A Choice of Love prologue

Here’s a peek at the prologue to A Choice of Love! It gives us a glimpse of Emily Keath . . . and you might just recognize a couple characters from A Bargain to Keep.


Osceola, Nebraska

April 1879

“What will you do now?” 

The question that had been looming in the atmosphere for days, taunting her, mocking her, finally escaped from her brother’s mouth. His regret-filled eyes did nothing to keep the question from piercing deep into her heart. 

Emily Keath averted her gaze and instead stared at the horizon where yellowish blades of grass contrasted with the deep blue sky. She shouldn’t have to address this question. No woman should ever be faced with it. 

But life didn’t always happen the way it should. 

She leaned against the sod house that she had called home for the last six years, the wall’s uneven surface digging against her back. All the unknowns in her life felt like salt being poured on her lacerated heart. As soon as she caught her breath after one dose, another round of salt trickled in to aggravate the pain. Was it ever going to stop? 

“Emily, I’m sorry it has to be this way, but you need to make some plans.” Her sister-in-law, Sadie, slid one arm around her waist, squeezing her tightly. 

Emily swallowed. Ephraim and Sadie were trying to help, but. . .“It’s just too soon.” Her words emerged as little more than a whisper—and they sounded hollow to her own ears. She knew as well as they did that she needed to make some decisions and she needed to do so quickly. After all, the planting season was almost upon her. 

Ephraim cleared his throat. “This isn’t what you’ll want to hear, but I had a man come into the store yesterday asking about land for sale around Osceola. If you’re going to sell, now would be the time.” 

“I’m not selling.” Emily gripped a fistful of fabric from her black dress, her chest heaving. How could he suggest that she sell the land that Colton had loved more than anything else in the world—other than herself and their children? He had devoted his life to it, and she would sooner starve than give it up. 

Ephraim’s eyebrows drew together, but he made no effort to change her mind. He simply nodded and gestured toward the fields still filled with stubble from last year’s harvest. “And how will you make a living from the farm?”

Emily stared at the fields as well, the hopelessness of the situation washing over her afresh. Maybe she would rather starve than sell the farm, but she had the children to look after as well. She was all they had, and it was up to her to provide for them this year—and every year after that. 

She bit her lip. Maybe she could learn how to work the fields. Maybe she could figure out a way to bring the children with her—

“Emily.” Ephraim took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. “You aren’t alone in this. I’ll help you, and so will Pa and the other neighbors. But we need a plan that will work long-term.” 

The tears that seemed to always hover just beneath the surface sprang into her eyes. “I can’t lose the farm, Ephraim. The children and this land are all that I have left of Colton, and I just can’t let it go.” 

Ephraim’s throat jogged. “But what about you? How would Colton feel if he knew that you’ve been running yourself ragged to hang on to this land? He loved you far more than the farm. He wouldn’t want to see you do this to yourself.” 

Emily inched away, and Ephraim’s hands fell from her shoulders. “Just let me try to keep the farm. I don’t deny that I’ll need help from all of you men, but I’ll try to do most of the work myself.” 

Sadie heaved a deep sigh beside her. “And that’s the problem, honey. You can’t keep on like this.” 

Emily kept her gaze fixed on Ephraim. “Please?” 

Ephraim shifted, rubbing his hand along his jawline. His shoulders rose and fell. “I can’t stop you from trying, but it isn’t going to be easy, Emily. You’ll need to let me and Pa help you as much as we can.” 

A wave of relief washed over Emily. Good. If she could just hold on to the land until the boys grew older, she would have nothing to worry about. 

But that was still years away. 

Emily lifted her chin. One day’s problems at a time. She pushed away from the sod house that served as a home for her and the children, letting her gaze sweep over the squat structure. It was a solid building. Rustic, but built with care by Colton’s own hands. He had intended to build them a frame house in a couple of years, but that was just one more dream that had died with him. It seemed that she and the children would be living in the soddy as long as the dirt walls held. 

She took a deep breath. “If you’ll both excuse me, I have one more matter to deal with before we can move on with life. I need to write to Colton’s brother, but I’ve been delaying.” 

Sadie grasped Emily’s hand, stopping her retreat. “Do you suppose Colton’s brother might help?” 

Emily shook her head. “He’s busy with his own life.” 

And she would never ask a favor of Matthew Keath. Not even if she had nothing more than bread crusts in her pantry. She’d heard enough stories about Matthew to warn her that he ran a little on the wild side. Definitely not a man she wanted to expose her children to, even if he was their uncle. 

No, she and the children would wrestle through this on their own. Somehow. At least, she prayed they could.

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