Better Than Gold
Laurie Alice Eakes
Publisher: Barbour/Heartsong Presents
ISBN: 978-1602606746
Series: Iowas Historical

Talk about one-horse towns. Lily Reese can’t wait to escape Browning City, Iowa. She’s sure she’ll be happier in the big city, if only she can save enough money to get there. Why anyone would want to stay here, Lily can’t fathom. But then Ben Purcell rides into town, threatening not only her place of residence and growing sense of family, but her safety and peace of mind, as well. And Ben has every intention of sticking around and becoming a small-town guy. How can Lily even consider the feelings he evokes in her? Rumors of a long-lost cache of gold brings danger swirling around them, but Lily and Ben find themselves on a quest for something more. Will releasing their plans and desires bring heartache or a reward beyond expectation?

Available as part of Laurie Alice Eakes' backlist. Check local bookstores and Amazon for copies

Teaser

Better Than Gold

Lily had to push with all her strength to open the door so she could fetch more firewood. Wind caught her hat and sent it sailing into the darkness then tore her hair from its pins and flung it across her face in heavy, wet strands.

"I hate this place!" She cried the words into the night, where she knew no one could hear her. "I want to run away."

The kitchen door slammed behind her. She staggered to the woodpile and grabbed up as many logs as she could hold. Fighting the wind like a beast caught in a locomotive's cowcatcher, she stumbled back to the door and reached for the handle with near-frozen fingers.

Another hand reached it first.

"Let me help you," Ben Purcell shouted over the blizzard's roar.

He opened the door. She toppled inside, dropping logs and gasping for breath. A moment later, he entered with more logs and his own bare head white with snow.

She wanted to hug him. She hadn't felt like hugging a man ever in her life. But the sight of Ben, tall and broad shouldered, sturdy and full of life, sent such a wave of joy through her that she knew she should run as fast and as far away from him as she could.

Except she couldn't run anywhere. The weather held her captive.

Ben's gaze held her captive.

"You—you shouldn't have come out in this," she said through a dry throat.

"I couldn't leave you ladies on your own once the storm grew worse." He set his load of logs in the wood box and stooped to gather up the ones she had dropped. "I think if I hadn't come along, you'd be in Kansas by now."

"Missouri."

"Hmm?"

"The wind is from the north. It would send me to Missouri."

"Right." He laughed up at her.

Lily wrapped her arms around herself. She fell the rest of the way in love with Ben Purcell.