The Way to Her Reluctant Heart (Preview)

Chapter One

Cassie hurried around the cabin kitchen. It seemed there was always so much to do and so little time to do it. Her sisters were going to be back from town any moment now and things were not exactly ready for them.

Knowing that her sisters were finally a little more enthusiastic about finding jobs was nice. She had been telling them their entire life that work would be an eventuality for them.

Of course, she had also worked hard to give them a childhood, something she had experienced little of.

When her mother had died leaving Cassie in charge of her little sisters at the age of fifteen, she had learned what it was to be an adult all too quickly.

“We’re home.” Layla’s cheerful voice made her look up from her cooking. The two of them had walked into the cabin without her even hearing them.

For seventeen, Layla looked considerably older but in a good way. Cassie did not doubt that soon, she would be getting all sorts of offers from suitors who wanted to ensure her hand in marriage.

She had to admit that Layla was not only beautiful but funny, caring, and usually attracted everyone she talked with.

Marie was shyer, even if she was the older one. But being nineteen years old also made her the perfect age for men to start calling on her.

“How was your day?” Cassie asked, setting out the dishes of food she had prepared. The rest of the cleanup was going to have to wait until after they ate.

“It was all right. Mrs. McKinley wanted to know if both of us can come an extra day from now on,” Layla looked anxious and Cassie wasn’t sure if it was because her sister wanted her to say yes or no.

It seemed that Cassie’s efforts to work hard and make it easy for her sisters to have time to study as young girls, in a way had backfired. It made them devalue the worth of working and being self-sufficient.

“Of course, that would be wonderful. Tell me, did the children behave better today?”

Marie made a face. “I don’t think those children will ever behave well.” Mrs. McKinley had three young children, all under the age of six. It was part of why she had hired both of Cassie’s sisters to help her.

“Well, just think of it this way, you are paying for all the mischief you made for me when you were little.”

“You always have to bring that up, don’t you?” Marie gave her a look that Cassie couldn’t read.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Whenever we talk about children or anything else that remotely has to do with the past, you always bring up what terrible children we were when we were young.” Layla sounded shy as if she was doubtful that it was a good idea to get involved in the conversation.

“I-” Cassie opened her mouth to defend herself when she realized that what they were saying was true. She did bring it up a lot. “I never mean to bring it up like that. It’s just me messing around. You know that I am not upset that I had to take care of the two of you when you were younger.”

Her sisters were silent and exchanged a glance, making Cassie feel uncomfortable. She often felt left out when it came to her sisters. She knew that she sometimes seemed mean or inconsiderate to them, but it wasn’t because she wanted to be. She felt as if she had to be the stern authority figure in their household.

There were so many hardships that they didn’t remember or know about that she could still feel as if they had been yesterday. She didn’t want those sorts of things to happen to them. She wanted them to have good happy successful lives, and sometimes, they hated her for it.

“There is a new family that moved to town recently. They asked me to take on their wash,” Cassie mentioned, to change the subject.

“Another one? Don’t you think five families is enough?” Marie looked annoyed.

“I haven’t asked either of you to help with the wash since you started working for Mrs. McKinley. You both need to stop complaining. Do you know how much money it takes to get ready for winter? It is going to be here soon and we need to be prepared.” Cassie had already had a rough morning, and she wasn’t ready to go head to head with her sisters right now.

“That’s all you think about. You know, other people have parents who take them to the river for a picnic, or who go to town together. But you just think about work. When have we last gone somewhere together?” Layla was using her complaining voice that had been more and more common lately.

“We went to church last Sunday,” Cassie defended. “And yes, other people do go out more and spend more time wandering around wasting time, but we don’t have that luxury.” Cassie was about to bring up how it had been when their father used to spend all the money on whiskey, and they would have to scrounge for a few coins to buy some bread. But she refrained because of their earlier observation that she always brought up the past.

“You could just try to be a little easier going sometimes,” Marie said.

Cassie sighed, “I’m sorry, I’ve had a rough day today.”

No one else said anything throughout the rest of the meal. When they were done, they all helped pick up the dishes and wash them.

After the main things were put away, Marie and Layla left the cabin. Cassie didn’t want to ask them where they were going.

She remembered an easier time, a time where things had been physically harder, but her sisters had been sweet little girls, looking for what they could help with and looking forward to every minute they all spent together.

She wasn’t sure if it was her father being drunk most of the time that had pushed them to find solace with one another, or if it had simply been their age.

