Healing Montana Sky (36 page)

“We be not takin’ our feelings for granted.”

“We know how fragile life is,” he agreed, touching her cheek. “I want to love you fully, Antonia. Appreciate our time. . .God willing our
long
time together. Become husband and wife in truth.”

“I’ve longed for such.”

“Then why didn’t you say so, wife?” he growled. “I’ve been ready to oblige you for ages.”

She placed her hand over his heart. “Your body was ready. Sometimes, mine was also.” She patted his chest. “But we needed both.”

Erik rose and brought her up with him. Circling her waist, he pulled Antonia close, enjoying how her breasts pressed against his chest. He felt the power of his love for her—their mutual readiness to go forward in a natural continuation of their relationship.

Passion ignited flames that sizzled through his body, and he could barely form the words to commit to their joining. “Then, I say, wife, it’s time to begin our marriage—our
real
marriage—for as long as we both shall live.” He leaned down and touched his lips to hers.

Mystic Montana Sky
Book Six of the Montana Sky Series
Summer 2016

I
nfluential banker Caleb Cabot Livingston has already lost out on several opportunities for love, due to his snobbish East Coast ways. Feisty Maggie Baxter is married to an abusive miner and is nine months pregnant with their first child. On their way to Sweetwater Springs, the Baxters’ gypsy wagon collides with Caleb’s buggy, killing Maggie’s husband and sending her into early labor. Caleb is forced to deliver the baby girl, a harrowing and ultimately endearing experience. Little does Caleb know that the most difficult day of his life will lead to the special relationship he’s been searching for—but only if he can change. . . .

From the Author

Dear Readers,

I hope you enjoyed
Healing Montana Sky
, book five in the Montana Sky series and one of eighteen (currently) Montana Sky stories, including the
Mail-Order Brides of the West
novels.

If you are new to reading the series, you’ll find many of the characters in
Healing Montana Sky
have their own stories: Pamela and John Carter in
Beneath Montana’s Sky
; Nick and Elizabeth Sanders in
Wild Montana Sky
; Wyatt and Samantha Thompson in
Starry Montana Sky
; Harriet and Ant Gordon in
Stormy Montana Sky
; and
Lina and Jonah Barrett in
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Lina
. The O’Donnells have a story in
Montana Sky Christmas
, and their trio of nieces find love in
A Valentine’s Choice
,
Irish Blessing
, and
Easter Reunion
(the latter two available in spring 2016).

Still to come are Caleb Livingston’s story in
Mystic Montana Sky
in the summer of 2016 and Sheriff K.C. Granger’s story in
Montana Sky Justice
.

In many of my stories, healing from grief is a theme. Grief is a complex emotion, and some losses of loved ones always stay with us. Antonia and Erik’s marriage of convenience after the deaths of their spouses was quite common in human history because both the man and woman were needed to deal with the laborious tasks of survival and raising a family.

In writing
Healing Montana Sky
, I had to strike a delicate balance between portraying the grief Antonia and Erik suffered from and also giving them a chance to fall in love again. In my “other” life, I’m a psychotherapist and corporate crisis and grief counselor, and the author of
The Essential Guide to Grief and Grieving
. I drew on my years of grief counseling to write this story.

Those who have lost spouses know that recovery takes several years. Often, the second year after the death is the hardest because the loss becomes more real. The second year is also when others think the bereaved spouse should be “moving on”—a painful message to receive. At least in our modern times, husbands and wives have resources, such as grief books and support groups, and the time to fully mourn their spouses before choosing if they want to move on to a new mate.

I hope you enjoy the Montana Sky series, and I look forward to bringing you many more stories in the future.

Debra Holland

Acknowledgments

In gratitude to:

My grandmother, Martha Muth Junger, whose stories of her childhood made me want to write.

Del Wardell, my second father. He and my mother have proven you can find love again after the deaths of beloved spouses.

My Montlake Romance editor, Maria Gomez.

My editors—Louella Nelson, Linda Carroll-Bradd, and Adela Brito—who always make my stories better.

To Delle Jacobs and John Mitchell, my cover artists.

My mother, Honey Holland, and Hedy and Larry Codner (my aunt and uncle) for being my beta readers.

I needed a lot of help in researching
Healing Montana Sky
.

Many thanks to:

Lisa Oates, MD, for help with Daisy’s childbirth scene.

Heidi Howard, for her help in connecting me with Betty Yoder.

Betty Yoder, Amish owner of The Trading Post, in Salem, Kentucky, who recounted milking cows from her memories of her childhood in the 1930s. (Thank goodness, they have a community telephone.)

Lisa Steele of Fresh Eggs Daily (.com) for information on chickens, henhouses, and feeding, as well as story suggestions.

(Any livestock mistakes are my own.)

To all my friends at Pioneer Hearts, a Facebook group for the authors and readers of Historical Western Romance, for answering my questions, making suggestions when I asked for help, and their eagerness to read more Montana Sky stories. I’m truly blessed to “know” you!

About the Author

Photo © 2013 Randall Hill

Debra Holland is the
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of the
Montana Sky Series
, a collection of heartwarming historical Western romances. In 2013, Amazon selected
Starry Montana Sky
as one of their Top 50 Greatest Love Stories. Debra has received the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award and has been a three-time finalist for the award as well. She is also the author of the Gods’ Dream trilogy, a fantasy romance series, and
The Essential Guide to Grief and Grieving
, a nonfiction book. In addition, she is a contributing author to
The Naked Truth about Self-Publishing
. She resides in Southern California with her two dogs and two cats.

You can contact Debra at:

Website:
drdebraholland.com

Facebook:
facebook.com/pages/Debra-Holland/395355780562473
and
facebook.com/debra.holland.731

Twitter:
twitter.com/drdebraholland