Introduction

Longing for adventure, Priscilla Morton leaves Boston and heads for Texas, never dreaming that the adventure she seeks will leave her badly injured and her parents dead. Priscilla is determined to rebuild her life and make a home for herself in the beautiful Hill Country. But the bandits who took her parents' lives also destroyed her hope for the future. Ranch foreman Zachary Webster knows what the future holds for him, and it's not a woman like Priscilla. She deserves a cultured East Coast gentleman, not a cowboy who's haunted by memories of his mistakes. The best thing he can do is leave her alone. When necessity draws them together, Priscilla and Zach begin to forge a life that, like the scattered petals of her childhood, is filled with promise. But then the past intrudes, threatening their very existence.

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Excerpt

November 1856

"How much longer?"

Priscilla Morton tried to smile at the woman on the opposite

side of the stagecoach. Now that Papa was asleep,

Mama's normally quiet voice had turned querulous, sending

waves of regret through her daughter as her words reminded

Priscilla for what seemed like the thousandth time that this

was her fault. She was the one who'd insisted they come.

"Soon." Priscilla reached across to pat her mother's hand,

her smile wry when she recalled Mama warning her to be careful

what she wished for. Priscilla had wished for adventure,

never dreaming that the adventure would involve comforting

her mother as if Mama were the child.

When they'd received Clay's letter inviting the family to

his wedding, Priscilla had realized this was the opportunity

she had sought for so long and had convinced Mama and

Papa they should go to Texas. Though she'd relished the

idea of leaving Massachusetts and venturing into parts of

the country that her sister had described as wild and foreign,

she had been careful in phrasing her arguments. While her

parents would not willingly seek adventure, they loved Clay,

and so it had taken little persuasion for them to agree that

Clay deserved to have family with him at his wedding, even

if the family was only his by marriage.

At home in Boston, it had seemed a fine plan. But the

journey had been more difficult than Priscilla had expected.

Though Mama had been stoic on the train, once they'd left

its relative comfort for the bone-jarring stagecoaches, her

mood had deteriorated, and the days had turned into litanies

of complaints. Dust, mud, insects, the rutted roads, even the

scenery, which Priscilla had found beautiful, had bothered

Mama, and now that the other passengers had left the coach,

she saw no need to mute her laments. This was not the adventure

Priscilla had sought.

"We'll reach San Antonio tomorrow." Priscilla gave her

mother the same response she'd provided only ten minutes

earlier. "Clay will be waiting to take us to Ladreville." The

small town, he had told Priscilla, was a half-day's journey

northwest of San Antonio, located on what he had described

as a particularly beautiful stretch of the Medina River. Mama

didn't care about that now. What she needed was reassurance

that she would survive the stagecoach's jolting. Priscilla gestured

toward her mother's Bible. "Would you like me to read

to you?" Most days, the Psalms comforted Mama, although

recently she had insisted on Job, claiming she was suffering

as much as he had.

Mama shook her head. "Not now. My head hurts." Poor

Mama. She was like a hothouse flower, wilting in the Texas

sun. She twisted her rings, a sure sign that she was distraught.

"I certainly hope Clay has a hot bath waiting for me when

we reach that ranch of his."

"He will." In all likelihood it would be Sarah, his brideto-

be, who would provide the amenities Mama expected, but

Priscilla knew better than to mention that. At first she had

attributed her mother's complaints to the rigors of travel, but

as the journey had progressed, Priscilla had discovered the

causes were not simply physical. Mama was deeply disturbed

that Clay was remarrying. Though Patience had died more

than a year ago, Mama seemed to believe he should spend

the rest of his life mourning the loss of his wife, Mama's

firstborn daughter.

"Isn't the countryside beautiful?" Priscilla pointed to the

window. This part of Texas boasted gently rolling hills and

valleys dotted with small ponds. Clusters of trees, some of

them dripping with what she had learned was Spanish moss,

lined the banks of narrow streams. With the greenish gold

grass and the vibrantly blue sky, Priscilla found it a scene of

pastoral beauty. Though she doubted Mama would agree, this

was a safer topic of conversation than her mother's former

son-in-law.

