“I lie awake and wonder what it might be like to kiss a man, to feel his arms holding me.”
At almost thirty, Maura
Taggart had never been courted, been to a dance, or known a kiss. She’s lived the
life of an outcast with her sister Emma due to their father’s profession as a
hangman.
After tending the sick during
a yellow fever epidemic, townsfolk run them out of town again but not before whacking
off Emma’s hair. Also unwanted are the orphans left behind when their parents
died. Determined to make something worthwhile of their lives, to matter to
someone, they take the orphans with them and open an orphanage in an abandoned
Spanish mission.
The children name it Heaven’s
Door because they believe there is a doorway from the orphanage to heaven and
their parents watch over them.
Shortly after they arrive, Maura
discovers a man near death and they take him in, unsure if he’s an outlaw or
lawman. When the mysterious stranger can speak, he says his name is Calhoun,
refusing to give more.
The time spent tending him
draws Maura closer to him. The soft-spoken man has kind ways and loves the
little orphans.
"With a gentle finger, Calhoun lifted a strand of hair from her eyes. “Try to find someone else. There are hundreds of men better than me. I’m no good for you. Don’t you see? It’s better this way.”"
Who is he? Who shot him? Maura tries to figure it out while keeping her heart locked. She has to keep the children safe and she knows he’s brought trouble.
While writing this story, I did a lot of research and I found that not only were old West hangmen unwelcome once their job was done, but also their families. No one wanted them to live amongst them. Folks were quick to call for the hangman but once he’d dispensed of an outlaw, they wanted him gone.
In the old movies, he’s always alone. Rides in, doesn’t speak to anyone much, does his job and he rides away. I always wondered about their families. In the movies, they were never mentioned.
Even today, there is a real distaste for those who carry out capital punishment. For that reason, the executioner is never revealed. We don’t have a name or anything.
I wrote
Winning Maura’s Heart in the vein of the movie Sommersby, where the mystery of
Richard Gere’s character is kept hidden. In my story, the identity of Calhoun
isn’t revealed until the end but it draws speculation all through the story.
Do you like
stories where things aren’t straightforward? Or where certain characters’ true identities
aren’t revealed until the very last? I hope you give this a try. Book Two –
Courting Miss Emma – will release in November.
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