Tanya Hanson

A California beach girl, I love cowboys and happy-ever-afters. My firefighter hubby and I enjoy travel, our two little grandsons, country music, McDonald's iced coffee, and volunteering at the local horse rescue. I was thrilled last year to receive the CTRR Award at Coffeetime Romance for Sanctuary, my tribute to my cancer-survin' hubby!

What is it with Sisters? ~Tanya Hanson

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Anybody who knows me knows that reading Little Women when I was eight set my goal to be a writer. Someday, somehow.

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Celebrating my recent release, Sisters--two stories in one! I decided to regale you with trivia about those March sisters and their stories. See how well you do. (answers at the end.) And please leave a comment today…I’m giving away three Kindle copies of Sisters.

  1. Who is the oldest March sister:  a) Amy; b) Jo; c) Meg; d) Beth.

 

  1. Jo works for: a) Aunt March;   b) The Boston Beacon;   c) the Weekly Volcano;   d) Mr. Laurence.

 

  1. When Amy burns Joe’s treasured manuscript (horrors! No back-up or Dropbox…) what melts Jo’s fury?   a) Amy marries Laurie so Jo doesn’t have to.   b) Amy contracts scarlet fever.   c)Aunt March threatens to send Amy to art school in Paris.   d) Amy falls through the ice on a frozen pond.

 

  1. Beth becomes ill with:   a) consumption;    b) scarlet fever;    c) influenza;    d) appendicitis.

 

  1. Meg marries:  a) Ned Moffat;  b) John Brooke;  c) Friedrich Bhaer;  d) No, she doesn’t. She remains single.

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  1. Beth dies at age:  a) 19;  b) 18;  c) 17;  d) 16.  
  1. Originally a two-parter, the second half of Little Women (Part 2 today) was called:  a) Good Wives;  b) Army Wives (this was, after all, Civil War times.)  c) Little Children;  d) The Last March.

 

  1. Aunt March’s home is called:  a) Fruitlands;  b) Orchard House;  c) Apple Farm;  d) Plumfield.

 

  1. Meg’s children are officially christened:  a) Jack and Jill;   b) Jack and Daisy;  c) John and Jane;  d) John and Margaret.

 

  1. Little Women led to two sequels:  a) Little Men, and Little Children;  b) Jo’s Boys, and Meg’s   Twins;  c) The Finale March, and The Final Chapter;  d) Little Men, and Jo’s Boys.

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So, what’s with Sisters? Well, in Her Hurry-up Husband, debutante Elspeth Maroney leaves her stinkin’, cheatin’ bridegroom at the altar, but realizes she needs a husband for just one month. And by then, she just might need to run screaming from her bridegroom’s crazy granny…

 

However, she finds her heart fluttering when her intended, handsome Colorado rancher Hezekiah Steller wants a wife for life. And an heir as quick as possible.  Sigh. How can they let each other go?

 

Anyway, my editor (the talented, ever patient and most excellent Cheryl Pierson) flat out said…Elspeth’s sister Judith has GOT to get away from their awful mama. Hence…(this this is an important word in the story…) Judith has her own set of adventures and romance in Her Thief of Hearts. Beautiful socialite (her). Darling orphan and…An outlaw! Bad-boy “Black Ankles” holds up a speeding train, and she’s on it. Along with Elspeth’s spurned bridegroom and the sisters’ former childhood governess! Oh no. Can her beloved Tremaine rescue her in time?

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So, both stories are now together in one pretty package. And  to make it more fun, Tremaine’s brother Ronnie has his own love story coming out at Christmas…because he’s really outlaw Black Ankles and so needs love and redemption.

All right. Here are the answers!

1-c; 2-a; 3-d; 4-b; 5-b; 6-a; 7-a; 8-d; 9-d; 10-d

 

Now, who’s your favorite March sister and why?

