Silver Medalist in Reader's Favorites Contest 2013Winner First place AuthorStand 2nd Annual Novel Award for Genre Religious Fiction.
Cottonwood, Iowa 1875
¿¿¿ Lydia Walcott is on the run.

With a broken arm and wounded spirit she is escaping the hands of her cruel brother and the marriage he has arranged. She's running to the unknown, praying God will lead her steps. Seeking shelter from an ice storm in a livery stall, Lydia goes to sleep hoping that in this small town of Cottonwood, Iowa she'll find a job, a place to live, friends, and a future.
¿¿¿ Dr. Sterling Graham, having just delivered a baby, rides back to town over ice covered roads

He's confident, secure in the knowledge that he is loved and respected by the people of the Cottonwood. Exhausted from the long night, he decides to sleep on the cot in the livery.

Sterling's reputation and career, along with Lydia's hope for a new life, are put in jeopardy when gossips spread the news that, "Doc spent the night in the stable with a woman." The story grows as 'facts' are added.

Something needs to be decided that will repair the damage to Sterling's career and give Lydia the home and safety she needs. The unwelcome solution is that they marry.

How do they learn about each other and mesh two lives into a successful marriage which honors God, while coping with issues of trust, pride, epidemic, and injury, along with the fear that Lydia's brother will find her?