Things haven't really slowed down, but just for my sanity's sake I fit in some reading and finished Her Hesitant Heart by Carla Kelly.
Her Hesitant Heart is about Susanna Hopkins, a divorced woman who is traveling west to Wyoming to accept a teaching position in Fort Laramie. The details of western life in the late 1800s are amazing and really add to the authenticity of the story. I loved Susanna's spirit, even though she's suffering through some agonizing personal trials of being separated from her son and the emotional toll of the abusive relationship with her now ex-husband.
The doctor at the fort, Joseph Randolph, also has his own personal demons that he's trying to work through. He takes Susanna under his wing when the military families don't take kindly to her and the story grows from there. I like how Ms. Kelly shows the growth in the characters in a very organic way as they work toward reconciling their pasts so they might have a future. The characters feel real, both main and secondary, and when tragedy strikes anyone at the fort, you feel it along with them. This was definitely a nice historical afternoon read. For my clean read friends, this one does have some intimate scenes, but they weren't graphic and were between a married couple, so be aware of that.
Here's the back copy:
Tired and hungry after two days of traveling, Susanna Hopkins is just about at the end of her tether when her train finally arrives in Cheyenne. She's bound for a new life in a Western garrison town. Then she discovers she doesn't even have enough money to pay for the stagecoach! Luckily for her, the compassionate Major Joseph Randolph is heading in the same direction.
As a military surgeon, Joe is used to keeping his professional distance. But, despite Susanna's understated beauty, he's drawn to this woman who carries loss and pain equal to his own and has a heart that is just as hesitant and wary..
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