Chin up, child," the older woman ordered.
The little girl lifted her face and surveyed the crowd.
"Angelina!" Laura cried.
The girl looked at Laura.
All the breath left Laura's body. She feared she'd pass out.
"Down the stairs with you," the dowager scolded.
Laura's senses returned. "She's not going to talk to my little girl like that," Laura mumbled. She darted through the crowd to the dark-haired waif. "Angelina," she said softly, smiling at her precious daughter.
"Sí," the child said.
Turning to the severe woman, Laura said, "She is Angelina Sanchez, isn't she?"
"Yes," the woman said, looking down her nose at Laura's diminutive five-feet, three-inch stature.
The woman's five extra inches and stocky build did nothing to intimidate Laura. "I am her mother, Laura Windsor. I've made all the arrangements with the agency in New York." She turned to Angelina and pointed to herself. "Tu mamá."
Angelina's eyes grew as she stared at Laura's smile.
"You needn't speak Spanish to the child. We made sure she could speak English before we brought her here."
Laura lifted her eyes to the elderly woman. "I want to make her feel at home, Mrs.--"
"It's Miss," the woman said, raising her hand. "I've dedicated my life to caring for urchins such as these. By my hand and God's these children have received better care than any of them have earned."
Laura's jaw became iron. "Earned? No child needs to earn good care. A good home is the birth right of every child in this free country."
"Orphans are different, my good woman."
"Yes, they are," Laura agreed. "Orphans have suffered unbearable loss. They deserve more love and kindness and understanding than is ever issued to them." She turned to Angelina. "And I have an ocean of love to give this sweet child." She took Angelina's hand. "Come with me, preciosa."
The spinster grabbed Laura's arm. "She's a sickly one, you know."
Laura squeezed Angelina's hand. "I know all about her health problems." She glanced down at Angelina, then back at the woman. "I will take very good care of her."
"Of course."
Laura glanced at the line of children standing next to the train. She'd been one of them seven years before. She wished again that these children would find good homes instead of the life of servitude she was relegated in the home where she was placed.
A tear trickled from her eye. How she wished she could take all of them home with her to fill her house with love.
She glanced down at Angelina. She stooped next to her. "You're very pretty, Angelina. Bella," she said, touching the child's cheek.
Angelina smiled sheepishly. She touched Laura's face. "Bella," she said.
Laura bit back tears. Her father was the last person to tell her she was beautiful, ten years ago, right before he and her mother became fatally ill.
She reached into her pocket and took out a peppermint stick. "For you, Angelina."
"Gracias, Madrina."
Laura stroked the child's hair. "I'm not your godmother, darling. I'm your foster mother for now. In a year or so, once we've met the guidelines of the agency from New York, I'm going to adopt you. Then I'll be your true mother. Now and always you are going to live with me, and you can call me Mama. Will that be all right with you?"
Angelina lifted her eyes to meet Laura's. "I live with you?"
"Yes. Would you like that?"
Angelina looked away. She savored her peppermint stick as she thought over Laura's proposal. When she turned back to her new mother, she shrugged her shoulders. "You have a Children's Home like in New York?"
"No, darling. There will be only you and I, no one else."
Angelina lifted Laura's hand to her face. The girl warmed Laura's fingers with her rosy cheek and smiled.
A wordless, perfect response, easily understood in any language. Angelina made it official. Laura had found her daughter.
Though their hearts had sealed their pact, there was still the law to satisfy. Once Laura had retrieved Angelina's one modest bag of belongings, she went to find the city official for Heart Junction in charge of orphan placement. She needed to sign the legal papers which would place Angelina in Laura's care.
Laura hadn't noticed anyone else taking children from the train. Yet, when she arrived at the table outside the train station where the city official was taking signatures for promises to give the orphan train children proper homes, she found a line of several people waiting to sign contracts.
It seemed everyone ahead of her was tall. She couldn't see who was issuing the contracts, but, then, what difference would that make? Whoever it was, in a few minutes the law would be just as satisfied as she and Angelina were with their new alliance.
Laura bent down toward Angelina. "Is the candy good?"
