Mary Lou Cheatham – författare

It is 1907 as Caroline Clemons watches her towns newest bachelor, Jake MacGregor, tie his horses to a post outside her window. Moments later as he enters her home to meet her eligible sisters, he mistakenly believes Caroline is a servant instead of one of Senator Chad Clemons daughters. Immediately mesmerized by Carolines beauty, Jake has no idea she is committed to fulfilling a promise she made years ago, even if it means living a Cinderella existence.

Caroline, who derives her only satisfaction in life from her teaching job in Taylorsburg, Mississippi, cannot help but be attracted to Jake who just inherited a store in town. As an internal battle rages within her, Caroline busies herself with serving her family and the Lord, even as Jake haunts her dreams and she fastidiously guards her familys secrets. But as fate intervenes, a romance develops that leads both Caroline and Jake to rely on prayer and laughter to survive. Will they ever be able to overcome their obstacles to find their happily ever after?

A young woman must rely on faith as she struggles between honoring a long-held promise to her family or following her heart.

Jessica Boudreaux Hays, a retired music professor, has recently moved to Rousseauville to open a bed and breakfast in her grandparents house. An attractive and talented fifty-five-year-old widow, Jessica loves to cook, entertain, and play the piano. Her life is filled with problems. Emmie, her younger sister who lives with her, cannot be left alone. The sisters recently lost their parents in an automobile accident. The residents of the village are charitable but superstitious. For some mysterious reason, they refuse to go near her or the bed and breakfast. Another frustration in Jessicas life is her cyber romance with a mysterious stranger. Dale Bonnier, a fifty-five-year-old widower, pastors two small churches in rural south Louisiana. He inspires the people in Rousseauville with his compelling sermons. He is considerate and approachable but at times disorganized and impetuous. His parishioners, especially Jessica, find his preaching inspiring. Dale has a recurring problem with his past. In the 1980s, when he was an intense young man, he destroyed his home and family as he sought to satisfy his cravings for illicit drugs. Thirty years have passed. God has forgiven him, but the past has left indelible scars. Can Dale forgive himself? He cannot turn his past around, but he hopes it will be used to influence and inspire others. Jessica tries to start over in Rousseauville, but she encounters unpredicted stormy times. Can she find acceptance? Will she ever find a man she can love and trust?