Back to the Texan town of Turnabout, which the
enjoyable 'Texas Grooms' series has been visiting on a
regular basis. This growing community rewards a visit even
if you have not read the earlier books by Winnie Griggs.
A TAILOR-MADE HUSBAND starts as sheriff Ward Gleason
arrives in town on the train. He's reluctantly in charge of
a little girl called Meg, whose brother has abandoned her.
Ward has recently lost his younger sister, and young Meg
does seem like a replacement, if temporary. Seamstress
Hazel Andrews meets him. She was a good friend of Ward's
sister and wants to sympathise, but ends up agreeing to
care for Meg. Her own situation has recently changed and
she's thinking of selling up and moving to New York to work
with a relative.
The town is quite busy with the usual mercantile, telegraph
office, and a photography studio and sweet shop. But most
women sew their own clothes and Hazel's business isn't
thriving. She agrees to design a special wedding dress for
one young woman, but otherwise, a pinafore for Meg is about
her lot. Ward on the other hand is busy; bored youths have
been vandalising farms and homes, and while the damage
isn't expensive, time is money to farmers, and the crimes
are escalating. Can he identify and catch the miscreants
before real harm is done?
The good-hearted residents and honest workers will stay in
your mind after reading this lightly inspirational romance.
Winnie Griggs depicts how life would have been in the
thriving frontier town while reminding us that residents
always had the escape route of the railway to New York or
elsewhere. And we have to agree that kids will be kids,
with mischief always a potential, even as it may hide some
more serious disturbances. A TAILOR-MADE HUSBAND is a
romance suitable for any age of reader, for all fans of
historical Western tales. I can recommend trying the
earlier books in this series to watch the town grow because
characters recur in the background of the tales so you can
follow their ongoing stories.
From Bachelor Sheriff to Family Man
Tired of pining for handsome sheriff Ward Gleason,
seamstress Hazel Andrews plans to head East for a fresh
start—until Ward finds an abandoned child. Hazel can't turn
down his request that she watch the little girl while he
investigates a spate of crimes. But spending time with Ward
is sending local gossips—and Hazel's heart—into turmoil.
Nothing in Ward's world is the same since he took charge of
orphaned Meg…and that includes his growing feelings for
Hazel. A fake engagement will allow them to care for the
child together until Hazel moves away and finds someone more
worthy. But with little Meg convinced she's already found
her forever family, can Ward and Hazel dare to make her
dreams come true, along with their own?