Romance at Rinehart’s Crossing is now available for pre-order and will release September 17!
If you’re wondering where the title of the book comes from, Rinehart’s Crossing a name some people used to refer to a town along the Oregon Trail before it was officially named Vale.
Located near the Idaho and Oregon borders, Vale rests on the banks of the Malheur River. Oregon Trail travelers who stopped here after trekking across twenty miles of sagebrush and dessert from the Snake River crossing would find a place to rest, and even a hot springs that was quite popular with dusty, weary pioneers.
The Vale area was popular with trappers in the early 1800s.
It wasn’t until 1836 that missionaries arrived. The wives of Marcus Whitman and H.H. Spaulding were two of the first white women to arrive in the area. However, Marie Dorian, who was part Native American and the wife of Pierre Dorian, a guide for the Wilson Price Hunt expedition, came through the area in 1811.
Journals of travelers along the Oregon Trail mention the Malheur River crossing and the hot springs where they could rest, bathe, and wash their clothes. A trading post, run by a man named Mr. Turner, was referred to in journals as early as 1853.
Jonathan Keeney later built a house and barn near the hot springs.
In 1870, Lewis B Rinehart bought the Keeney property and built the historic Stone House in 1872. The Stone House became a place for travelers to rest, and a stage stop. Some people referred to the town on the banks of the river as Stone House, others as Rinehart’s Crossing, and some referred to is as Malheur Crossing.
In 1883, Henry C. Murray, Rinehart’s brother-in-law, leased the building for the first post office and Vale became the official name of the Malheur Crossing.
You can read about the Stone House and town that took shape on the Oregon Trail in Romance at Rinehart’s Crossing!
Life on the Oregon Trail will never be the same . . .
Tenner King is determined to make his own way in the world far from the overbearing presence of his father and the ranch where he was raised in Rinehart’s Crossing, Oregon. Reluctantly, he returns home after his father’s death to find the ranch on its way to ruin, his siblings antsy to leave, and the women in town completely infatuated with a mysterious poet. Prepared to do whatever is necessary to save the ranch, Tenner isn’t about to let a little thing like love get in his way.
♥ Austen – After spending her entire life ruled by her father, Austen Rose King certainly isn’t going to allow her bossy older brother to take on the job. Desperate to leave the hard work and solitude of the Diamond K Ranch, she decides a husband would be the fastest means of escape. If only she could find a man she could tolerate for more than five minutes.
♥ Claire – Two thousand miles of travel. Two thousand miles of listening to her parents bicker about the best place in Oregon to settle. Two thousand miles of dusty trails, bumpy wagons, and things that slither and creep into her bedding at night. Claire Clemons would happily set down roots that very minute if someone would let her. What she needs is her own Prince Charming to give her a place to call home. When a broken wagon wheel strands her family miles from civilization, she wonders if handsome Worth King, the freighter who rescues them, might just be the answer to her prayers.
♥ Kendall – Anxious to escape her mother’s meddling interference, Kendall Arrington leaves her society life behind, intent on experiencing a Wild West adventure. Hired as the school teacher in a growing town on the Oregon Trail, Kendall hopes to bring a degree of civility and a joy of learning to the children of Rinehart’s Crossing. However, the last thing she expects to find is a cowboy with shaggy hair, dusty boots, and incredible green eyes among her eager students.
Will love find the three King siblings as Romance arrives in Rinehart’s Crossing?
Read all the books in the Regional Romance Series featuring historic locations, exciting drama, and sweet (yet swoony) romance!