Angelina giggled and shared the scent of peppermint that lingered in her mouth. "Candy good. Tengo hambre, Madrina."
Laura stroked Angelina's soft, long coffee curls. "I know, sweetheart. As soon as we've finished here, I'll take you home and get you something warm to eat. I know how hungry a child can get riding for days on the train."
A horseless vehicle passed through the street, a mere two dozen feet from the boardwalk. Angelina watched the strange machine travel up the street.
Laura watched with her daughter. "It's a sign of the future, Angelina, machines doing the job God gave animals to do." She took a deep breath and stood. "I don't like it much, but then," she said, glancing at the locomotive before looking back at Angelina, "sometimes change is good. Trains travel much faster than the stages that used to come through this part of the country before either of us was born." She squeezed Angelina's hand. "And look at the two of us." She bent and kissed Angelina's cheek. "We're in for some wonderful changes in our lives."
Angelina threw her arms around Laura's neck. "Change, different. Here is different from the city."
Laura laughed. "Like cheese and peppermint. Very different."
"Excuse me," a deep voice called. "I'm waiting, Mrs. Windsor."
Laura's gaze darted from Angelina toward the sound of the husky, male voice as she stood. "Mr. Maitland. You are the city official handling the placements?" Laura stepped forward on the boardwalk to the table outside the railway station.
"Yes." A smile lit his striking, masculine features.
Laura stepped forward. "Where do I sign?"
Mr. Maitland looked around her as though he were searching for something.
"Is anything wrong?" Laura asked, confused.
"I don't see Mr. Windsor. He must sign the placement papers too."
Relief washed over her. For a moment she thought there might be a real problem. "You needn't bother looking for a Mr. Windsor. There isn't one."
"You're a widow?"
"No, I've never been married. But this has nothing to do with my caring for Angelina. I telegraphed the Children's Home in New York. Everything has been worked out. Angelina is to be placed with me. When the one-year waiting period is over, I fully intend to adopt her."
He took a deep breath and leaned back in the chair. "Please, Miss Windsor, sit down," he said, motioning to the chair across from his table.
Laura sat. She lifted Angelina onto her lap.
"You've seen this handbill, haven't you?" he asked, holding up the paper announcing the arrival of the orphans from the Children's Aid Society of New York.
"I saw the announcement at the post office."
"Then you are aware that there are restrictions as to whom these New York orphans can be placed with. I'm afraid Angelina Sanchez cannot be placed with you."
Laura shook her head. "You're mistaken. If you have restrictions, they don't apply to Angelina and me. They would apply only to those orphans who come here without having made arrangements ahead of time with the Children's Aid Society."
He shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. "I'm afraid what's contained in this bill," he said, waving the paper in his hand, "applies to all orphans arriving on the train. It states very clearly in black and white, 'Persons taking these children must be recommended by the local committee.' You, Miss Windsor, would never be recommended by our committee."
"I beg your pardon?" Laura resisted the urge to spring to her feet and let her clenched hand meet Gavin Maitland's jaw.
"Communities have the discretion to qualify and disqualify people from taking orphaned children into their homes. In Heart Junction, we, the city council and the mayor, have decided that the children we take into the community should be placed only with married couples. Therefore, since you have no husband, the committee could never recommend Angelina be placed with you."
Laura could feel horror widening her eyes and carving lines in her face. "But that is ridiculous. In Iowa several single women and even a few single men took in orphans from the Children's Aid Society while I lived there."
"As I said, each community can make its own rules of acceptance of these displaced children into their community. What is all right in Iowa, is not acceptable to the people of this community. Here we can recommend no one but married couples for the placement of these children."
Laura set her seven-year-old daughter down and bolted to her feet. "This is outrageous! I have worked for five years to save enough money to rescue a forsaken child. Angelina needs me. I need her. You can't take her away from me."
Mr. Maitland looked past Laura then he stood and came around the table to her. He took her arm. "Folks," he said to the line of people behind her, "if you'll excuse me for a minute, I will return shortly to sign your contracts."
