Heart of Gold (32 page)

The citizens of Henry Adams are starting to take bets—will Lily Fontaine and Trent July finally tie the knot?

All they want is a nice, simple wedding, but their well-meaning neighbors are turning the no-fuss affair into the event of the decade. Bernadine, the town's fairy godmother, wants Lily to have a storybook wedding fit for a princess, and Lily's nine-year-old foster son is campaigning to be town preacher so he can officiate at the ceremony. Trouble multiplies when Trent is called on to help a new family move to town, not to mention Lily and Trent's task of blending their families together.

With the bustle of the tight-knit and often tightly wound friends and family pushing them to the breaking point, the couple begins to wish they'd eloped. But, as they'll soon be reminded, happiness in Henry Adams is meant to be shared.

“There is beauty in Jenkins's storytelling that should be the standard by which to judge fiction writing. . . . Brava, Ms. Jenkins, you have done it again, and left us wanting more.”

—RT Book Reviews
Top Pick

A WISH AND A PRAYER

A Blessings Novel

Anyone worried that living in a small town could be boring certainly hasn't lived in Henry Adams, Kansas. From the wealthy divorcée who saved this historic town founded by freed slaves to the romantic entanglements that have set tongues wagging and hearts fluttering (and everything in between), there's plenty to keep the lovably eccentric townsfolk busy.

Preston Miles is happy living with his foster parents, but an e-mail from his maternal grandmother is about to change all that. . . . Riley Curry, the former town mayor, is convinced his pet hog, Cletus, acted in self-defense when he sat on—and killed—a man. Now Riley just has to prove it in a court of law. . . . And as for Rocky, she has already had a lifetime of hurt. Will she risk opening her heart—and her life—to Jack?

Warm, funny, poignant, and unforgettable, Beverly Jenkins's latest excursion to Henry Adams is a true delight—a welcome return to a place that always feels like home.

“Beverly Jenkins's stories are delicious and always leave behind feelings of satisfaction and want . . . for her next novel.”

—FreshFiction.com

A B O U T    T H E    A U T H O R

BEVERLY JENKINS
is the author of thirty historical and contemporary novels, including four previous books in her beloved Blessings series. She has been featured in many national publications, including the
Wall Street Journal
,
People
, the
Dallas Morning News
, and
Vibe
. She lives in Michigan.

www.beverlyjenkins.net

Facebook.com/pages/Beverly-Jenkins

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www.AuthorTracker.com
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A L S O    BY    B E V E R L Y    J E N K I N S

A W
ISH
AND
A
P
RAYER

S
OMETHING
O
LD
, S
OMETHING
N
EW

A S
ECOND
H
ELPING

B
RING
ON
THE
B
LESSINGS

D
EADLY
S
EXY

S
EXY
/D
ANGEROUS

B
LACK
L
ACE

E
DGE
OF
D
AWN

E
DGE
OF
M
IDNIGHT

D
ESTINY
'
S
S
URRENDER

D
ESTINY
'
S
E
MBRACE

N
IGHT
H
AWK

M
IDNIGHT

C
APTURED

J
EWEL

W
ILD
S
WEET
L
OVE

W
INDS
OF
THE
S
TORM

S
OMETHING
L
IKE
L
OVE

A C
HANCE
AT
L
OVE

B
EFORE
THE
D
AWN

A
LWAYS
AND
F
OREVER

T
HE
T
AMING
OF
J
ESSI
R
OSE

T
OPAZ

I
NDIGO

V
IVID

T
HROUGH
THE
S
TORM

N
IGHT
S
ONG

C R E D I T S

Cover design by Richard L. Aquan
Cover illustration by Larry Rostant
Author photograph by Greg Anthony

C O P Y R I G H T

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

HEART OF GOLD
. Copyright © 2014 by Beverly Jenkins. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks.

FIRST
EDITION

Map of Henry Adams by Valerie Miller

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

ISBN 978-0-06-220797-5

EPub Edition APRIL 2014 ISBN 9780062207982

14 15 16 17 18
OV
/
RRD
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1