The good news – Marnie is in final edits and should be ready right on time.
The bad news – although I’d hoped to have Marnie finished early, she just isn’t going to be ready for another week. (But we are so close, aren’t we?)
For those of you who’ve read the entire Pendleton Petticoats series, you’ll recall that Marnie first makes an appearance in Aundy when she introduces Aundy to a man wanting to sell his sheep. We next see her in Caterina, when Aundy and Caterina run into her at Mr. Johnson’s mercantile. She makes a teasing comment to Aundy before hurrying out the door.
She made two appearances in Ilsa and we got to see two different sides of her then.
And it won’t be long until she shares her story with you!
As for Lars, he’s been mentioned in the three previous books as the long lost brother of Aundy and Ilsa. It’s time for him to make an appearance and make amends with his sisters.
I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to share this story with you and can hardly wait until it’s ready for your reading pleasure.
In the meantime, though, here’s a little teaser to tide you over…
***
“I have no doubt this will sound like the most obtuse request, but could you please introduce me to your friend?” Marnie glanced from Kade to the cowboy. She’d thought he was good-looking from a distance, but up close, he was even more handsome than she imagined. His bright blue eyes fastened on hers with a look of curiosity.
“Of course, this is Lars Thorsen. He’s a U.S. Marshal here in town to help me with a case,” Kade said, knowing whether he made the introduction or not, Marnie and the rest of the working girls would find out who Lars was and why he was in town sooner rather than later anyway.
Lars tipped his hat and smiled at the pretty girl who looked at him with a mixture of awe and humor. Her mellow, smooth voice sounded oddly familiar, although he thought he would have remembered meeting the brown-haired beauty. Suddenly, he recalled the soiled dove who’d tossed peanuts at him the other night. She’d said her name was Marnie.
The girl standing before him in a pale green and cream striped dress looked sweet and innocent, with her shiny hair pinned into an updo and topped with a fashionable hat. Staring at the her face, he tried to picture the lips and cheeks painted red and the eyes rimmed in black rather than her current fresh cheeks, pink lips, and long, dark eyelashes.
Taking her hand in his, Lars felt a jolt that nearly threw him off balance. When she snatched her hand back, he wondered if she felt it too.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, miss.” Lars was almost sure she was the same girl, but he certainly didn’t want to insult her by asking on the slim chance she wasn’t who he thought. “You don’t happen to have a sister, do you?”
“No, I don’t, and you can cease contemplating if we’ve met before. I tossed peanuts on your hat the other night.” Marnie didn’t believe in beating around the bush or pretending to be something other than what she was.
***
Stay tuned…