Mr. Maitland ushered Laura inside the train depot and into an empty office. He closed the door behind them. "Let me take Angelina. Just for a moment. I'll give her to Betty, Mr. Farrah's secretary. She'll take good care of the girl while you and I talk."
Laura clung to Angelina. "I won't let her go."
"Please, Miss Windsor. I'll give her right back to you as soon as we've finished speaking."
Laura refused to cooperate.
Mr. Maitland gently touched Laura's arm. "You don't want the child to hear our discussion, do you? You're very upset. She can see that. Is that how you want her to know you on her first day in Heart Junction?"
Laura softened her grip on her daughter. "Can I trust you, Mr. Maitland? You aren't lying to me, are you?"
Golden flecks softened his brown eyes. "I wouldn't lie to you, Miss Windsor," he said gently.
She stared at him a long moment until she decided his eyes were as trustworthy as any she'd ever seen. Laura set Angelina on her feet and hunched down next to her. "Darling, Mr. Maitland and I need to talk. Everything is all right. It's grown up things we need to discuss. Will you wait outside with a nice lady while we talk?"
Angelina threw her arms around Laura's neck. "Madrina."
Laura kissed her cheek. She let the tiny hug linger a moment then gently pulled back. "I won't be long. I promise."
Angelina's eyes had been frightened the first time Laura saw her, and they showed signs of fear once more. "I wait for you, Madrina."
Laura squeezed Angelina's hands. "Not Madrina, Mama. I'm your mother, not your godmother. You'll see, Angelina."
Mr. Maitland reached for Angelina's hand. "Come, Angelina. Betty will show you her new typewriter. When she presses buttons, it writes words."
Angelina took his hand.
Mr. Maitland opened the door and led her through to the lobby of the depot. "Can you read yet, Angelina?"
Laura knew the answer even though she didn't hear what Angelina told Mr. Maitland. She'd learned from the Children's Home in New York that Angelina could read English as well as Spanish.
Laura let her gaze drift around the office. She appreciated the fine look of the large hardwood desk, but she could have done without the stale stench of cigar ashes emanating from the ash tray on Mr. Farrah's desk.
Mr. Maitland's melodious, deep voice drifted through the open door.
Angelina's sweet laughter followed the sounds of keys striking paper on a modern typewriter.
Laura relaxed a little knowing that Angelina seemed to be content. She peeked around the frame of the door into the lobby. Mr. Maitland touched Angelina's cheek and smiled at the child. The man who was about to ruin Laura's life appeared to be charming the daughter he was ready to destroy. Gavin Maitland was most assuredly two men in one. Charming, handsome, some women might say irresistible with his mass of caramel hair and his hazel-brown eyes. Yet heartless, cruel, uncaring had to be accurate words to describe him if he intended to stop Laura from making Angelina her daughter.
Laura pulled her gaze from the lobby and leaned against the door jamb. She closed her eyes. He just can't take my daughter from my arms. We need each other.
Mr. Maitland came through the door, nearly brushing his broad chest against Laura's shoulder. He shut the door and stood inches from Laura, looking down at her.
She stared up at him, studying his eyes, wondering what she had to say or do to convince this sober, unrelenting stickler for the law to bend the rules this one time so she might keep Angelina with her in Heart Junction.
"Shall we sit down?" he asked in a coarse, husky voice.
Laura blinked and gazed up at him a moment longer. Would charm work? Scolding? Intimidation?
Seduction?
Her cheeks burned. She looked away. "Yes, let's sit." Just the thought of how far she may or may not go to keep Angelina warmed her whole body.
Mr. Maitland grasped Laura's elbow and led her to one of the chairs opposite the large wooden desk. He sat in the chair next to her.
"I'm sorry, Miss Windsor, about our rules, but my hands are tied."
She shook her head. "No. There is something we can do. We just haven't thought of it yet."
"I'm afraid there is nothing we can do. Our city council very clearly states that Orphan Train children can be placed only with married couples."