Now that they were older, they were constantly trying to be more independent and trying to exert their need to make the decisions. It wasn’t that Cassie didn’t want them to be independent. It was just that she knew they didn’t know anything about the world and reality.

She had done her best to teach them, to train them and prepare them for this age, but it seemed that all of her cautionary tales from the past had been forgotten as Marie and Layla discovered that they had more and more liberty the older they became.

By the time that Cassie was done sweeping the house, washing the windows, and putting away the freshly dried laundry, she was exhausted. She wanted to go straight to bed, but it was still early afternoon.

Instead, she got her large basket and headed down the hill. The first ranch that she washed laundry for two times a week was within walking distance. She didn’t like taking the horse when it was unnecessary because she believed it was good exercise and also, it took less time to just walk there than to prepare the horse for the ride.

When she got there, Mrs. Jones had already prepared their wash and gave it to her quickly.

Her five children were all over the place. Some were crying and others were fighting. Cassie certainly understood why she didn’t have time to do the wash. She for one, was fairly certain she would never marry or have children of her own.

She had practically raised her sisters. That was about as much experience she needed with children, and this latest stage was the one she hated most of all.

Now with a large full basket, she headed back to the cabin. She would boil the clothes tonight, ring them, and in the morning, she would hang them out to dry the rest of the way if they were still damp from being hung in front of the fire.

Doing the wash for others was a heavy task, but it was something that Cassie could do while she cared for her sisters and the little ranch their parents had left them. It wasn’t actually that little. There was a large amount of land, but in comparison to a lot of other ranches in the area, it was quite small.

By the time dinner time rolled around, Marie and Layla made a reappearance and went about helping her with dinner.

They shared short answers and simple conversations. Cassie knew that their little disagreement from earlier would blow over sooner or later, but for now, she was okay with not talking much.

When the evening had come to an end, she fell into her bed, her eyes closing before her head touched the pillow. Another exhausting day was over, and she was ready to get some rest before she started the next one.

 

Chapter 2

Cassie looked down at the large basket of eggs she was carrying on her arm. She liked the trip she took into town once a week to buy the things they would need and to sell her eggs to the general store.

She had been one of the first women in the area to start selling to the general store. She had started when she was only sixteen years old and had gotten her first batch of laying hens.

Now, she usually took three quarters of the eggs that her hens produced to the store. The families who lived right in town didn’t have chickens and would often buy eggs from the mercantile.

She hummed as she walked. The walk into town was a good hour but it was pleasant. Most days, she would take the horse and the wagon, but today, she was in the mood for the extra walking time and for the peace and quiet that came with it.

Marie and Layla had left early that morning to go to work for Mrs. McKinley. It didn’t take Cassie as long as she had thought it would to get to town.

As she walked down the main street, others nodded to her and said hello as she passed. She knew almost everyone in town. She had always made it a point to be friendly with everyone and get to know people.

It made her feel good to know that people knew her and her family. Though she never had time to visit with them, or do more than wave, she was aware that they knew she was an upright person.

Cassie knew she shouldn’t care about appearances, or what people thought of her, but she always thought of her mother whenever she was tempted not to care so much.

Her mother’s logic had been that if they made sure everyone knew that they were upright, quiet and kept to themselves, no one would ever suspect them of anything bad and would think highly of them.

Cassie couldn’t see how that could possibly be a bad thing. Her eyes landed on the man coming from the sheriff’s office, Kyle Becker. He was the sheriff of the town and he was a perfect example of what her mother had said.

His two brothers, Andrew and George were known all over town, and not for anything good. If there was any sort of mischief or inappropriate actions, everyone automatically assumed it was one of the Becker brothers.

Kyle was respected and well liked. He did a great job at being the sheriff. So, it baffled Cassie that his brothers would be so ill behaved. She did not know what had gone wrong to make them that way, but they were so far from what she would consider a gentleman, she dreaded running into them in town.

She had only done so a couple of times and both times she’d had to struggle to keep from saying what she was really thinking. She had seen what being irresponsible and uncaring towards others did to a man.

Her father had been that sort of man. It had led him down a path of drinking, gambling and eventually put him in an early grave. Then there had been Darien.

Cassie sighed, the last person she wanted to think about was Darien.

Cassie stepped into the mercantile and walked up to the counter. She waited until Mr. Holden finished with his other customers before setting her very full basket down on the counter.

“Cassie, it’s good to see you this morning. I was wondering when you would be by with some fresh eggs. I ran out completely two days ago.”

“Really? I could have brought some by sooner if I would have known.” Cassie gave Mr. Holden a big smile.

