Always and Forever (eBook)

Cathy Kelly (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2011 | 1. Auflage
480 Seiten
HarperCollins Publishers (Verlag)
9780007389308 (ISBN)

Infos

A Cathy Kelly classic - full of her trademark warmth and wit from the No. 1 bestselling author.

Fairy godmothers do exist, even in the tranquil hills of Ireland...

Once upon a time, in the beautiful town of Carrickwell, lived three women whose lives were mapped out: Ambitious Mel would have her career and her family, caring Daisy a child with the boyfriend who is everything to her, and hot-headed Cleo would finish her degree and step into the family hotel business.

Until the landscape shifted and it all came tumbling down.

But Carrickwell, nestled in the shadows of Mount Carraig, is an ancient, magical place. And when Leah, a woman with her own secret turmoil, opens the Clouds Hill spa, Mel, Daisy and Cleo are thrown together -- and find the courage to discover what really matters to them, always and forever...

Textauszug

February 1, 1884

Dear Cousin Grace,

Greetings from Kansas. I hope my letter finds you well. As you know, I've joined the Great Exodus and am now a member of a newly founded colony in southern Kansas. It has not been an easy task, trying to carve out a life in a place where none has existed before, but we've done it. We've built houses, cleared land, and put in our first crops. Now, many of the unmarried men wish to start families but lack the most necessary element-wives. We're wondering if you could make inquiries on our behalf as to whether any decent, god-fearing women in Chicago would be willing to travel here and marry.

I'm writing to you because no one else knows of anyone capable of taking on such a daunting task. Our men are stalwart individuals, most are educated, and many like me are veterans of Mr. Lincoln's war. Since new men are arriving weekly, by the time this letter reaches you, we will undoubtedly need between thirty and thirty-five women. If you decide to take up our quest, please reply soon so that the funds you'll need to finance the journey can be deposited in your accounts. I will also be posting to you sketches and information on each of the men wishing to be a part of this plan in hopes of helping the women choose their mates before they arrive. I dearly hope you can assist us. Hello to the aunts.

Your cousin,
Price Prescott

March 6, 1884

Dear Cousin Price,

Your letter did indeed find me well. I've decided to accept your unorthodox challenge. Having given the journey much thought, I feel it would be best to travel by wagon. The insidiousness of Jim Crow makes a train trip too perilous. I do not wish to have us all ordered off a train in the middle of the wilds or forced to ride with cattle. Granted, this decision will raise the costs, but I prefer the women reach Kansas City free of terror and with their dignity intact. I'm sure your men will agree. The aunts send their love.

Your loving cousin,
Grace Atwood

April 3, 1884

'You're going where?' Grace's elderly aunts shouted in unison, as they sat in the downstairs parlor of Grace's modestly appointed home.

'To Kansas City,' Grace echoed simply. 'Cousin Price wants me to find brides for the men in his colony and I've agreed to do it.'

Grace watched her aunts, Tulip and Dahlia, stare first at each other and then back at her. She sought to explain further. 'You both know I'm not one to cry over spilled milk, but since Amanda's and Garth's wedding, I've wanted to get away, and this seems a golden opportunity.'

Both women nodded sympathetically. They knew of the gossiping and whispering that had been dogging Grace's every step since Garth's betrayal and how much pain the whole ugly ordeal had caused her even though she never let it show. Dahlia and Tulip were aunts on Grace's late mother Vanessa's side of the family and had come to Chicago last November to help Grace bury her father, Elliot. They'd intended to stay only until she mastered her grief but the visit lengthened, mainly because they found the bustling city of Chicago far livelier than their home town of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and because they loved their niece as much as they'd loved her mother.

'Who will run the bank while you're away?' Tulip asked. She was the shorter, plumper, and elder of the two widowed aunts. Tulip and Dahlia had been named after their mother's favorite flowers.

'I believe Mr. Rowe and the others are capable of seeing to things.'

'You believe,' Dahlia echoed skeptically, looking at Grace over her spectacles. The sisters were complete opposites in temperament. Tulip viewed life optimistically and rarely found fault in anyone or anything....

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 14.3.2011
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Historische Romane
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Klassiker / Moderne Klassiker
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-13: 9780007389308 / 9780007389308