Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 91

Updates

1.  I’m happy to say that Runaway Bride is ahead of schedule.  I wasn’t supposed to hit 40,000 words in it until the end of this month, and today I got to 40,500 (which is chapter fifteen).  Once I decided to go with Lexie’s lead and let her run off with Mark sooner than I wanted, the story started writing itself.  I don’t know why I still hesitate to let the characters direct me in another direction.  Every time I listen to them, the problems I worry about (like writing myself into a dead end or ending up with a subplot I can’t resolve at the end) end up never happening.  You’d think with 29 romances under my belt, I’d learn to trust my characters more.

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2.  Yep, I have published 29 romances so far!  (I’m not counting “The Cowboy’s Wish” which is a short story.)  Anyway, I’m really excited because soon I’ll reach my goal of having 30 romances published.  :D  It’s always fun to reach the goals I set for myself.  I’d like to offer a really fun giveaway when I publish my 30th romance.  I don’t know if this will be Mitch’s Win or Runaway Bride, but either way, I’d like to do something to celebrate this milestone.  Any ideas on what the special giveaway could be? What prizes do you think would be fun?  I want to do something more elaborate than what I’ve done in the past.

By the way, my next goal is 50.  :D  I almost said 40, but then I love this quote and try to live by it: ”Reach for the moon and even if you miss, you will be among the stars.”  The author of the quote is unknown (from what I saw when searching for it just now on the Internet).  I first saw that quote in my high school class, and it’s stuck with me ever since. To me, it means that I should set my goals high.  Even if I don’t reach those goals, I will still have accomplished some awesome things.  I’m okay if I don’t reach the moon, but unless I am trying to get there, I’ll miss some great adventures along the way.  Okay.  Enough on that tangent…

3.  I’m getting close to the end of Mitch’s Win!  I know this book has been one of the on-again-off-again type of books (something that is unusual for me), but part of the hold up was wondering if I should submit it to a publisher.  The second issue was what to do with Boaz (keep him in the Montana Collection or take him to the Nebraska Collection).  I already explained that I decided not to submit it to a publisher.  But what I recently decided was that Boaz will stay in the Montana Collection.  Anyone remember Eva Connealy from Isaac’s Decision?  I’ve decided to send her over to Montana where she’ll be Boaz’s wife.

Now that all of that has been figured out, the story is flowing again.  I’m at chapter 18 in this book.  It’ll probably be 20 or 21 chapters altogether.  So I think I’m 2-3 chapters away from being done.  This puts me at an estimate of finishing the first draft by the end of the month.  *fingers crossed*

4.  So when will I publish Mitch’s Win and Runaway Bride?

I’m not really sure because I have to send them off to editors and proofreaders.  It depends on their schedules and when they can work on them.  But I’m going to give a conservative estimate of April.  (Not sure if it’ll be April for one and May for the other book.  I really don’t want to publish both books in the same month.)  I know more people are anxious to read Runaway Bride, so I’ll aim for that one to be out first.  As long as the story keeps flowing the way it is at the moment, that won’t be a problem.  But if I stall in it, then Mitch’s Win will be out first.

Inspiration for the Book: Runaway Bride

Today I’ll discuss what inspired Runaway Bride.

As I mentioned last week in my post last week, I get most of my ideas while I am writing a book and I suddenly know that character X is meant to be with character Y.  The plot idea on how the two characters get together usually comes later, but in the case with Runaway Bride, I knew immediately that Mark was going to convince Lexie to run off to Las Vegas to marry him instead of Nick.

The idea for Lexie’s romance sparked while I wrote this passage in Suddenly a Bride:

    “Well, Lexie is having the most wonderful wedding,” her mother said, her smile growing wide.  “We’re going to have it on the beach.  We booked the best photographer and caterer as well.  Chris, have you had fresh lobster?”

            Chris furrowed his eyebrows.  “You mean, fresh as in you don’t cook it before you eat it?”

            “What?  Of course not.” Her mother shot Caitlyn a startled look.  “Exactly where did he come from?”

            “Um, I was just thinking,” Sandy began as she cleared her throat, “I think it’s great Caitlyn found someone.  It’s romantic, Mrs. Rogers.  Chris came into the diner one evening, and it was like love at first sight.  They had an instant connection.”