She had known him as long as they had lived in this town. He was kind and fair and he had a way with people. He was older, probably old enough to be her grandfather, but still plenty capable.

“That’s fine. No harm done. Let’s see how many we have this time.” Mr. Holden started counting the eggs, passing them to the store basket as he did.

When he was done counting and the basket was empty, he disappeared behind the counter for a moment. He came back with the money he owed her for the eggs a moment later.

“You know, if you have any more than this, I’ll take them. It seems we have more and more of a demand with all the new people in town.”

“I’d love to. I have been thinking about getting some more laying hens. It shouldn’t be too hard to expand the hen house.”

Mr. Holden laughed. “That sounds like you, Cassie. Always up for any challenge.”

“Cassie! Fancy seeing you here.” The sound of Mrs. McKinley’s voice made Cassie turn.

“Mrs. McKinley! How are you?” Cassie was surprised to see Mrs. McKinley’s three younger children with her. The baby was clutched at her hip, and the twin toddlers were grabbing at her skirt. “Were my sisters complaining about the children again?”

“No, no, of course not. I mean, I know it is hard for them on days that they come. It is understandable. You know, if I had extra money to pay them to come more often or to pay them a bit more, I would. The work they do is incomparable.”

“Can I hold him?” Cassie reached out for the baby. She could tell by Mrs. McKinley’s flustered face that she needed a moment’s break. She also needed to find out more about what Mrs. McKinley had just said.

If her sisters weren’t working for Mrs. McKinley today, where were they?

“So, even though they weren’t coming into town to work for you today, they still came into town. Do you know where else they go?” Cassie had meant for her question to sound more casual. She had trusted her sisters, but something was up.

They had convinced her that they were working for Mrs. McKinley five days a week now, and they had only been working three. That meant that for the last several months, they had been spending a whole extra two days in town without being honest about their whereabouts.

“I am not sure. I don’t really know where they go when they don’t work for me.”

Cassie bounced the baby gently on her hip. “He is so sweet, how old is he now?”

“Nearly nine months. They grow so fast.” Mrs. McKinley seemed sad.

“Yes. They do. But there are good things about that.” Cassie knew that she must sound terrible to a mother who felt sad about her children growing.

But she couldn’t help it. The last several years of raising her sisters had been full of challenges that had often left her hoping that the whole process would be over quickly.

“I have to get going. I am going to find my sisters and make sure everything is all right.”

“Of course. And thank you for taking him for a moment.” Mrs. McKinley took the baby back and Cassie hurried out of the store.

She honestly didn’t know where to start. She had never considered her sisters would lie to her this way, and now that she knew they had, she wanted to find out the truth, immediately.

Cassie stopped a woman on the road who greeted her. “I’m sorry to ask this, but my sisters forgot something at home, and I’ve brought it to them. Have you seen either Marie or Layla?”

“Of course. Every Tuesday and Thursday they are at the sheriff’s office.”

“What?” Cassie couldn’t hide her shock this time, regardless of how much she had intended to. She didn’t need the whole town to know about their family issues. In a town like theirs, rumors spread faster than a wildfire when it hadn’t rained for months.

She didn’t want to believe that the entire town knew where her sisters were on the days when they weren’t working, but still, the woman had sounded so sure of herself, that Cassie was doubtful she wasn’t right.

She hurried down the street to the sheriff’s office. As she paused outside the doorway, suddenly nervous, she could hear Marie’s and Layla’s voices coming from inside.

They were laughing about something and there were also the sound of men’s voices. Whatever was happening here, she disliked it already.

She pushed open the door and stood there in shock as she took the scene in.

Marie and Layla were both sitting on a bench that was pushed against the wall. There was a small thin table that appeared to be a table for cards and on the other side of that table were the two worst men that could possibly be around her sisters.

It was Andrew and George Becker.

Her sisters seemed as shocked and appalled to see her there as she was to see them. They just stared at her, their laughter stopped and a look of worry and then fear was in their eyes.

“C-Cassie, what are you doing here?” Layla sounded sheepish and ashamed, both emotions which she should certainly be feeling.

“I wasn’t able to come to town yesterday. I always go to town once a week. I ran into Mrs. McKinley at the store. How long have the two of you been lying to me and how long have you been with… them?” Cassie didn’t know what else to refer to the Becker brothers as.

Now that she had gathered herself a moment and had a chance to look around, she spotted the sheriff behind his desk. He had on a neutral look and was staring down at the newspaper.

