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Hearts Rekindled (Love Inspired Historical) - Softcover

Smith Hall, Patty

 
9780373282524: Hearts Rekindled (Love Inspired Historical)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0373282524 ISBN 13: 9780373282524
Verlag: Love Inspired Historicals, 2014

Inhaltsangabe

"I'm Here to See My Daughter." 

She never thought she'd see John Davenport again. Merrilee Daniels Davenport's former husband has returned to their small Georgia town after fighting in the Pacific. And now the soldier is bearing a letter from the little girl he didn't know he had. Merrilee wishes that she and her daughter could lean on John's able shoulders, but her new assignment as a homeland informant won't allow it. 

Twelve years have only made Merrilee more beautiful in John's eyes. Back then, he was the proud fool who walked away. Now all he wants is to prove he can be the husband she deserves, and the daddy his daughter needs.

Die Inhaltsangabe kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Patty Smith Hall has been making up stories since she was knee-high to a grasshopper. Now, she’d thrilled to share her love of history and her storytelling skills with everyone, including her hero of over three decades years, Danny, two beautiful daughters, and a wonderful son-in-law. She resides in northeast Georgia. Patty loves to hear from her readers! You can contact her at www.pattysmithhall.com.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Marietta, Georgia
Early Spring, 1945

I've got another assignment for you." Merrilee Daniels Davenport stiffened at the words, any joy she might have had watching her nephew with his new bride evaporating like the morning mist on Sweetwater Creek. Keeping the Army Air Corps informed on the comings and goings of the folks living in her boardinghouse bothered her to no end, even if it was, as Major Evans had said many times, her patriotic duty to keep the area safe from hidden enemies while the war raged on. The major would not relax his vigilance, not even now that the end of the war was in sight. The United States and her Allies had the Germans on the run in Europe and were making inroads on Japan's hold in the Pacific. Still, the major's surveillance carried on-which meant that hers did, too.

Not that there was anything patriotic about her reasons for aiding Patrick Evans in his new investigation.

The carrot the major dangled in front of her had been enough to enlist her help.

A chance for her daughter to be whole again.

"What do you need me to do this time?" The knots in her shoulder loosened a hair, but not enough to relieve the ache radiating across her back.

"Not one to beat around the bush, are you?" Turning to face her, the major thrust his hat under his arm and leaned back against the supporting post. His expression was relaxed, as if this spy nonsense was as normal as apple pie.

Merrilee shifted to face him, but not before noting the widespread looks of interest on her kinsfolk's faces. Probably thought she could do a lot worse than pairing up with the major, maybe get married again. Well, she'd loved only one man, and while their marriage had brought joy, it had ended in unbearable heartache when her husband-off working with the Civilian Conservation Corps-had filed for divorce without a word of warning. "You're the one who mentioned a new assignment."

Evans's soft chuckle grated on her nerves. "True enough. Guess it just threw me after the fight you put up when I first approached you about following Edie Michaels. But everything worked out in the end." He nodded toward where the bridal couple stood talking to their guests. "I'm betting Beau thinks so, too. He and Edie look very happy together."

"They are," Merrilee agreed. Seemed like everyone who lived beneath her roof radiated the delight of finding true love these days. First, her niece, Maggie, had paired up with Captain Wesley Hicks, then Beau and

Edie. In recent months, whispers that Merrilee's well water was spiked with just the right ingredients to find matrimonial bliss had been making the rounds through the church circle. And just last week, she'd caught Honoria Lee pumping water into her favorite large bucket, babbling some silly nonsense about needing to find husbands for all five of her daughters.

Complete rubbish. If that tall tale were so, Merrilee would still be a married woman herself instead of raising her daughter alone. A vague sense of sadness drifted through her. No sense crying over the past; the present was bad enough as it was. "Why does General Carson think I'm the person for this job?"

The major dropped his gaze to the floor, as if he'd find the words he needed in the seams of the marred boards of her porch. "Because you're friends with the parties involved in this case."

That got her attention. "What's the case? What are the 'parties' involved in?"

"The black market."

Merrilee automatically shook her head. Evans had come up with some doozies over the past few months, but this one had to be the icing on top of the cake! Keeping secrets in a small town like Marietta was nigh impossible-especially a secret that big. Granted, there were many new faces in town since the Bell Bomber Plant had opened more than two years ago, but most were there to earn a fair wage wiring the fuselage or riveting screws on the massive B-29s that the army used in the Pacific. Still, a black market was no good unless people knew it was around. If such a thing existed in Marietta, she'd have heard about it before now.

No, Major Evans was barking up the wrong tree this time, but his allegations had piqued her interest. "Exactly who do you think is involved?"

Reaching into his coat pocket, the major pulled out a folded sheet of paper and handed it to her. "A few days ago, one of the mechanics came to my office with this. He said he found it crumpled on the floor in the men's locker room."

Merrilee glanced down at the flyer in her hand. At first, it looked like any one of a dozen wartime ads printed in the newspaper or posted on the sides of buildings in the Marietta Square. But the more she studied it, the more the message sunk in. "What does this mean, farm fresh eggs without the hassle of ration stamps?"

The major glanced around the yard, then back at her. "We've heard that one of the local farms is supplying restricted goods to the black market dealer who drew up this ad."

"Who's your source?" Merrilee asked.

"Someone I trust."

Her teeth pressed into the tender skin of her inner lip. Probably someone like herself who thought they were doing their patriotic duty. Had Evans made this spy promises like the one he'd made her? What would the major give in exchange for information? Merrilee flicked the edge of the paper with her fingernail. "Then why not go after the dealer? He's the one making a living off the rations."

The relaxed smile he'd flashed for the benefit of their audience flattened into a tight line. "We've tried, but he's a slick one. This isn't the first time he's run this sort of operation. He never stays in one place long enough for us to catch him."

"He moves his market around?"

Evans gave her a stern nod. "That's why we need to catch whoever's supplying him. It may be our only chance to stop him."

No wonder the major was on edge. This modern-day pirate took food out of the mouths of their fighting men on the front.

Merrilee took a deep breath, dread tightening into a hard knot in the pit of her stomach. Despite her disgust at the idea of a black market supplier, she was still uneasy with the role she'd have to play. Which one of her neighbors was she about to betray now? "Who does the army suspect is helping him?"

Major Evans slipped a finger beneath his shirt collar and tugged, as though the words had caught in his throat. "My informant believes it's Aurora Adair."

Merrilee blinked. The man couldn't have shocked her more if he told her Roosevelt himself was dancing a jig down the streets of Berlin. "Your informant has a screw loose."

"I told General Carson you'd say that."

She seriously doubted that. "Anybody who's been in Marietta for any length of time would tell you that Ms. Aurora is the most kindhearted, giving person in the world. She's taken in deserted kids and given them a home for as far back as I can remember."

"Don't you think that's odd?" the major replied. "A woman taking in a bunch of. .feeble-minded kids? Why bother with them at all?"

Irritation flashed through her at the major's obvious disdain for the physically and mentally disabled children Aurora took in. "And where do you think those children should go, Major? Out on the street? Or would you rather they be dropped off at the state institution in Milledgeville?"

He chuckled. "I hadn't really considered it."

Of course, he hadn't. Neither had the doctors...

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Verlag
Love Inspired Historicals
Erscheinungsdatum
2014
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0373282524
ISBN 13 
9780373282524
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
288
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
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