Laura bolted to her feet. "This is 1912, Mr. Maitland. We're more than a decade into the Twentieth Century. Things are changing. While we waited to speak to you this morning, a horseless carriage trudged through the street where only horses, men and stubborn mules have tread. Back in Iowa people are putting up telephone lines like telegraph lines. Even Aberdeen your neighbor has had a switch board for more than a decade, as I understand it. I dare say the telephone will soon arrive in Heart Junction as well. One person can talk on a phone in Iowa or South Dakota while another listens in an eastern city. If the way we talk to each other can change with the telegraph and the telephone when barely fifty years ago our fastest communication came from the Pony Express, then surely you and I, one man and one woman in a quiet office in the middle of a vast prairie can effectively solve a problem full of old fashioned ideas."
Mr. Maitland stood and looked down at Laura. "Are you a barrister, Miss Windsor?"
"Certainly not."
"You're an impassioned person, eloquent, effective."
"I'm a mother. I'm fighting for my daughter."
"And I represent Heart Junction and its laws. I'm afraid I have no choice but to enforce them. I can't place Angelina with you."
Laura pushed her hand into a pocket of her sapphire wool coat. She pulled out a pocketbook and opened it. "What will it take, Mr. Maitland?"
Mr. Maitland grabbed the pocketbook from her hand and shut it soundly. He pushed the small clutch back into Laura's pocket. "I'm going to forget you're attempt to bribe me because I know you are in a desperate way."
Laura reached for the lapels of Mr. Maitland's coat. She gripped them hard and stared up at him. "I'll do anything, Mr. Maitland. I can't send Angelina back to the orphanage. I lived in one of those orphanages for three years myself. The day I left New York was the happiest day of my life. My head was filled with dreams. I was sure I'd come west and find love, with a family or with a man, someone to take care of me. I'd lost everyone I loved when I was only thirteen years old. At sixteen I felt like my life was beginning again. I did find a new home in Iowa, but the people I was placed with didn't want a daughter. They wanted a servant. I obliged them until I turned eighteen, then I left to take care of myself as I'd done in the orphanage in New York.
"I worked as a servant girl and a seamstress, and I became very good with a needle and thread. I can do wondrous things. My life prospered, but I could never forget my life at the orphanage in the city or the friends I left behind or all the lost love. I vowed to make things better for at least one of the little ones who'd lost love the way I had. I promised I'd find a little girl to love the way I myself wanted to be loved. It is my destiny to be Angelina's mother." She let go of his lapels and stepped back. "You can't fight a force as strong as destiny."
Mr. Maitland stared down at her. If she knew him better, perhaps she could interpret the odd look that filled his eyes. "You speak as though you believe God himself has commanded you to take in this little girl."
"I make no such claim. I say only that I am destined to be Angelina's mother. It is written upon my heart."
He cleared his throat. "Have you lived in Heart Junction long? I don't remember seeing you before."
"Only a week. I bought the Sudemeyer building for Angelina's and my home and my garment business."
"Do you expect your business to gain momentum quickly? It often takes new businesses time to make a profit."
"I opened my doors three days ago. I have already received enough work to keep me busy for a month."
His brows rose slightly and his lips edged upwards. "Impressive. You must have impeccable references."
"My work speaks for itself, Mr. Maitland. Women like fine quality in their clothing."
"And you intend to make Heart Junction your home?"
"I do. This is a growing town, Mr. Maitland, the fastest growing in the area, besides Aberdeen. I did my research before I moved to Heart Junction. I'm quite thorough, except..."
"You didn't check our local laws about orphan placement."
Laura shrugged and plopped back into her chair. "It never occurred to me that things wouldn't be the same here concerning placements as they had been in Iowa."
Mr. Maitland sat next to her. "Laws are different, and we have to live with them." He paused thoughtfully. "You're gainfully employed, then, my next question is rather personal." He paused and swallowed hard. "Do you have any prospects for a groom in your near future?"
Laura blinked at him and gave him a blank stare.
"What I mean," he said, clearing his throat, "...you are an attractive woman, Miss Windsor. Surely, there must be someone ... I think I could convince the mayor and councilmen to bend the rules if you had plans for a husband in your near future."
Laura lifted her chin and narrowed her gaze. "Are you making me an offer, Mr. Maitland?"
He tugged at his starched white collar. "That isn't what I meant."