            Her mother waved her hand as if to dismiss the comment.  “Romantic?  I’ll tell you what’s romantic.  We’re going to have two doves that will fly into the air when Lexie and the doctor share their first kiss as husband and wife.”

            Caitlyn caught Sandy’s eye roll and fought the urge to chuckle.

            “It was Mom’s idea,” Lexie told Caitlyn.

            “Doves are beautiful birds,” her mother said.  “Why, just imagine it, Chris.  While the harp strums out the ‘Wedding March’ and Lexie shares her first marital kiss with the doctor, the doves fly up into the sky together.” She clasped her hands over her heart and sighed.

            “I can’t help but notice you keep calling Nick ‘the doctor’,” Caitlyn noted.

            Her mother laughed and brushed her hair over her shoulder.  “Well, that’s because he is a doctor.”

            Lexie groaned.

This scene took place when Chris first met Caitlyn’s family at the barbecue.  I didn’t intend to come up with the idea, but as soon as I realized how miserable Lexie was, I knew I couldn’t let her marry Nick.  And who better than Mark to fix up with her?  In the span of the passage, I knew Lexie was going to run off and elope with Mark shortly before she married Nick.  I also knew this was going to cause problems between Lexie and her mother.  

Lexie is nothing like Caitlyn.  Caitlyn does what she wants, whether other people are happy about it or not.  Lexie, on the other hand, is the type of person who tries to make everyone happy.  So Lexie was going along with her mom’s plan for her to marry Nick because Lexie had pretty much always done what her mom wanted.  

What Lexie needed was someone to come into her life and show her that it was okay for her to think about what she wanted instead of having people tell her what she wanted.  Mark was the perfect fit for this.

While I wrote the scene in Suddenly a Bride, I also knew that Nick was self-centered.  That was all I knew about him, but based on Lexie’s lack of enthusiasm for her wedding, I knew that Nick didn’t love her the way she deserved to be loved.  The fun of writing Runaway Bride, of course, is learning exactly what things were like between Lexie and Nick.  That was something I didn’t know until I introduced Nick in Runaway Bride.  It’s impossible for me to truly know a character until I bring them on “stage”.  :D

Quick side note: the mom (surprisingly) is turning out to have a redeeming quality to her, but only Mark is going to be able to bring that part of her out to make her likable.

Sunday Story Sample: A Sneak Peek at Nick (Anti-Hero in Runaway Bride)

Thankfully, I can keep the title as is for Runaway Bride.  Even if I can’t use it in the sense that she bolts on her wedding day to Nick, I can use it because she runs away to marry Mark.  What a relief.  I really liked that title.

Thanks for the great ideas for titles.  I’m bookmarking them for future books.  :D

Okay.  Today I thought for the story sample, I’d give a look at Nick who starts out as Lexie’s fiancé.   This scene takes place while Lexie and Nick are at a restaurant.   (Keep in mind, it’s a first draft.)

Biting her lower lip, Lexie glanced at the menu and then returned her gaze to him.  “Nick, why do you want to marry me?”

He chuckled and placed his glass back on the table.  “Because I love you, silly.”

“But why?”

“Why?  Because you’re you.”

“But what is it about me that you love?”

Shooting her a teasing grin, he said, “Everything.  I like the whole package.”

“Do you?”

“Of course, I do.”

“Then can you tell me something you like about me?”

“Lexie, what’s this about?” he asked.

Trying to determine the best way to answer, she set the menu down and folded her hands over her lap.  “It’s about us.  You and me.  What is it about us that makes sense?”

“There’s plenty that makes sense.  You’re gorgeous.  You’re graceful.  You’re elegant.  You’re everything I want in a wife.”

The server came over to them and asked for their order.

“I’ll have a Bahama Mama to drink.  To eat, I’ll have the crab cakes, lobster tail, and shrimp cocktail combo.  For dessert, I’ll have a slice of chocolate cake,” he replied.

“That sounds good.  I’ll have the same,” she added.

He cleared his throat.  “I think you meant everything except the chocolate cake, sweetheart.”

She lowered her voice and said, “It’s just one slice.”

“But is it wise to do that when you’re so close to the art exhibit and wedding?”

The server shifted from one foot to the other.  “I can come back.”

“No need,” Nick replied.  “One slice of cake will be enough.”