Cassie had a feeling he had no desire to get in the middle of any of this and she was fairly certain that he wasn’t really reading the newspaper.

“We- we can explain. It’s not what it looks like.” Marie stood and Layla followed suit. They both scuffled over to Cassie until the three of them were standing in the middle of the sheriff’s office, facing each other.

“Really? It’s not what it looks like? Because Mrs. McKinley pretty much told me the two of you have been lying to me about two days a week. And another woman on the street seemed to know you come to the sheriff’s office every single Tuesday and Thursday. Does reputation mean nothing to you?” Cassie knew her voice had been rising and she struggled to tone it down.

“Is reputation all that matters to you?” Layla’s voice was low, but also full of accusations and irritation.

“What is that supposed to mean? You two are the ones lying, hanging around these… men, and then you want to make this my fault?”

“Don’t talk about them like that, Cassie. They’re men but not bad men.” Marie sounded firm, even though she was averting her gaze.

Cassie wasn’t even going to dignify the brothers with anything but a glare.

“Come on, we are going home. We are not going to have this conversation here.” Cassie was about to turn when she realized that neither Marie nor Layla had moved.

“We have plans for the rest of the day.”

“You’re staying?” Cassie’s voice was soft now. She knew that this was the only way to contain her anger.

“Excuse me,” Kyle Becker had stood from his desk and made it across the room without Cassie noticing.

Cassie turned to him, keeping her lips pressed in a thin line. She didn’t even know where to start with him. He had just been sitting there while his two brothers had been visiting with her sisters. He was as bad as they were letting this sort of thing go on.

“Maybe you all should just give this some time. Let everyone cool down.” Kyle sounded cool and collected and that made Cassie that much more irritated.

“You’re right. I’ll see the two of you at home.” She turned on her heel and left the sheriff’s office.

 

Chapter 3

Kyle Becker waited until Cassie had left before turning to his brothers. He had known that the girls were always vague when it came to their older sister, but he hadn’t known that they were completely hiding their relationships with his brothers, and that worried him.

“I thought she at least knew about the two of you.” Kyle crossed his arms as he addressed his brothers.

His brothers had pulled out a deck of cards and were dealing them out as if nothing had happened.

George looked a bit sheepish, “I thought Marie had told her, or at least she told me she was going to. Besides, Marie is a grown woman. She should be able to decide who she does and doesn’t see.”

“I just hope that the two of you know what you are doing,” Kyle had talked with his brothers at length about their responsibilities when it came to women folk, but in the end he knew that he didn’t have control over them or their lives.

They were going to make their own decisions and suffer whatever consequences might come with those decisions, whatever those might be.

“You ready to go, boss?” his deputy, Joe asked as he came into the room.

Kyle nodded, “Yes, let’s get going. I heard that Mr. Miller is very upset.”

“He is, he is demanding we find whoever has been stealing from him or he’s going to be petitioning the mayor for a new sheriff.” Joe made a serious face.

Kyle chuckled. “Normally, I wouldn’t waste our time on it, but we don’t have a lot else to keep us occupied. There’s too much drama for me today in this office anyway. We should go check it out.”

Mr. Miller had been bugging them, insisting someone had been stealing things. Eggs from his henhouse, vegetables from his garden, milk and cheese from the spring house, you name it.

To Kyle, it sounded like Mr. Miller had a bad case of vermin hanging around. If you didn’t take proper care of your fences and own a good dog, you could expect all of those things to go missing. That was all explainable except for the cheese and the milk. Maybe someone was feeding themselves off of stolen goods from Mr. Miller’s farm.

As they rode, Kyle thought about Cassie. He had felt bad for her. He could see the look of hurt and frustration on her face when she had left the sheriff’s office. He didn’t wish ill on anyone, especially a young woman like Cassie. He imagined she was just trying to watch out for her younger sisters.

Then again, there was no reason for her to be so controlling of her sisters’ time. He remembered running into her a few times in town. He had heard about her often enough. But even though most people in town knew who she was, they didn’t know a lot about her. She seemed to keep to herself except when she brought eggs to the mercantile.

“What do you know about Cassie Alden?” he asked Joe.

Joe chuckled. “Always trying to get the new information about everyone. I thought it was the women’s job to gossip.”

“It is indeed not gossiping. It is simply knowing the citizens of our town.” Kyle winked and Joe shook his head.

As his deputy, it seemed Joe knew everyone and everything they did outside in town. If anyone knew about Cassie, it would be him. If his brothers really were serious about her sisters, he needed to learn something about her sooner than later.

