Love Finds You in Deadwood South Dakota by Tracey Cross

Product Description

Jane Albright is newly widowed, with one child to care for and another on the way. When she learns that she is at risk of losing the family home and freighting business to greedy moneylender Franklin Lloyd, she has no choice but to brandish a bullwhip and haul freight all the way to Deadwood, South Dakota. Franklin agrees to give Jane six months to pay the note, and it’ll take every ounce of grit she has to secure her children’s future. Franklin admires the strong and beautiful woman - but how can he help her when he is her greatest enemy?
 
My take on this book;
 
I am a great fan of Tracey Bateman and when I realized she wrote Love Finds You in Deadwood South Dakota under the pen name of Tracey Cross I just knew it would be a great story, and it was that and so much more!
 
This book takes place in 1879 in Deadwood, South Dakota. Jane Albright was used to fending for herself. She and her young son Danny would stay alone for months at a time in the little soddy house on their homestead along the North Platte. Her husband Tom, ran a freight business that ran to Deadwood that took him away from home three or four months at a time. So when he is late returning from such a run she really doesn't worry, besides she is glad that he is gone, he is a cruel man, and the only way she has endured the marriage is because he is gone so often. When she learns that he is dead and he has left her in debt, with an outstanding mortgage on the business and  homestead, she isn't sure what she will do. She is expecting a baby, and has five year old Danny to take care of!
 
Franklin Lloyd holds the notes on Jane's debts and wants the land for the ranch he is planning. When he goes to collect the money from Tom and realizes he is dead, he offers Jane train fare for Danny and herself anywhere she would like to go, but she is determined to keep the homestead because she feels like it is Danny's legacy. Her idea is to run enough freight to pay off the debt on her home, the only person that will give her a job hauling freight, is one of the most dangerous men in the area, she soon becomes indebted to someone far worse than Franklin. Will God answer her prayers and save her and her children before she is forced to do something she doesn't want to do. How can Franklin help her when she is determined to pay her debts, will she finally realize that he just wants her safe, and that he just might be falling in love with her?
 
This was the perfect historical fiction. I became so wrapped up in this story that I didn't want it to end. It was so easy to see how Jane got into her predicament. She was a strong woman, and after a marriage of convenience to her husband Tom, which turned out bad, she didn't want to be beholden to anyone. That alone made the story seem very realistic to me, during that time in history, men were dominate and women were more like property, often depending on men for survival. Franklin was a very kind, godly man in a place where most men were just the opposite, over and over he shows his kindness, and even though he had issues due to his wife's death, his faith in God showed in the things he did.
 
I enjoyed the fact that the author wove some history into this story, giving us a glimpse of the wild west. A great story that I would highly recommend.
 
 
I would like to thank Christian Review of Books for providing me a copy of this book for review.