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A Blossoming Love
Becky Martin knows that she can’t stay at James O’Brien’s apple farm forever, but she wishes she could. After her brother framed her for arson, she flees Chicago, traveling cross-country to California and finding work caring for James’s ailing mother. Beneath the apple blossoms, it’s almost as if she has a real family...but her secret won’t stay buried forever.
James, scarred from an explosion, didn’t expect to connect to the pretty young traveler. Could she really love someone damaged like him? He knows she’s hiding something. If only she’d trust him. Can she let go of her past and believe in the possibility of a future amid the apple trees?
“Are you going to show me how you prepare the new trees, or are you going to stand there staring at me?”
“I wasn’t st—” Yes, he probably had been. He couldn’t take his eyes off her lately. “Fine. I was. You’ve got some flour on your face.” He brushed her cheek to remove the powdery white streak, and she shuddered.
An aching hollowness filled his chest. After all this time, Becky was still repulsed by his touch. No matter what he did, he couldn’t seem to break through her defenses. Well, she’d just have to endure being close to him, because it was nearly impossible to teach someone how to graft without making contact. She’d need help making the cuts and fitting the two pieces of wood together correctly.
She picked up a grafted whip and studied it, her back to him. “So is this what a baby tree looks like when you finish?”
Her reluctance to look at him was understandable, but the catch in her voice was puzzling.
Award-winning author KELI GWYN, a native Californian, transports readers to the early days of the Golden State. She and her husband live in the heart of California’s Gold Country. Her favorite places to visit are her fictional worlds, historical museums and other Gold Rush–era towns. Keli loves hearing from readers and invites you to visit her Victorian-style cyberhome at keligwyn.com, where you’ll find her contact information.
A Home of Her Own
Keli Gwyn
Therefore if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature:
old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new.
—2 Corinthians 5:17
In memory of my beloved mother-in-law,
Mary Lu Gwyn, a victim of breast cancer.
Her faith inspired me.
Her strength amazed me.
Her love blessed me beyond measure.
Contents
April 1871
Becky Martin had escaped