Lexie opened her mouth to protest but decided a piece of cake wasn’t worth a public argument, so she indicated her agreement with a nod and waited for the server to leave before speaking.  “There has to be something about me—about my personality—that you like.”

“Okay.  That’s fair.” He unfolded the cloth napkin and settled it on his lap.  “You’re compliant.  That’s a very important trait for a wife of a doctor.  With my job comes a lot of demands, and I need a wife who’s understanding of those demands.  You’re perfect.  I couldn’t have asked for a better woman to spend the rest of my life with.”

Need to Change the Title of Runaway Bride

I need to change the title of this book because as I was writing it this past week, it turned out Lexie didn’t want to wait until her wedding day to run off with Mark.  She decided to do it sooner.  I looked up the definition of “runaway bride”, and it means a bride-to-be who runs off right before the wedding ceremony.  So technically, the title doesn’t fit this book.  Bummer.  I loved the title, too.

I could try to force Lexie to wait, but honestly, she’s not that stupid.  She knows Nick isn’t good for her, and she sees no reason to drag things out.  :P  So that angle wouldn’t work.  Plus, it’d only frustrate the characters.  Frustrated characters aren’t fun to work with.

Anyone got any ideas on a good title for this book?  Basically, Lexie is engaged to Nick but Mark comes along and turns her world upside down.  So she has to choose between the two guys.  We all know she chooses Mark.  The plot is mainly how he wins her over and dealing with the controlling mother (we all remember how the mom was in Suddenly a Bride) afterwards.

So far, the only title I can think of is Claiming His Bride.  Does that work?

 

Very Inspiring Blog Award

The very sweet and talented Joleene Naylor has nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award.  If you happen to like vampires, romance and thriller, then I think you’ll enjoy her books.  She mixes all three elements, and the books are intended for adults due to the violent and sexual content.  I like the unique spin she has on the vampire world and some of the twists she throws in her books.  :D

Okay.  Now for the award…

The Rules of the Award are as follows:

Display the award logo on your blog.
Link back to the person who nominated you.
State 7 things about yourself.
Nominate 15 bloggers for this award and link to them.
Notify those bloggers of the nomination and the award’s requirements.

In keeping with the rules here are seven random things about me right now – yes, you get the randomness in REAL TIME!

I am watching Drake & Josh on Nickelodeon.  (I still enjoy watching teen TV shows, especially those on Nickelodeon.  And personally, if I was a teenage girl, I’d pick Josh over Drake because Josh is responsible, loyal, and sweet.)

I finished my writing word count goals for the day, which is so awesome considering I haven’t been able to achieve this feat for two months.  (Finally, I’m back in a writing routine!)
I’m about to write 500 more words for Runaway Bride and *fingers crossed* Mitch’s Win.   I’m hoping to finish the first draft for Mitch’s Win this month and Runaway Bride next month.  (Wish me luck!)
My four kids are currently behaving so I don’t have to get up to do anything.  (Yay!)
My husband is upstairs playing Cribbage, so I can watch a teen TV show.  :D
My weakness is soda, especially Sprite/7 Up/Sierra Mist.  That’s going to be my biggest hinderance in losing weight.
I want to lose weight so I don’t get diabetes (runs in my family).
Coming up with 7 random things about me is harder than I thought it’d be.  At least now it’s over.  LOL

And now I must nominate 15 bloggers for this award.  (Or in my case, 5.  I guess point 8 about me would be, “I’ve never been popular.” LOL)

Janet Syas Nitsick

Rose Gordon

Lauralynn Elliot

Stephannie Beman

Paula Freda

 

Inspiration Behind the Book: Shotgun Groom…And a note on the where ideas for other books come from

Shotgun Groom was inspired by one scene that happened in The Wrong Husband.  As soon as I wrote it, I knew exactly how Joel would get married.  The scene took place in Chapter 21.  It was after Owen defeated Big Roy and became the official deputy.

It was about time Jenny’s brothers stopped their harassment, Owen thought.  Owen’s chest puffed up with a sense of pride as he closed the door of the jailhouse and placed his hat on his head.

“Afternoon, gentlemen,” he said and buttoned his coat.  “Getting ready for Christmas?”

“We had some errands to run,” Tom replied.  “Even if women say they don’t want anything but our love, they don’t mean it.”

