Leaving certain danger behind Pearl, Hallie and Mary made a
bold decision to head out to parts unknown in search of what
would hopefully be their sanctuary. That is if they were to
survive their precarious trip in a wagon alone, just the
three women with only their meager belongings, and driven by
the fear of what and who they left behind in Whiskey Bend.
Pearl and Hallie knew they had to keep traveling fast and
furious to put distance between them and the town that held
only bad memories for them. They were also motivated by the
unerring threat to Mary's life. They had literally grabbed
Mary from the painful future faced at the hands of her
abuser Chester. But now they realize that he may be just as
great a threat to them as to Mary. So run they must. But
life has a way of throwing curves along the way and for
these three women nature was throwing everything at them but
the kitchen sink in the form of a monstrous thunder storm.
They were all at the mercy of the storm when their luck
changed and a rancher, Eli Morgan and his uncle rescued them
and offered them a safe place to recuperate. Relieved to be
in the safety and comfort of a ranch Pearl and Hallie were
intent to help Mary recuperate from her bruises.
At
the same time they often found themselves looking over their
shoulder sure that Chester was never going to give up
searching for them. Things at the ranch were not necessarily
that great. There was a strained relationship between Eli
and his mother as well as past unresolved issues that
threaten Eli's future, not to mention the three visitors, at
the family ranch. So the future was certainly still looking
bleak. Certainly makes the threesome wonder if they escaped
one situation only to find themselves squarely in the middle
of another.
Fans of Dorothy Garlock know her stories don't revolve
around faint hearted women. In fact many times her women
exhibit more backbone then her male characters. Her women
are shrewd and clever. All the women in LEAVING WHISKEY BEND
are typical Garlock females just not all with good
intentions that's all. She gives her characters pasts that
somehow catch up with them. How they resolve their past is
the beauty in her story. There is always time to curl up and
enjoy another Garlock tale. Enjoy.
The new novel from the Voice of America's Heartland, Dorothy
Garlock.
In l890 two friends, middle-aged
Pearl and pretty, young schoolteacher Hallie, have just
about decided to leave the rough Western town of Whiskey
Bend, where both are disillusioned with the way they have
been treated. The final straw comes when they witness their
friend Mary being assaulted in the street by her stepbrother
Chester and no one steps forward to help her. They decide to
leave and take Mary with them. They go out to the shack
where Chester and Mary live to get her, but when Chester
attacks them, Pearl shoots him in the leg. He screams after
the three that he will follow them wherever they go.
Desperately they drive away in an open wagon seeking a new
life and safety. One night along the way they are caught in
a violent storm and Mary nearly drowns in a roiling river.
She is saved by a daring young rancher who brings them back
to his home to stay until Mary recovers. The rancher has
troubles of his own. He is condemned by his mother for
having left his father to run the ranch alone years earlier.
He is searching for the murderer of his younger brother. And
someone now is trying to kill him. Attracted to him and
grateful, Hallie vows to help him.
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