When nurse Abigail Stuart agrees to marry a dying soldier so that she can take care of his mother and ailing sister, she doesn’t expect a man bearing the same name to show up weeks later at his mother’s farm. Suspicious that the nurse is attempting to steal his property, Jeremiah Calhoun has no memory of marrying anyone. And being married to Abigail is decidely inconvenient when he already has a fiancee named Laurel. As Jeremiah deals with a crippled leg and crippling guilt from the death of his best friend, he grudgingly admits that they need Abigail at the farm…at least until he’s healthy again. Regrettably, Jeremiah’s mother has embraced Abigail wholeheartedly, and he’s not quite sure how to disentangle himself from such an attractive woman…unless he can marry her off to someone else.
Set during the post-Civil War era, this book explored what it was like for the soldiers who came home in a state that had divided loyalties. I really enjoyed Abigail’s character in this book. She was faithful, hardworking, brave, and intelligent. Jeremiah…I really wanted to like, but his pig-headedness about Laurel and his rudeness to Abigail didn’t stop early enough in the book to redeem him. Still, this was an enjoyable read with some of the humor that seems to be Regina Jennings trademark.
Rosanne E. Lortz 