Joel snickered.  “And you had to learn that the hard way.”

Tom’s face grew red.  “I can’t wait until you get married, Joel.  I don’t care what you argue about.  I’ll take her side each time.”

“Unlike you all, I have no desire to tie the knot,” he replied and gave them a smug smile.  “I’m going to stay single forever.”

“Since when?”

“Since I saw how you all ended up.  No woman is going to tell me what to do.”

***

It was a subtle slip which went into the conversation, but it was enough to inspire Shotgun Groom.  I enjoy working with Tom and Joel.  They’re my favorite characters to put together in a book because of their good-natured banters.  The banter didn’t truly start until I wrote “A Bride for Tom,” which was written after Eye of the Beholder.  The Nebraska books are ones that I can’t write in order.  They need to be written when the characters are ready.  Part of it is because there are so many characters I plan to write about in the collection.  I figure I have at least twenty more ideas.  I don’t know if I’ll ever write all of the books that are meant to go with that world, but I’ll have fun trying.  :D

Back to this post…

Inspiration comes from a wide range of sources.  Last week, I talked about how a dream inspired Bride of Second Chances.  Other sources of inspiration can come from movies, a conversation with a friend, overhearing another conversation, browsing titles in a bookstore or online, seeing a picture (they say a picture says a thousand words), reading a book and wondering “what if this happened instead?”…

Most of my ideas come when I’m writing.  I’ll write a particular scene (like the one above) and think, “Ah ha!  I can go somewhere with that.” I’d say 90% of my books stem from what I wrote in a book prior to that.  Quick examples: Falling In Love With Her Husband gave me the idea for An Inconvenient Marriage (because I wondered what would happen if I paired up a hero and heroine who didn’t want to be together).  Loving Eliza was inspired when I wrote the scene between Eliza and Neil in His Redeeming Bride.  I wrote “A Chance In Time” because I enjoyed the romance between Cole and Penelope in Meant To Be and wanted another view of it.  From “A Chance In Time” came Restoring Hope, which in turn, led to Brave Beginnings and Bound by Honor Bound by Love.  

There are many other examples, but I won’t bore you with all the details.  Suffice it to say, the more I write, the more ideas I get.  I used to think that there was a limited vault somewhere in my mind where I could access ideas from.  And I believed once I used up my ideas, I would stop writing.  Back in 2008 when I wrote An Inconvenient Marriage, An Unlikely Place for Love, and The Cold Wife, I thought I was done with romances and would go back to writing fantasy (mainly the Raz books I had done prior to 2008).

But then I got the idea for Eye of the Beholder (because I wanted to read a mail-order bride story but didn’t find any that fit the plot I wanted where the heroine wasn’t drop dead gorgeous).  As I wrote that book, I realized I wanted to write a ton of books based on the secondary characters.  I wanted to know how Tom and Jessica ended up together, I wanted to give Neil a second chance, I wanted to see Jenny married to a good man after the trouble she had with Clyde.  Other ideas came later, but now you know why “A Bride for Tom,” His Redeeming Bride, and The Wrong Husband were written shortly after Eye of the Beholder.  From those three books came more ideas.  It snowballed and the Nebraska Collection grew bigger and bigger.

The concept of a limited vault of ideas is false.  The truth is, the vault has no limit.  Ideas pour out of it, and the problem is which idea to write next.  At any one time, I have ten books I’d like to work on right away, but I have to pick which ones to go with.  It’s hard to make the decision.  I end up making the decision based on how eager the characters are to tell me their story, how much interest their is in the story from you guys, and what other books I’m working on at the moment.  Sometimes I need a break from one sub-genre.  If I just got done doing a lot of historical westerns, I’ll go to a contemporary or Regency.  This is why I can’t just write one sub-genre in romance.  I need a variety to keep my mind fresh.

Story Sample Sunday: Shotgun Groom

Tomorrow, I’m going to share the inspiration behind the wedding scene of Shotgun Groom because it actually stemmed from The Wrong Husband.  :D  I’ll explain how in tomorrow’s post.

Realizing he was losing the argument, Joel decided to change tactics.  “Well, the bride’s made it clear that she doesn’t want to marry me.”

“I can’t blame her on that one,” Tom quipped.  “But even if she’s getting the bad end of the deal, she’s willing to make the sacrifice.”

