Sweetwater (49 page)

Annie Lash
(Warner Books—1985)

1806 Missouri

When her parents died, Annie Lash Jester was left alone in old St. Louis. Since a single, healthy woman was a prize, suitors, young and old, lined up at her door. The willful lass would have none of them, for she yearned for a man who would love her completely and whom she could love in return. A young frontiersman named Jefferson Merrick offered her a chance to escape the town and live in a distant settlement on the Missouri River. She accepted, never realizing that she would have to deal with river bandits and Jefferson’s political enemies. Even harder to cope with were the problems of her heart.

CATFISH CHOWDER

Cut a large skinned and boned catfish into small pieces. Simmer in a covered pot for a while in a small amount of salted water. Add diced salt pork, chopped onion and potatoes (amounts according to size of family) to the fish broth. Cook until potatoes are done and water almost gone. Add milk, pepper and butter.

CORNMEAL MUSH

Bring a scant quart of water to boil in heavy pan. Add dash of salt. Slowly pour in a heaping cup of commeal, stirring constantly. Simmer for ten minutes. Eat with butter and molasses, or pour in greased pan and let set. When solid, cut in slices and fry slowly in hot meat fat until brown.

River of Tomorrow
(Warner Books—1988)

1830 Illinois and Kentucky

Blond Mercy Quill grew up to be as sassy a spitfire as she had been as a child. An orphan raised by Liberty and Farr Quill along with her foster brother Daniel, she often needed his loving protection. When two Kentucky brothers arrived, bringing a stunning secret, one that could separate Mercy from Daniel forever, she knew that he would stand by her and fight against her enemies. If she dared to confess her love, would he respond with his dependable brotherly kindness and break her heart?
River of Tomorrow
is the third book of the Wabash Trilogy, which began with
Lonesome River
and its sequel,
Dream River.

PUMPKIN

Slice the pumpkin into circles. Remove peel and seeds. Thread the circles along a pole and hang crosswise of the joist of the house for several weeks until dry. Store in a bag. Soak overnight, then cook for several hours. Season with hog meat for table use or add sugar, eggs and cinnamon to make pie filling.

FRIED HAM AND REDEYE GRAVY

Slice smoked ham 1/2-inch thick. Cook in heavy skillet until ham is brown on both sides. Remove from pan and keep warm. To the drippings in the skillet add 1/2 cup of hot water. Cook until gravy turns red. Serve the ham and gravy with hot biscuits.

This Loving Land
(Warner Books—1996)

1852 Texas

Summer went home to the vast Texas range, hoping to find Sam McLean, the man who had cared for her family long ago. Instead she rode into a future filled with renegade Apaches, a scheming enemy, and Sam’s son, Slater. Hard and handsome, Slater lived and worked for one thing: to find the outlaw who had killed his father. Summer was a sweet memory from his boyhood; he had told her,
Go get all growed up. Summertime girl.
Now she had arrived—a beautiful woman. She could bring joy into his life, but a secret long hidden, long feared, imperiled their love.

COLLARD GREENS

(Collard greens are best in autumn after they’ve been through a frost.) In a large pot cook chopped ham or a hock. Wash greens in cold water, throw away stems and yellow leaves. Tear in bite-size pieces. Add to ham with enough water to cover greens. Put in a small dab of sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer about an hour.

BAKED ONIONS

Peel and slice enough onions for the meal. Cook in salted water for about 10 minutes. Drain and cover with milk. Place on stove until milk is scalded. Dip out onions, arrange alternate layers of bread (biscuits can be used, but not cornbread) and onions. Dot with butter, pepper and salt. Pour the scalded milk over and bake until brown.

Yesteryear
(Warner Books—1989)

1865 Arkansas

Addie Hyde spent four years waiting for the husband she had married in haste to come back from the War. He never returned to her, her young son and the two foster children she cherished. Deserters and drifters were making Addie’s isolated farmhouse a dangerous place for a pretty woman without a man. John Tallman, a freighter, arrived in town asking about a Mrs. Hyde. Soon he was protecting her from a self-serving preacher and a despicable hill family. Addie’s heart told her not to fear traveling with him across Indian Territory to his ranch in New Mexico.

CHRISTMAS COOKIES

To a pint of sugar add four eggs, beating after each one. Add one pint of flour and a pint of chopped nuts (hickory or walnuts) and a handful of raisins. Work well into eggs, sugar and flour. Add cinnamon and a grated nutmeg. Drop by spoonfuls in baking pan. With only eggs to make them rise, the cookies bake quickly and spread out to the right size. Sprinkle with sugar.

HARDTACK

(Hardtack was the staff of life for a soldier when he was out in the field.) Mix plain flour, salt and water to the rolling stage. Roll out
thick. Cut in squares. Place on baking sheet and punch holes in dough with a fork. The dough will rise to a fourth of an inch and brown on top. (Hardtack is much like our crackers today, except much tougher.)

Midnight Blue
(Warner Books—1989)

1866 Wyoming Territory

Leaving a girls’ school in Denver, Mara Shannon McCall traveled to the lawless country near Laramie to reclaim the ranch that was her father’s legacy. Her heart beating wildly in her breast, she rode toward the home she scarcely remembered. She stopped short when she saw a wounded man lying across the rugged trail. Pack Gallagher was beaten and bloody. She took the handsome Irish brawler with the midnight blue eyes along with her. Maybe he could help her take back her ranch from her drunken uncle who was in cahoots with criminals who used her ranch for a hideaway.

MOLASSES CANDY

Mix equal amounts of molasses and water in a heavy pan. Add a dash of salt and boil without stirring until a drop forms a hard ball when dropped into a dipper of water. Remove from the fire and let stand until cool enough to hold in greased hands. Press one end on a chair spindle and pull the other until the color of the taffy changes to a light tan. Twist into a rope and cut into pieces.

YEAST

Place one pint of hops in a cloth bag and boil for a couple of hours in a gallon of water. Peel and slice a gallon of potatoes and boil with the hops for another hour. Pour the liquid over a pint of flour. Add mashed potatoes, a cup of salt, one of sugar and three large spoonfuls of ginger. The yeast should be kept covered and in a cool place.

Restless Wind
(Warner Books—1986)

1868 Colorado

On a cold rainy night Logan Horn came to the door of the isolated cabin where Rosalee lived with her blind father, her brother and small sister. The woman the stranger carried in his arms was an Indian, his dying mother. When Rosalee gave him a place to rest and his mother a peaceful place to die, she unleashed the anger of neighboring rancher, Adam Clayhill. He had Logan beaten, Rosalee’s cabin burnt and harassed her friend, Mary. Were Logan’s pride and Rosalee’s devotion strong enough to win against Clayhill’s power?
Restless Wind
is the first book of the Rocky Mountain Trilogy.
Wayward Wind
is the second.
Wind of Promise,
the third.