Redemption

By Carolyn Davidson

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Widower Jake McPherson takes no prisoners with his temper as he sits in his wheelchair, closed off from the world while his nine-year-old son runs rampant through town. Tall, plain Alicia Merriweather, the town’s spinster schoolteacher, has had enough of watching young Jason McPherson leap from one self-created disaster to another. She confronts Jake about his son’s behavior, ignoring the veteran’s nasty attitude. Slowly, she pushes her way into Jake’s house, and eventually into his life. It’s not easy for Jake or Alicia to drop their defenses, but eventually they turn their marriage of convenience onto one of love.

This skillfully told tale, set in Green Rapids, Kansas, in 1880, wraps the reader around the lives of a non-traditional hero and heroine. He’s a double amputee and she’s not a traditional beauty, refreshing for a historical romance. At times, the heroine seems a little too good to be true—she teaches all day, cooks the meals, cleans the house, takes care of the yard, keeps Jason out of trouble—all while Jake grouses about how hard he has it living in a wheelchair, but the title says it all, so it should be no surprise that patience and persistence win and love conquers all.