Joel glared at Tom.  “Rick, will you please step outside for a moment?”

“Why?” Rick asked.

“Because I don’t need a judge to witness what I’m about to do to my brother,” Joel replied, not taking his eyes off of Tom who didn’t seem the least bit bothered by the threat.

Rick opened the book, and Joel realized the piece of paper he inserted into it was a marriage certificate which hadn’t been signed yet.  Rick tucked the paper between two other pages in the book and motioned for April to join them.  “We’ll get this ceremony started.”

Though April appeared hesitant, she joined them and clasped her hands in front of her, so Rick began performing the ceremony.

“I can’t believe this,” Joel muttered as Sep raised the rifle.

Exactly where did Sep think Joel was going to go?  He might be able to get away from Tom or Rick, but he wasn’t stupid enough to believe he could tackle both of them, especially since they were older than him.  Letting out a loud groan, he lifted his eyes to heaven and wondered what awful thing he did to deserve this fate.  Rick went on and on about something that had to do with this disaster, but Joel refused to pay attention.  Why would he care to listen to the words that sealed his doom?

Beside him, April said “I do” in a tone that indicated she’d rather not but had no choice.

Joel rolled his eyes.  That was just great.  His bride showed as much enthusiasm for this marriage as she did for the dust she wiped up when she cleaned.  Oh yes.  This marriage was going to be just the thing he needed to complete his life.  When it was his turn to say “I do,” Tom nudged him in the side and pointed to Rick.

Narrowing his eyes at Tom, he refused to speak the dreaded words.

“Come on, Joel,” Rick said in a gentle voice.  “It’s not as bad as you’re making it out to be.”

“How would you know?” Joel snapped.

“Because I’ve been there.  Well, not with a gun and a judge like this, but I didn’t think I’d fall in love with your sister when we first met.  And look at us now.  I can’t imagine my life without Sally.  Sometimes love takes a while to develop.”

Joel shook his head, but Tom nudged him again.  “Say it, Joel.  Let’s complete this wonderful event.”

A gun clicked from across the room where Sep stood, and Joel made sure to groan before he muttered the words that sealed his future for the worst.  “I do.” He winced and blinked back tears.  He used to be a happy man, and now…

Rick let out an exasperated breath and asked, “I don’t suppose you’d like to kiss the bride?”

“No!” Both Joel and April shrieked at the same time.

“But that’s the best part,” Tom said.

Joel scowled at him, but Tom’s lips curled up into an amused smirk.  “You need a heart, Tom.”

Sep lowered the gun and relaxed.  “It’s done, right Judge Johnson?”

Rick nodded and placed the marriage certificate on the table.  “All I need are your signatures, but it’s a done deal.”

“Oh good!” Tom rubbed his hands together and hurried over to the table where Rick handed him the fountain pen that was tucked inside his suit jacket.  “I’ve been waiting for this day for years!  I can’t wait to tell everyone Joel’s a married man.”

Want to do a Christmas Romance This Year

This is something I’ve been wanting to work on for the past two years but haven’t been in the mood to write a contemporary.  Now that I’m working on two contemporaries (Runaway Bride and His Abducted Bride), I think I might actually pull the story off this year.  I’ve given up on the idea that I can transfer a story idea to a time period it wasn’t originally for.  I was going to put the idea of Just Good Friends (two friends pretending to be more to appease some meddling family members) into a Regency, but honestly, the plot points I had fall apart.  Same is true if I try to make a book that was supposed to be in one world and transfer it to another world.  (Mitch’s Win is meant to be a Montana book, and no amount of manipulating the circumstances or characters worked to convert it into a Nebraska book.)  So all I’ve learned is that you can’t modify a story from its original setting or with its original characters.

That all being said, I’m going to let Just Good Friends be the way it’s meant to be, a contemporary romance.  This also means that it will be book 3 in the Omaha series.  Book 1 is With This Ring, I Thee Dread and book 2 is What Nathan Wants.  The main character of Just Good Friends is Ryan Jackson’s cousin and Nathan Rudolph’s friend/vice president.   I’ll try to work in updates from those characters.  I enjoy doing stuff like that so I can see how the characters from previous books are doing in their happily ever after.  :D

My hope is to have Just Good Friends out in late September/early October so it’s up on all the sites in December when people want to read romances spanning Thanksgiving to the New Year.  I plan to go through my calendar and figure out my daily average word count in order to reach this goal.