Way to go, Wyoming, electing the first female governor! ~Tanya Hanson

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marryingminda-crop-to-use1I’ve always been intrigued that Wyoming allowed women to vote far sooner than anyplace else–1869  one year after the Wyoming Territory was incorporated. And when Wyoming was admitted into the Union in 1890, it was upon the condition of women’s suffrage remaining intact. Therefore, Wyoming was the first state to allow women to vote!

And Wyoming elected the nation’s first woman governor, Nellie Tayloe Ross (1876-1977). However, she never set out to be a politician. She truly believed a woman’s calling was home and family. Then her husband’s unexpected death thrust her into the political arena.

Her husband William Bradford Ross, a Democratic governor in a Republican state, died from complications of an appendectomy in October 1924.
Wyoming law required his successor be chosen in the general election scheduled a month later. When Democratic party leaders offered Nellie the nomination to fill the remainder of her husband’s term, she did not reply. Her silence was taken as agreement. She was nominated on October 14 despite having no political experience and having played no real support for women’s suffrage. Later, she claimed she accepted the nomination because she believed she understood her husband’s goals and aspirations better than anybody else.
Missouri-born Nellie Davis Tayloe had prominent southern connections and her mother claimed distant kinship with George Washington. After the family moved to Omaha, Nebraska, she obtained a teaching certificate and taught kindergarten before her marriage. On a visit to Tennessee relatives, she met and fell in love with William.
The young lawyer moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming before marrying Nellie in 1902. While devoted to her husband and three sons (one died at ten months of age), Nellie was active in intellectual self-enrichment programs for the Cheyenne’s Women’s Club.
Upon her nomination, Nellie did not campaign for office, other than two open letters. Many voted for her as a tribute to her late husband. However, other citizens wanted Wyoming to have the first woman governor, not only as respect for its longstanding voting rights for women, but as a last chance to have the distinction:  Miriam Ferguson, the wife of Texas’s impeached governor,  was running in his stead in the 1924 election.
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Although Nellie handily won as Wyoming’s 14th governor, 1924 was a catastrophic election year for Democrats. She graciously accepted that the Republican-controlled legislature was unlikely to work with her. Still wearing her mourning garb, Nellie Tayloe Ross was inaugurated on January 5, 1925. (Miriam Ferguson was not inaugurated until January 25.) Ross’s brief speech promised a continuation of her husband’s role, rather than a new start.
Among her heartfelt causes, Nellie fought unsuccessfully for Wyoming to ratify the federal amendment prohibiting child labor, and sought state assistance for the faltering agricultural industry. She urged banking reform and bemoaned the difficulties of enforcing Prohibition. She stood her ground to the federal government on water rights. As an administrator, she received mixed reviews and did not win re-election in 1926.
Although she did not seek public office again, Nellie was not done. A prominent and popular lecturer, she forayed onto the national stage as a Wyoming committeewoman to the Democratic National Convention. In 1929, she seconded the presidential nomination for the governor of New York, Alfred E. Smith and traveled the country speaking on his behalf.
In 1933, Franklin D Roosevelt wanted to be the first president to appoint women to his cabinet, and considered Nellie Tayloe Ross for either Secretary of the Interior of Secretary of Labor. However, she was chosen Director of the Mint, the first woman so appointed. Upon discovering that gold and silver coins were still being struck by hand, she established automation. Her efficiency pared 3,000 employees from the roster of 4,000.
Until Dwight Eisenhower became president in 1952, Mrs. Ross remained Director of the Mint. She lived in Washington D.C. when she died December 19, 1977. Another strong woman of the West!
Have you heard of either Governor Nellie Tyloe Ross or Governor Miriam Ferguson? 
http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/whm/bio/ross_n.htm
www.tanyahanson.com

For Ever and Ever…Tanya Hanson

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Wedding-Week-sepiaDon’t forget to leave a comment today! I’m giving away one of my backlist books because…it’s about a Bride, and it’s Wedding Week here in Wildflower Junction!  PLEASE check the comments later tonight for my “winner” as I don’t want to intrude on tomorrow’s filly…

The picture below is me and my posse in July 1974 at my bridal shower. (I’m seated on the right.) This womanly gathering owes its roots to a Dutch maiden three hundred years ago whose wealthy papa pooh-poohed her marital choice of a lowly miller. He refused her a  dowry, so her friends and neighbors “showered” her with enough household goods to start life with her true love.

