Clementine O’Grady – Steel Horse Saviors – 2017 A to Z Challenge – Day 3

Copyright – ALPINE ACRES PUBLISHING – 2017 Steel Horse Saviors is about three Civil War veterans, two Yankees and one Rebel, who take their steam locomotive west to seek their post-war fortune. In the process they encounter Clementine O’Grady a auburn-haired beauty fighting to save the family business who immediately complicates the Saviors plan to put as much distance between them and their past as possible.

Clementine O’Grady is the third and youngest daughter of Angus and Delilah O’Grady who met in America in 1826 where they married and began to build the O’Grady Timer and Lumber Company into the stalwart it is when the story opens in 1866. At 29, she is approaching the age when a woman is considered too old to be of interest to any man. But Clementine is married to the family business. She is fighting tooth and nail to keep her father’s legacy strong against ever more ruthless competitors.

The auburn haired beauty is the most desired single woman in the town of Penley River even though she does not realize it. Her mother urges her to be open to the possibility of starting her family while she is still young enough to do so and enjoy the experience.

Clementine is immediately suspicious of the three strangers and their shiny new locomotive although it does promise the possibility of solving some of her problems. She must decide how much of her resolve she will surrender in order to benefit from this opportunity. While marriage is not something on her mind, she finds herself immediately drawn to each of the three strangers for different reasons.

With not only the collection of family members but a dozen workers depending on her strength Clementine has to fight not only the forces without but those within to make the right choices for everyone.

Here is an excerpt:

Clementine pulled the brush through her long red hair, slowing when she reached the tight curls at the end. It was after midnight, but this was the only time she seemed to be able to take for herself. She looked in the mirror at her pretty face, studying the small lines beginning to creep across her forehead. The stress of keeping her father’s pride and joy in operation was weighing heavy on her small shoulders. The responsibility of her mother, two single sisters, their children and her workers only promised to ratchet up the stakes every day. She felt herself weakening in her opposition to a marriage with Quentin Rollins favored by her mother. The combined business would be a powerhouse for sure, although she could not shake the thought of disappointment her father would have on his face if he were alive to see it.

Come back for the next post, which will introduce you to Delilah O’Grady, the matriarch of the clan.