Now that I know how to use GIMP, I decided to update the cover for this book.

The original cover:

The new cover:

I wish the cover to The Earl’s Scandalous Wife would come as easy as this one did.  Working with covers is a hit and miss ordeal.  Either I can get it the way I want it within a couple hours or it takes weeks.

Inspiration Behind the Book: Bride of Second Chances

I know I’m late posting this today.  Long story short: we decided to go back to Nebraska.  It’s a long and complicated tale, but it turned out to be better for everyone so we decided we might as well move back sooner rather than later.  When you have kids with IEP (individual education plans), it’s just easier to get them back to the old school while those IEPs are fresh and current.  Minnesota was nice.  I don’t want anyone to get the idea that we were miserable there.   The key to contentment is to be happy wherever you are. Home is more than a place where you live; it’s who you also surround yourself around.  :D  So we are happy wherever we live.  I think God just wants us to be in Nebraska.

Enough about all that.  I know I have two comments pending for this blog, but since it’s almost 11pm, I’m going to hold off until tomorrow to get to them.

Now for the post I promised to do today…

This was one of the rare stories where the plot was pretty much established during a dream I had.  I was writing Bid for a Bride at the time, and one night I had one of those dreams where you know the past of everything that happened up to the scene that you actually dream about.   I don’t know if that makes any sense, but suffice it to say that in most of my dreams, I know the background of the people in my dreams.

Anyway, the actual dream was of a man sitting at a kitchen table in the late 1800s.  He wore a suit, so I knew he wasn’t a farmer.  A woman was washing dishes at the sink, and as he watched her, he struggled with the awareness that he was falling in love with her when he should have stayed devoted to his first wife who had died.

That was the scene.  I knew this woman in the dream was the sister of his first wife.  I knew the woman married him out of convenience but harbored romantic feelings for him that she refused to acknowledge.

While I was asleep, I thought, “This has the potential to be a pretty good book.” I don’t often have dreams where I know I’m dreaming and manipulate what else happens in the dream.  But this particular dream was the kind of dream where I was able to work through various plot points in the story.

(Just so everyone knows, I haven’t had this type of dream since.  Most of the time, I dream about three things.  My kids are making a mess and no matter how much I clean, the mess only gets bigger.  I’m going in for another c-section so it would be my fifth since I had four boys via c-section, and I worry that my body won’t be able to handle another c-section and I’ll never recover from it.  And the third dream is usually one where my husband tells me he’s divorcing me.  When I wake up from those dreams, I am so relieved.  I know they’re all fears I carry around but don’t give thought to during the day.)

Anyway, during this particular dream, I went through different scenarios between the man and woman until I settled on one that made me happy.  :D

When I woke up, I brainstormed on where to put the characters and plot I had worked through in my dream.  Since I was working on Bid for a Bride and had been wanting to do a book about the child Eliza (from Loving Eliza) had but couldn’t keep.  So it was likely the timing of the dream that created the series the idea went to.  I wanted to see Eliza reunited with her son.  I knew her son would be a preacher (simply to show that his circumstances in being conceived didn’t hinder God’s grace), but I did hesitate to give him that role in Bride of Second Chances.  I worried that I’d offend someone by making him a preacher because I’d have to give him a more prominently Christian role than I typically give my characters.  But then I thought, “If this is who the character is, then he needs to be a preacher.” Besides, I manage to offend people in many ways when I write books, so why stress over what job a character has?  So I let him be what he was meant to be.

For other authors who might be reading this: Write the story as it’s meant to be and let characters be who they are.  The pursuit of trying to please everyone is fruitless.  You’re much better off following your heart.  It’s hard to block out the critic, but it can be done.  I find taking time away from the Internet for a few days helps a lot.  Sometimes you need time away to get reconnected with your characters.  :D

Sunday Story Sample: Bride of Second Chances

Tomorrow I’ll post what inspired this book.  My favorite scene is when Jeremy reads the letter Rebecca left for him, but that would be too much of a spoiler, so I’m going to go with part of the scene where Jeremy Graham decides to marry Jane.