In the 1890’s, gifts for the bride were actually placed into a Japanese parasol which was later opened over her head. Hopefully there wasn’t a cast iron frying pan or meat cleaver knife in there.

my bridal shower

The honored roll of Bridesmaid got its start during the bride-stealing days of the Anglo-Saxons. A gaggle of lovelies usually dressed identical to the bride even to their veils to confuse marauders and act as decoys. Later, the flock of bridesmaids was believed to ward off evil spirits who might curse the happy couple.

In those good old days of bride-stealing and kidnapping, the groom of course had to surround himself with pals ready to assist in abducting his woman. Sometimes the “groomsmen” snatched brides of their own from the herd of bridesmaids. Romantic? Can’t decide if there’s a historical romance plot in there somewhere. Or if it’s just downright inappropriate behavior no matter what century you’re in…

Anyway, here are some helpful proverbs for any superstitious brides out there.

  1. If you find a spider on your wedding gown, you’ll come into money. 
  2. If you see a flock of birds, your marriage will be blessed with fertility. 
  3. If it snows on your wedding day, you’ll be wealthy.
  4. If the sun is out, you’ll be happy.
  5. If you marry as the hands of the clock move up (after the half hour), you’ll have good fortune. 
  6. If you drop the ring during the ceremony, it’s best to start the whole thing over. 
  7. If you look in the mirror before walking down the aisle, you’ll leave a part of yourself behind. 
  8. If you cry on your wedding day, especially before the kiss, you’ll prevent tears during the marriage. 

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Above is an heirloom photo of my grandparents. The one below is my niece. As for Hubs and me…we’re still going strong after 41 years even though it did not snow on our wedding day. The sun shined bright, though, so that adage works.While we’re never been wealthy, we’ve never been in want. And of course I looked in the mirror. If any part of me got left behind, I haven’t missed it!Ethereal!

So…what’s the best bridal shower gift you ever got or gave? I’ll draw one name from the commenters  for a copy of MARRYING MINDA, my tale of a mail-order-bride who heads West and marries…the wrong man. (U.S. Residents only for print; others e-copy)MarryingMinda_w2706_680

Some Tidbits about Temecula~Tanya Hanson

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I love Temecula, Southern California’s premiere Wine Country (think Napa up north), and I visit every month or two with a posse of gal-pal wine aficionados. Since Temecula is several hours from home, we manage to spend the weekend, and last time, we arrived just in time for the annual Western Days festival!  Temecula has a rich history which is preserved in “Old Town.”  Enjoy the fun re-enactors pix today!

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First off, the name of the valley comes from the Luiseño Indians and basically mean “where the sun breaks through the mist.” The  tribe has been in the area since at least 900 AD.

The first “white man” to set foot is believed to be Father Juan Norberto de Santiago while leading an expedition in 1797 to found a new mission.

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Forty years later, American fur trappers moved in, and not long after, provincial governors granted a large tract of land to Felix Valdez, and Rancho Temecula was born in 1845.  The “rancho” era of California bloomed with a romantic aura that lingers still.

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In addition to romance, the area saw its own historic violence.  A nearby canyon was the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the Mexican War in 1847.

The local tribe captured and executed eleven Mexican soldiers. However, the Mexicans conspired with an enemy tribe, the Cahuilla, to settle some scores with them. In short, the common grave of the dead Temeculans is still visible from a major highway.

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And true to legends of the wild west, Temecula had run-ins with bandits and bad guys. In 1857, outlaw Juan Flores killed a shopkeeper (his second in the area) and with his gang, hid out on a nearby peak, eventually killing a Los Angeles sheriff. These events sparked California’s greatest manhunt. (Flores was finally captured in Simi Pass 110 miles north, and hanged.)