“Not much. I know that she doesn’t visit anyone in town really. She works for a couple different families doing the wash, sometimes cleans the house for the mayor’s wife. She seems to be a hard worker and I think she raised her sisters like they were her own.”

“That’s all you know? It seems I’ve finally found your weak spot when it comes to information.

“Well, her father died quite a while back. That’s about all I know. Why, you have something with her?” Joe raised his eyebrows in a teasing fashion.

“No, I don’t have anything with her. My brothers are… interested in her sisters.”

“Really? Both of them are interested in her two sisters? Found two women in the same family? What are the odds of that?”

“Very slim but it happened. Apparently the two met the girls at some sort of social during the fair earlier this year. They’ve hit it off ever since, although Cassie didn’t look exactly happy when she found out earlier today.”

“They hid their relationships with your brothers from her? I guess I don’t blame them.” Joe was chuckling and Kyle was more than curious as to what the joke was.

“Why would she be upset? I mean, she has to know they will get married eventually,” Kyle asked.

“I doubt she is upset they are getting married. She’s probably unhappy that it might be to your brothers.” Joe had a knowing look in his eye and Kyle had a feeling he knew what his deputy was getting at.

“What is wrong with my brothers? Yes, they are a bit rambunctious at times, but they are good men.”

Joe nodded a bit too enthusiastically. “Good men, probably so. But they certainly don’t have a great reputation. They have been accused of nearly every mischief under the sun. From the impression I get from Cassie, I’m sure she wants good respectable men for her sisters.”

“That’s outrageous. My brothers are definitely good men and certainly respectable when it comes to her sisters. They are not terrible people because they play a few jokes here and there.”

“Whatever you say, boss. I am just saying that not everyone sees them as a great catch for their daughters or sisters. But maybe you’ll marry the third sister and set things straight.”

 

“Absolutely not. You know that I have no interest in getting married, and if I did, I don’t think that Cassie would be interested, or even my type of woman.”

“I don’t see why not. She’s resourceful, a hard worker, and I hear, quite beautiful.”

Kyle shook his head, “Come on, we are nearly there.” He didn’t like talking about his own love life, or his lack of one.

He had never wanted to marry or have a family. It wasn’t that he thought it wouldn’t be nice, but he thought it was too risky. Both of his parents had been killed and while his brothers and him had managed. It had been something devastating to go through.

Besides that, he was a sheriff now, and it was a risky job. He was always in danger whenever he was going after a gang, or in a tousle with some outlaw, and the thought of always putting a woman through that sort of worry when he was at his job, wasn’t something he thought was fair.

No, he was fairly certain that he wasn’t the type of man who could have a wife or a family.

When they arrived at Mr. Miller’s ranch, the man was standing outside waiting for them.

“It’s about time you got here. You know, I am friends with the mayor. I should tell him how many times you have ignored me.” Mr. Miller scrunched up his nose and shook his head. He was an older man and quite a grouch. He lived alone on his ranch and everyone knew that he was this way with everyone.

“Sorry about the delay, Mr. Miller. We are pretty busy down at the office but I’m here now. Let’s see the proof you have that someone broke into your place.” Kyle gave him a smile, even though he had a feeling he was wasting his time.

 

—*—

 

It turned out that going to Mr. Miller’s farm wasn’t a total waste of time. There had been footprints, multiple sets. What Kyle would describe as children’s or at least young people’s footprints.

Maybe whoever was stealing from Mr. Miller were some orphan runaways or something.

Regardless, he had reassured Mr. Miller he would look into it and get back to him. Mr. Miller wasn’t happy he didn’t have an answer right away but realizing that it was as good as he was going to get, he accepted it and thanked him for coming out.

After a long day of going around doing his normal rounds in town, doing a bit of paperwork in the sheriff’s office, and getting things ready for the next day, he was exhausted.

He headed back to the ranch he shared with his brothers. This little ranch had been his parent’s pride and joy. Kyle could still remember the day his father had taken him, his brothers and his mother to see it of the first time.

They had all been rather young and hadn’t understood everything going on, but Kyle had remembered being excited about all the possibilities his father discussed.

The ranch had started out as an empty piece of land with only a tent on it. Those days of living in a makeshift tent under the elements certainly weren’t some of his best childhood memories.

But the people in town had helped his father build a cabin, and then his father had planted crops, and bought more land and several head of cattle.

When they had died, and left Kyle with everything, he had been more than overwhelmed by it all. To this day, he was uncertain what he would have done without his brother’s help.

