When Sean Hussey returns to the town where he lived as a boy, it’s with revenge on his mind. He’s made a success of himself out west and intends to get even with the farmer under whose thumb he once suffered. He’ll show mercy only to the others who shared his fate in days gone by, especially sweet Jenny whose memory he still cherishes.
Sarah Rupert hasn’t had it easy growing up as a girl from the orphan train, and as a survivor of shocking abuse. Since the death of her husband, she’s had to support her young son by dubious means. When Sean Hussey comes back into her life it’s a miracle, because he’s the boy she always wanted for her own. Trouble is, Sean just may be in love with another woman.
Jenny Withers has never asked for much. Following a tragic childhood in England, she arrived in America only to be sent west on the orphan train and passed from one caregiver to another. Now grown and widowed, she might build a fulfilling future, but only if she finds the courage to stand up for her true desires.
Robert MacKenna hopes what Jenny desires is him. A man with a broken past and a restless spirit, he has trouble settling at anything. He’s never met a woman like Jenny, and he’ll move heaven and earth to be with her. But his toughest task may be convincing her he can provide the love for which she’s always yearned.
Milo Digsby remembers life before he rode the orphan train to Clabber Mills, Indiana, including the farm back in England where his father worked so hard. He’s always done his best to get along, but now as a grown man he’s being asked to give up the one thing he won’t, his name.
Jessica Downing is the new schoolteacher in Clabber Mills, though she prefers her ancestral vocation of fortuneteller and witch. Milo stirs her instincts and her desire. But before she can belong to him, this man so often denied his liberty must have the chance to choose his future, even if it doesn’t include the gift of her heart.
Adopted as a tiny girl straight off the orphan train, Rosalee Thompson has always been pampered by her wealthy parents. Now a young woman, she chafes at the restrictive bonds of her ribbons and ruffles. When the choices made for her include a prospective husband, she becomes a runaway bride.
Matthew Speedwell has a past he’d rather keep hidden and ideas for a future he’s not sure he can achieve. The last thing he expects is to be made part of a reluctant bride’s snowy escape. He believes he’s not good enough for Rosalee, but his heart has ideas of its own. As, so it seems, does Miss Rosalee.