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Stagecoaches began to arrive that same year (1857) and an alleged hold-up occurred. In 1858,the Butterfield Overland Stagecoach Line scheduled stops there its route from St. Louis and San Francisco.

California’s second-ever post office soon followed.

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January 1882 brought the first railroad service, but tracks washed out in an 1883 flood, and the train station became a barn. Not to worry. Temecula started quarrying granite in the 1890’s (although the industry died out about 1915–cement was easier). Many curbs and fences built of this stone are still extant today, even in San Francisco some 470 miles away.

By the turn of the century, Temecula became Cowboy Town–the shipping point for cattle!

 

By the 1970’s, the Long Branch Saloon had become a meetinghouse, and the Stables Bar, retail boutiques.

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Test vineyards were planted in 1966, leading to a dozen wineries by 1990 and at least 35 today. The “microclimate” caused by good soil, seabreezes from 65 miles away, and 11,000-feet high mountains is perfect for wine grapes. Yay.

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Two notable authors resided in the valley. Erle Stanley Gardner, of Perry Mason fame, lived at Rancho Del Paisano from 1937 until his death in 1970; a model of his ranch can be seen at Temecula’s History Museum.

Gardner

Massachusetts native Helen Hunt Jackson (1830-1885), long an activist against federal mistreatment of the native peoples, stayed in the area around 1880 and became friends with Temecula merchant Louis Wolf–a mixed-race/half Indian, and his wife Ramona. Their store inspired a setting in Jackson’s novel Ramona. Although  the 1884 book–romantic and realistic both–was written mostly in New York, it’s a California classic.

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I hope you enjoyed these tidbits today. Anybody else ever visited Temecula or like wine tasting?

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Sixteen months since the foolish death of her husband, attorney Rachel Martin aches to move on as much as she fears the future. Cutting back on her practice and moving back to her childhood ranch means her three-year old son has all the attention he needs. Finding love again is the last thing on her mind…until she meets Brayton Metcalf.

After ten year’s of self-blame for his wife’s death in a plane crash, successful businessman Brayton Metcalf is instantly drawn to Rachel when he brings his his daughter to Hearts Crossing Ranch for therapy riding lessons. But Rachel backs off at his impetuous personality. He whittles away at her doubts…until he jumps head-fist into a business decision that will affect her family. Rachel, her trust in Brayton endangered, turns to trusting in God. Can the couple’s shared grief and guilt permit them to see daylight once again?

 

High Tea at the Beach ~Tanya Hanson

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I’m blessed not only to have a wonderful sister in law, but I also often get to party with her in OAHU where she and MarryingMinda Crop to Useher hubs moved last year!  In fact, it was her guest room I was staying in a year ago April that inspired my 2014 Western historical romance The Christmas Room.

Last week, we tea-partied at the Moana Surfrider Hotel in Waikiki.

First lady today

This gorgeous hotel is called “the First Lady of Oahu.”  Waikiki’s first hotel, then simply The Moana, opened for guests in 1901. Architect Oliver Traphagen designed a luxury hotel in the “Hawaiian Gothic” style that included amenities in its 75 rooms that were not usually seen–private baths, telephones, billiard parlor, and the first electric elevator in the islands. (In 1898, when Theodore Roosevelt annexed Hawaii as an American territory, the reality of a tourist economy was already burgeoning.)

Daily rate in 1901 was a heady $1.50!

 

Over the years, guests have included visitors such as the Prince of Wales (later the abdicated Edward 8), Agatha Christie, Amelia Earhart, Frank Sinatra, and Jane Stanford, co-founder of the famed university. In fact, her death inside the hotel in 1905 is a suspected homicide.

Almost immediately upon the hotel’s opening, afternoon tea became a tradition on “The Veranda”.