His parent’s being killed in a bank robbery by one of the most violent gangs in California had made him strive to become a lawman to keep that from happening to anyone else.

When he had been young, he had wanted to be a gold miner, but his father had been convinced that the real riches were in the crops. But Kyle had realized that he cared more about protecting people than going after gold or farming.

Of course, many people made it mining for gold, and there would always be a bit of a draw for him to that lifestyle, but he loved being the sheriff too.

“You’re back!” Andrew greeted him with a pat on the shoulder when Kyle walked into the barn. Andrew shoved an empty milk pail into his hands.

“Come on, help me finish up the milking. George is going to be late.”

“Why is he coming home late? Did he say?” Kyle sat down in one of the opposite stalls to Andrew and started expertly extracting thick streams of white milk from the cow.

“He didn’t say specifically. But I think it was to get something special for Marie. Do you know what he told me?” Andrew’s eyes were full of mischief as if he couldn’t wait to spill whatever secret his brother had shared with him.

“What did he tell you?” Kyle was a bit curious if he was honest with himself.

“He said he wants to marry her. You know, I’ve been thinking the same thing about Layla. I just wasn’t sure it was time. But if George goes ahead and gets Marie to say yes to being his wife, I reckon I’ll ask Layla too. And then maybe we can have one of those double weddings.”

Kyle nodded, “Are the two of you sure you are ready for marriage?”

“Of course. We love Layla and Marie, and they love us back. How could we not be ready?”

“I don’t know. Just don’t rush into anything. You know that you will have to provide for them, and probably settle down. And for sure you will have to make a little less trouble in town if you are to be a family man.”

“I know, I know. But I’m ready. I have been for a while now. I know that you must think it’s silly to fall for a girl so soon, but I love her. I believe I did from the moment I laid eyes on her.” Andrew’s eyes glowed and his voice was full of excitement as he spoke.

Kyle hoped that he was sure about what he was doing. He had seen too many couples rush into things only to be angry at each other later when they faced the troubles of life.

“If you’re sure, you know I have your back.” Kyle gave his little brother a smile. For being twenty years old, he was very mature and also the least mature person all at the same time.

Kyle couldn’t say for sure if he was ready to see his brothers married but he had a feeling that if he tried to stop either George or Andrew from marrying, he would have no luck. He was going to have to trust their judgement and try to be there for them no matter what.

“So, did George say anything else? Have you talked with the older sister, Cassie much? She didn’t seem like she was too keen on the two of you spending time with her sisters.”

“Ah, we really haven’t spoken. Her sisters say she is way too protective. I agree with them. Layla and Marie are plenty old enough to make their own decisions.”

“I’m sure they are but try not to make an enemy of their sister. She is family too, you know. If you marry her sisters you will be spending time with her in the future. I guarantee it. She is practically their mom.”

Andrew nodded, but he didn’t look as if he were about to make too much of an effort.

Kyle had a feeling that things between his brothers and Alden sisters weren’t going to be simple.

---

“The Way to Her Reluctant Heart” is an Amazon Best-Selling novel, check it out here!

When Cassie’s mother died, and with a drunk father around, she was left responsible to raise her younger sisters on her own. She’s been struggling all her life to keep them on the right track, but everything will fall into pieces when she finds out that her sisters are secretly involved with the town’s biggest trouble-makers. Trying to take control of the wild circumstances, she confronts their older brother, Kyle, but to her misfortune, it’s already too late… As more troubles arise, Cassie will be forced to depend on Kyle to rescue her from a ruthless man who is threatening to take everything she owns. Will Cassie find it in her heart to trust Kyle and let him protect her and her loved ones?

Kyle has had a rough life since his parents were killed. As if this wasn’t enough, he has taken it upon himself to raise his two younger brothers who look up to him and appreciate his playful and caring attitude. When a furious lady comes up to him and demands explanations, he knows he’s in deep trouble… Despite the fact that they raised their siblings in a completely different way, he admires Cassie for standing up for herself and before he realises it, he starts falling for her. Will Kyle manage to keep her safe from the danger that lies ahead while also finding a way to her heart?

Kyle and Cassie will find a true soul mate in one another as they join forces to bring down a vicious man who is after her family belongings. Taking the right decision will be a matter of life and death if they want to protect their loved ones while giving a chance to love… In the end, will they break all the barriers that wish to keep them apart, or will internal battles and outside forces overpower them?

“The Way to Her Reluctant Heart” is a historical western romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

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