Quick background into the scene:  Jane just learned her brother and sister-in-law (Will and Susie) has sold her to Micah, and she’s furious with him…

“You know Jeremy will never marry me to Micah when I say no,” Jane protested.

“Oh, don’t be silly,” her brother replied.  ”I wouldn’t take you to Preacher Graham.  He knows us.  I’d take you to one who doesn’t.”

She gasped.  “You can’t force me to marry Micah!”

“That depends on the preacher.”

“At least he’s a man,” Susie added with a shrug.  “I don’t see any other man coming by offering you his hand in marriage.”

“Then you haven’t been looking in the right direction.”

The three stopped to turn their attention to the man who stood in the open doorway.

Jeremy stepped into the house.  “The door was open so I thought you wanted me to come right in, but considering the discussion, I believe it was an oversight.”

Jane blinked at his bitter tone.

Her brother’s eyes widened and he let out a tentative laugh.  “Preacher!  I think you misunderstand the situation.  I’m trying to help Jane.”

“From what I heard, she doesn’t want your help,” Jeremy said.  “In fact, it sounded like she’s opposed to the marriage you proposed.” He turned to her.  “You don’t want to marry Micah, do you?”

“Of course not,” she replied.

Jeremy turned back to her brother.  “That seems pretty clear to me.  Did you have trouble understanding her?”

Her brother sighed.  “It’s not that easy, Preacher.  There are things to consider.”

“What kind of things?” Jeremy asked.

At first, he seemed baffled by the question but then answered, “For one, her age.  She’s not getting any younger.  She’ll be twenty-three come January.  I don’t want to see her end up an old maid.  She ought to have a husband to provide for her and children to tend to.” With an excited nod, he continued, “Susie here has never been happier in her entire life.  Her life was meaningless until she married me.  Isn’t that right, honey?”

Susie jerked and glanced from Jeremy to Will.  “I need to check on supper.  Come along, children.” Without any delay, she nudged Hank and Irene so that they were hurrying on out of the parlor.

Will looked like he wanted to protest but then caught sight of Jeremy’s grim expression and closed his mouth.

“Anything else?” Jeremy pressed.

Clearing his throat, he straightened his vest and nodded.  “Alright.  Yes, there is.  I’m her brother.  That means I’m the one who has to see to her welfare.  That being the case, I can make decisions on her behalf, even important ones.”

“I won’t marry her to Micah.”

“You’re not the only preacher around.”

“I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a preacher who’s willing to force a woman into a marriage she doesn’t want.”

“Force is such a harsh word.”

“Then what would you call it?”

After a moment of staring at the ceiling, her brother said, “Convince.  Yes, I’d convince the preacher it’s best for her.”

Jeremy narrowed his eyes at her brother.  “Convince?  Exactly what do you mean by that?”

Jane watched as her brother gave a slight shrug as he made a big show of checking the button on his shirt sleeve.  She didn’t like this.  It seemed to her that her brother was planning something horrible.  She stormed up to him.  “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I can’t believe you would even strike such a bargain with Micah.  I’m your sister, and this is how you treat me?”

Will glanced at Jeremy before he took her by the elbow and pulled her to the corner of the room.  In a whisper, he said, “Tell him to go home.  We shouldn’t be having this discussion in front of him.”

“There is no discussion, Will, because I’m not marrying Micah.” Pointing her finger at him, she hissed, “You better get that through your thick skull before I come after you with a rolling pin.”

Jeremy strode over to them.  “I’ve had enough.  Will, you want to see her married so she can be fulfilled, correct?”

Her brother glanced at her uncertainly before he turned his attention back to Jeremy.  “Ah…yes.  I don’t think a woman is complete without a man.”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Jane shot back.

“If you were to use that kind of reasoning,” Jeremy began, “you’d conclude that a man isn’t complete without a woman either.  In marriage, the two are united as one, after all.” He looked at Jane.  “Do you want to be married?”

“Of course, I do,” she admitted.

“Ah ha!” Her brother pointed his finger at her and smiled in triumph.  “There you go.  See, Preacher?  She does want to get married.”

“Not to Micah!” she snapped.

“Micah.  Some other man.” He shrugged.  “What’s the difference?”

Now it was Jeremy who took her by the elbow and led her to another corner of the room. “Would you consider marrying me?”