Banyan tree

Although King David Kalakaua (1836-1891) had actively promoted a return to many island cultural ways quashed by American missionaries early in the 19th century, most turn-of-the-century Honolulu citizens (including King David) valued Victorian fashion and practices.

Tea tray

These days, high tea on The Veranda is a special event I highly recommend. Guests are attended almost constantly by classy waitstaff and served a marvelous meal of sweets and savories. Tiny fingers sandwiches to start, scones with Devonshire cream and lemon curd, and pastries displayed on elegant 3-tired English bone china trays… Teapots are continually refreshed; I indulged in The Veranda’s signature tea, Moana Sunset, a black tea highlighted by mango and ohelo berry.

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Berries and cream…and a cleansing finish of green tea sorbet.

Strawberries and cream

Sorbet with gift fan

An additional highlight, each of us received a souvenir fan!

And what could beat the tableside view?

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Also widely renowned is The Veranda’s Banyan tree, planted in 1904 as a toddler of 7 feet and 7 years of age.

Nowadays the tree is 75 feet high with its branches spreading 150 feet. In 1979, the banyan was placed on the Exceptional Tree List, a registry created to protect rare and historic trees.

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The interior of The Moana Surfrider is a gorgeous mix of traditional and tropical.

Grand staircase

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The front porch is inviting as well, filled as it is with dozens of old-style rocking chairs.

Front porch

We took a load off with tradewinds rustling across our fans, er, faces.

Us with our fans in the rocking chairs

It was an afternoon to remember!

How about you? Who of you enjoys afternoon tea, whether elaborate like this or a simple cuppa in your home?

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Blurb: (click on cover to purchase)

Running from her past in Lake Tahoe and healing from unspeakable grief, Martita Akala has built a new life on the island of Oahu…until a handsome cowboy from the mainland disrupts her well-ordered peace. 

American cowboy Rooney Lind travels the ocean to fulfill a death-bed promise to find his late cousin’s  lost love. But spending time in Martita’s “Christmas Room” makes him realize he’s found what he’s been looking for his whole life long. 

 

Do You Find Yourself Talking to the Dead? ~Tanya Hanson

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Abraham Lincoln once asked: Do you ever find yourself talking to the dead? I do.”MarryingMinda Crop to Use

 

Well, I talk out loud in my characters’ voices all day long as well, and recently, I had a great time inside the head of 11-year old Feddie Harper. He’s the “star” of my middle grade story Black Dog, White Dog, (writing as Anya Novikov) from the wonderful My Dog Does Magic anthology, and he’s got some summer reading to do. Boring. Then…he actually finds himself enjoying a book on California history, most of all, our native tribe, the Chumash.

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So let me share the Legend of Hueneme today!

You’d never know it, but the word is pronounced “Wye-NEE-mee”

It’s actually the name of a beautiful Chumash princess…and the name of a peaceful, seaside Naval town on California’s central coast. The daughter of a great chief, Hueneme was not just lovely to behold but also kind, joyful and friendly. Everybody loved her. Birds would land on her finger and sing.

Many suitors longed to marry her, but she sent them away. At last she fell in love with a handsome visitor to her village. They were married, and their love story was legendary among the coastal tribes and those on the nearby islands.

But another woman wanted the husband and learned the black arts of witchcraft. She cast a spell upon Hueneme’s husband, and his love turned to hate. When he looked upon his wife, he saw not Hueneme but the witchy woman.

Indeed, the witch seduced him to leave with her to a faraway valley.

In grief, Hueneme returned to her home tribe. Her wise father told her to seek out her husband, for love cannot be destroyed by evil. She trusted her father, and searched for her man.

In a cursed valley of vile smells, Hueneme’s voice helped dispel the spell, and her husband followed her as she walked out of the miserable place. Partially unveiled by the curse, he realized he couldn’t live without her. However, the powerful curse hadn’t entirely departed from him.