Laura enjoyed his discomfort a long moment before she replied. "I am not engaged to be married, and I have no plans to become betrothed to anyone. I've concentrated all of my energy on building a nest egg and a future I can offer to my little girl. More importantly, I have focused on sharing love with a daughter who needs to be loved."
"And on finding love yourself as a mother."
"Yes."
"Perhaps you should look for love with a man before you seek it in a child."
Laura had no response. She'd been so focused on her business, her bank account and becoming a mother, she'd really never thought of finding love with a man. The men who had crossed her path had never been men capable of love. They'd only wanted to take advantage of the poor orphan girl, the second class girl from the city who surely would take clandestine walks and dole out kisses freely to whatever man might show an interest in her.
"What did you say?"
"Don't you believe a woman should be married before she becomes a mother?"
"I believe that it is usually a good idea to be first a wife, then a mother, but life doesn't always follow a rigid plan. Certainly there is more than one way for a woman to live her life."
Mr. Maitland stood. He took Laura's hand and tugged her to her feet. "Miss Windsor, I am convinced that you are sincere in your desire to take this sweet child into your home and give her a fulfilling life, but my hands are tied."
Laura shook her head. "You can't take her away from me. We've only just found each other." She splayed her hands just below her collar bone. "Angelina belongs with me."
"No, she doesn't." Mr. Maitland stretched to his full height. "But that doesn't mean you are totally without hope."
"What?" Had she heard him right? Was he offering a solution to the problem?
"The Orphan Train left as we came inside the depot. It will be at least two weeks before we can return Angelina to New York. During that time, if it is agreeable to you, Angelina may stay at your home."
Laura grabbed Mr. Maitland's lapels again and began to draw him to her for a kiss on the cheek. If she had two weeks, she could get this narrow-minded town to change its mind. When she realized what she was doing, she let go of him and stepped back. "I'm sorry. You surprised me."
"That's all right, Miss Windsor. I have more to say."
Laura took a deep breath and prepared to hear bad news. "Go ahead."
Mr. Maitland stretched tall again. "For the two weeks' time Angelina is at your house, I will try to find her a home with a married couple in the area."
Laura's heart sank. She didn't want Angelina to be with anyone else. She wanted the little girl herself.
She paused, put aside selfish desires and thought of Angelina. Her needs mattered more than anything else. "Finding Angelina a loving home is what matters most. If it isn't with me..." A tear trickled from her eye. She quickly wiped it away. Being magnanimous wasn't easy.
He let go of her arm. "Perhaps," he said slowly, tugging at his collar. "Perhaps you could take some time during those two weeks to look over the young men of the town, Miss Windsor. I'd recommend Angelina be placed with you if you were promised in marriage."
Laura sighed gently.
The look in his eyes told her he had offered his suggestion only to help her.
Laura gazed up at him. Perhaps he was a caring man. If he weren't, he wouldn't have let Angelina stay with her at all, not even for two weeks. "I appreciate your help, Mr. Maitland."
"I wish you'd have come to me when you arrived in town. I could have explained things about placement to you. While I am glad you chose Heart Junction for your home, if you'd have known about our local laws, you may have wanted to choose a home more conducive to your plans."
Laura sighed. "I should have been more thorough in my investigation. But the minute I saw Heart Junction for the first time last summer, I knew this was where I wanted to settle. Something about the town drew me as though this is where my next step in life was to begin."
"You're speaking of destiny again?"
"Not this time. When I saw Heart Junction my stomach told me this was where I was to find my home. Destiny I find from within my heart. Gut feelings are just gut feelings, hunches that may or may not be right." Laura stiffened her spine and lifted her chin. "It looks like my gut could be wrong in thinking Heart Junction is where I am to find my home, considering the roadblock this city's council has placed before me. But I'm not wrong about my destiny with Angelina. I will find a way to overcome any and all obstacles that keep my daughter from me." She glanced toward the door, then back at him. "I have to. There are no higher stakes than finding love."
Mr. Maitland took Laura's arm and led her to the door. "I appreciate your commitment to Angelina, Miss Windsor, but I'm afraid there is only one way you won't lose the girl. You'll have to get married."
|
