By Starlight
Page 29
The questions about their future that had haunted her, whether she and Jack would stay in Colton or she’d follow his career to a big city, had been answered for Maddy the day he’d turned in his badge and gun, resigning from the Bureau of Prohibition. She’d tried to talk him out of it, telling him that she’d be happy as long as he was, wherever that happened to be, but Jack insisted that he’d had enough of seedy dives, bar fights, and spending weeks undercover.
But that didn’t mean he’d given up the law.
When Jim Utley had retired as sheriff in Colton, most folks figured he was ashamed of what had happened with the speakeasy. The person immediately hired to take his place was Jack. His first act was to bring on Clayton as deputy, extending an unlikely partnership that’d both upheld the law and undoubtedly saved Maddy’s life. Once Jack and Maddy returned from their honeymoon in Chicago, he would take up a different badge and gun.
As for Maddy, she was happy to stay in Colton and would do everything she could to see that Jack never regretted his decision. She’d return to the mercantile, working with her new husband through the tough times, saving whatever was needed to pay the bills and care for her family. Her hope was that it wouldn’t take long before they could have a child of their own, a boy or girl to take with them to the framework bridge, to make it a special place for three instead of just two.
And then four, then five…
A train’s shrill whistle blew and they both looked back down the tracks to see a locomotive pulling into the station. It was the first they’d board on their journey back to Montana.
“Are you ready?” Jack asked.
In answer, Maddy leaned forward and kissed him, finding his lips warm but his nose cold from his run to the station. Even now, married, after all that’d happened, she still was delighted she was able to feel his touch again.
“What was that for?”
“Love, the future, everything,” she answered.
And we’ll discover it all together.
Special Thanks
To Dr. Bob Borgman for his invaluable medical knowledge, as well as the patience to answer all of my many questions.
Books by Dorothy Garlock
After the Parade
Almost Eden
Annie Lash
Come a Little Closer
Dreamkeepers
Dream River
The Edge of Town
Forever Victoria
A Gentle Giving
Glorious Dawn
High on a Hill
Homeplace
Hope’s Highway
Keep a Little Secret
Larkspur
Leaving Whiskey Bend
The Listening Sky
Lonesome River
Love and Cherish
Loveseekers
Midnight Blue
The Moon Looked Down
More than Memory
Mother Road
Nightrose
On Tall Pine Lake
A Place Called Rainwater
Promisegivers
Restless Wind
Ribbon in the Sky
River Rising
River of Tomorrow
The Searching Hearts
Sins of Summer
Song of the Road
Stay a Little Longer
Sweetwater
Tenderness
This Loving Land
Train from Marietta
Wayward Wind
A Week from Sunday
Wild Sweet Wilderness
Will You Still Be Mine?
Wind of Promise
Wishmakers
With Heart
With Hope
With Song
Yesteryear
HEARTFELT PRAISE FOR DOROTHY GARLOCK AND HER UNFORGETTABLE NOVELS
“Garlock is a master.”
—Booklist
“A gifted writer.”
—Chicago Sun-Times
“One of America’s most endearing historical fiction authors.”
—RT Book Reviews
Come a Little Closer
“Few authors capture the atmosphere and voices of the heartland during the mid-twentieth century like Garlock. She completes her Tucker family trilogy with a tender, realistic look at small-town America after WWII and what war can do to those who fought and those who waited at home. Crisp prose and simple words cannot hide the powerful underlying lessons of loss, friendship, brotherly love, family ties, and the simple acts of kindness that bind a community.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Another winner for Dorothy Garlock…a wonderful romance.”
—BestsellersWorld.com
“This delightful post WWII thriller stars a strong small-town cast struggling to move past the war. The tenuous relationships between Tyler, Holden, and Christina make the tale fun to read while Dorothy Garlock paints a vivid backdrop of 1946 Wisconsin.”
—GenreGoRoundReviews.blogspot.com
Keep a Little Secret
“Garlock is a master at developing characters through their actions and evoking settings so real they transport the reader back in time…All the elements that keep Garlock’s fans coming back for more are here.”
—Booklist
“Four stars…[Garlock] takes readers back in time with her simple prose and likable characters, making them able to believe they are witnesses to the story. Not only is Garlock a premier Americana writer, but she is one who touches chords in readers’ hearts.”
—RT Book Reviews
“A good read for a lazy afternoon…left me happy for all the characters…I also loved reading about this time and location.”
—LikesBooks.com
“A winner…a fully developed cast of characters.”
—GenreGoRoundReviews.com
“Excellent…enjoyable and compelling…eminently readable…engaging characters, romance, suspense, and small-town America in an era gone by.”
—TheRomanceReadersConnection.com
Stay a Little Longer
“Heartwarming…love blooms.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Touching… [a] poignant, engrossing story of life, death, and second chances…Well written and swiftly paced, this story brings to life a time period that is seldom used in romance.”
—Library Journal
“An emotional…profound Americana tale [with a] strong ensemble cast…fans will relish this terrific historical.”
—GenreGoRoundReviews.com
“Garlock is so familiar with her time period that she makes writing it look easy. Her attention to detail is astounding, and she does an incredible job of putting you in both time and place.”
—LikesBooks.com
“Vivid…Garlock weaves the tale expertly.”
—Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (IA)
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Epigraph
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Epilogue
Special Thanks
Books by Dorothy Garlock
Heartfelt Praise for Dorothy Garlock and her Unforgettable Novels
Copyright
&n
bsp; This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2012 by Dorothy Garlock
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First e-book edition: August 2012
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ISBN 978-1-4555-1062-7