In despair, Hueneme forgot her father’s words, that true love could not be killed by evil. Giving in to her hopelessness, she headed into the cold sea at today’s Mugu Rock. Filled with grief and regret, her husband followed her. And gods changed both of them to stones one can still see when the tide is just right.

Mugu Rock

 

Until missionaries came to the area, the Chumash Indians left bowls of food at Mugu Rock for Hueneme and her husband.

How about you? Are there any interesting legends or lore in your neighborhood?

My_Dog_Can_Do_Magic_Web (2) Blurb:

Feddie Harper is still mourning the loss of his black Lab when a lovely white dog magically appears next to him at the local horse rescue. Although his mom allows the dog to come home with them–just temporarily, the entire family soon realizes the pup’s life-saving specialty!

P.s. Black Dog, White Dog, is a story for all ages!

www.tanyahanson.com

 

 

Russian Easter Bread~Tanya Hanson

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MarryingMinda Crop to Use

 

Thanks to my lovely filly sister Karen Kay for letting me piggy-back with her today. I couldn’t resist sharing a paska recipe. Easter blessings to all y’all out there~from me and mine, He is risen indeed!Easter logo 2015a

 

However, anybody who knows me longer than a day knows I am terrified of cooking with yeast. So I freely admit I’ve never made paska. Maybe this year I’ll give it a shot.

Paska, a dessert-like bread, is usually featured at Easter. With origins in Poland (called kullich) and Ukraine, paska bread is often baked in a round coffee can and topped with a braided-dough cross. Sometimes even a dyed egg.

When served as dessert, paska contains white raisins and cherries and is drizzled with a cream cheese frosting and decorative sprinkles. The cherries symbolize royal jewels in honor of Christ the King. As bread during the main meal, a plain paska is topped only with melted butter.

Although baking soda can be used as leavening, most recipes call for yeast. I’m sharing a recipe today given to me by my Aunt Grace long ago.  Her given name was Hrunya. She’s gone now. She and Uncle Ivan (Johnny) died just two weeks apart in 2001 after a marriage of more than 60 years! I wish I’d spent more time cooking with her and learning the details about my heritage and forebears.

PASKA, Russian Easter Bread 

½ lb. butter

5 eggs

1 cup sweet cream

1½ cup milk

About 1/3 or slightly more warm water for yeast

2 cups sugar

¾ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lemon extract

¼ pound yeast

About 12 cups flour

To add: 1 cup each golden raisins, dried cherries, citron, almonds etc.

 

Scald cream with the milk and butter.

Crumble yeast into warm water and dissolve. Pour into lukewarm milk mixture and add salt, sugar, lemon extract, and eggs.

Add the flour and knead thoroughly.

Let rise once and press down. This might take about an hour; dough should double in bulk.

Let dough rise the second time, and stir in almonds, raisins, and dried fruit. Dough can be sprinkled with sugar during this step. Spoon into greased coffee cans half-full. Or form into rolls, rings, or braided loaves.

(Recipe is unclear as to how many coffee cans; seems you’ll need at least 8.

Bake 325 for 20 minutes.

(When cooled, drizzle with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles, if desired. Or dust with powdered sugar.) 

For a modern-day recipe, check out this link: 

(The “paska” picture file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.)

 

 

Kids, Dogs, and Dolls ~Tanya Hanson

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MarryingMinda Crop to UseToday it’s about kids. One, Patty Reed, aged 8, survived the “starved camp” of the Donner Party in 1846. And another, Feddie Harper, 11, is a present-day kid who lived in my head and comes to life in my new release by my other me, Anya Novikov. Black Dog, White Dog is part of the fun and wonderful anthology  My Dog Can Do Magic, from the Prairie Rose Publications imprint, Tornado Alley. I wanted to write something my little grandsons could read. The story is inspired by the horse rescue where I muck and feed, and where I have set up a reading program for our youngest volunteers.

Pearl, at the rescue
Pearl, at the rescue

But back to Patty. Her father James Reed was the actual founder of the Donner Party, and his family of six  was one of only two families to survive intact after the dreadful winter entrapment near Lake Tahoe.

