Taking Chances

the long version

All of Harmony is abuzz with gossip when the blacksmith, Jake Sutherland, seems to be smitten. And no one is more surprised than Jake himself, who doesn't know the first thing about courting a pretty woman... There's a place where life moves a little slower, where a neighborly smile and a friendly hello can still be heard. Where news of a wedding or a baby on the way is a reason to celebrate-and gossip travels faster than a telegram! Where hope lives in the heart, and love's promises last a lifetime. The year is 1874, and the place is Harmony, Kansas .. . For the sake of her unborn child, the young widow Abby Newsome flees to Harmony--and to the loving care of her cousin Lottie. The town blacksmith, Jake Sutherland, is more at ease shoeing a horse than talking to anyone of the female persuasion . . . He found her on the doorstep of Lottie McGee's saloon--and much to his shock, Abby Newsome was about to give birth! Caring for her during the long night, Jake managed to deliver her baby. Then, at her cousin's request, he promised to leave Abby be, to forget the night ever happened. But as months went by, he watched Abby tend the roses behind the saloon--and found his attraction growing ever deeper. Still too shy to ask for her hand, Jake sent her lovely gifts from her secret admirer--and planted the seeds of love that held a promise of a blossoming romance ...