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The well-off Reeds started the journey in a two-story wagon so elaborate the party somewhat snidely nicknamed it “the Pioneer Palace.” However, like everybody else, the family was forced to lighten the load along the way. Yet Patty couldn’t part with “Dolly”, a four-inch wooden toy she kept snug and secret in her pocket. Dolly helped keep Patty company in the darkest of times. You can see a copy of Dolly today at the Emigrant Museum in Truckee, and the real artifact, at Sutter’s Fort State Historical Park near Sacramento.

 

“Patty” Reed, (February 26, 1838-July 4, 1923) was born in Sagamon County, Illinois, and christened Martha Jane. Today’s Martha Street in San Jose, California, is named for her. After the harrowing winter, Patty was part of the first of four relief parties that evacuated the survivors. For many years after the rescue, her parents managed a mildly successful life in northern California. Widowed in 1876 after a happy marriage to Frank Lewis, Patty supported her seven kids by running several boardinghouses in the San Jose area.

I was happy to read that normal life was possible for somebody who had endured such horror. I highly recommend the book Desperate Passage, by Ethan Rarick, if you are interested in the Donner party. This incredible book is impossible to put down.

In my story, Feddie Harper is trying to survive the death of his beloved black Lab, McKnight. Yup, it’s Feddie, no R, although everybody messes up and calls him Freddie. grrrrr. Volunteering at the nearby horse rescue helps him find a life-saving dog…in more ways than one.

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Add a touch of California Chumash history and legend, and well, Feddie’s summer turns out pretty good!  Will he and Helene have more adventures? I think so!  (Of course there’s gotta be a girl!)

How about you? Have you ever had a special doll or dog that helped keep you company as you navigated through a hard time?

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Excerpt:     Mom taught third grade at his school. Luckily, Feddie had never had to enroll in her class. Oh, he knew she was a cool teacher, but what did you call your mom if she was your teacher? Mom? Mrs. Harper?

“Which reminds me…” Mom started off again.

Feddie’s heart thumped. He read her mind, too

“Your summer book list. Have you started?” She definitely tossed him a classroom glare.

“Mo-om. School’s been out, like, an hour.”

“More than a week now. And you have six books to read for your reading journal.”

Buh-ruther.

“Thing is…you know Mrs. Wegner from school, don’t you?”

“Mom.”  He rolled his eyes. “It’s a small school. Know. I know everybody.” Then he ground his teeth.  If she thought for one second to get him a tutor he’d…

“Well, she’s a volunteer at the local horse rescue.”

Horse rescue?  Feddie perked up at that.  Like McKnight’s ears had when he heard something. Horses were almost as cool as dogs. “So?”

“Well, I thought that was something you and I could do to pass the time. There’s an orientation meeting this afternoon.”

“All right.”  Anything to postpone the reading list.

“Thing is…volunteers under twelve aren’t allowed in the stalls.”

“I’ll be twelve in September!”

“It doesn’t matter. You aren’t twelve yet.  Anyway, I want to muck to get some exercise.  There’s a reading program where kids read to the horses. You could do that while I clean stalls.”

“What?  Read to the horses?”  Well, it wasn’t that weird of an idea. He’d done his homework with McKnight his whole life.

“Yes. That way, the horses get acquainted with the next generation of volunteers. And with you having a list of books to read, it just seems fortuitous.”

Another big word.  She did it all the time.  He grumped out loud. “English, Mom.”

Available for pre-order. Release date March 10.

 

Tanya’s Winner of Cowboy Kisses is…

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…Cheryl Baranski! 

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I hope you enjoy getting romantic with our Valentine anthology, Cheryl. Thanks for commenting at Petticoats and Pistols! Contact me at tanya DOT  hanson AT gmail DOT com and I’ll get your Kindle or PDF copy right off to you.

Petticoats & Pistols