Mama stared outside for a moment. "I suppose some might

like it," she conceded, "but I cannot picture Patience here."

Neither could Priscilla. Her sister had been a lot like

Mama, content with her life in Boston, uncomfortable in

Texas. When Patience and Clay had returned to his birthplace,

it was supposed to be for only a few months. For Patience,

those few months had been the last of her life on Earth, and

now, though no one would have expected it, Clay had decided

to make the small town of Ladreville his home.

The coach gave a sudden lurch, knocking Papa's head

against the side, destroying his hope of sleep. "What was

that?" he asked, his voice groggy.

"Just a rut, Papa."

"That's all this road is," Mama grumbled. "One rut after

another."

Now fully awake, Papa took her hand between both of

his. "I'm proud of you, my dear, coming all this distance

to be with Clay on his wedding day. You were the one who

recognized how important it was to him."

Priscilla bit back a smile at the way Papa changed history

to make Mama happy. Not for the first time, she marveled at

how different her parents were, and how well those differences

suited them. It wasn't simply their physical differences. Papa

was tall and lanky, characteristics he'd bestowed on Priscilla,

with graying brown hair and eyes. Though no one would call

him handsome, Mama was an undisputed beauty with deep

auburn hair, green eyes, and what she described as a pleasingly

plump figure. Despite Mama's claims to the contrary,

Priscilla knew she'd inherited little more than her mother's

green eyes. Even her hair was a pale imitation of Mama's,

and she lacked her mother's eye-catching beauty. Mama was

as spectacular as an orchid. If her mother was a hothouse

flower, Papa was a dandelion, able to thrive anywhere, and

just as dandelion greens served as a spring tonic, so did Papa

heal others. While it was true he was a renowned physician,

in Priscilla's estimation, his greatest feats of healing were

reserved for his wife.

Mama's face softened into a smile. "You're right, Daniel.

Just think of the stories I'll be able to recount for our

friends."

"I assure you, none of them has ever had an adventure like

this." The kiss Papa pressed on Mama's hand broadened her

smile. "You'll be the talk of the town."

Leaning back, Priscilla felt her own tension begin to ebb.

In less than two days, they'd be in Ladreville, reunited with

Clay. He and Papa would talk about patients, Mama would

have her bath, and Priscilla would meet Sarah. Though it

seemed vaguely disloyal to her sister, Priscilla was looking

forward to getting to know the woman Clay loved. view abbreviated excerpt only...

Discussion Questions

1. The events of the first chapter change Priscilla's life in ways she could never have imagined. How do you think you would have reacted if you'd been in Priscilla's place? Would your faith in God have been shaken as hers was?

2. Priscilla's locket is more than a piece of jewelry to her. Do you have any possessions that have special meaning for you? What would you do if they were stolen?

3. One of the themes of the book is the power of memories. Some haunt the characters; others bring comfort. Why do you believe that memories have such power?

4. In Chapter 4, Zach advises Priscilla to make peace with the past. Is that good advice? Do you think he's found peace with his own past?

5. Though Gunther and Isabelle love each other, they're separated by the town's prejudices. Do you see any parallels in the world today?

6. Both Priscilla and Zach believe that their past experiences have made them unlovable. Is there anything you believe would make a person unworthy of love? What would change that?

7. Although he's a minor character, Lawrence plays an important role in the book. How do you think his love for Priscilla affected both her and Zach? Would the story have been different if he hadn't returned to Ladreville?

8. Why do you think the author chose the title Scattered Petals?

9. This book is part of a trilogy called Texas Dreams. In what ways do dreams play a role in the story?

10. Jean-Michel believes that he is smarter than everyone else, and that belief leads to many of his actions. What do you believe could have changed the path of his life?



11. Priscilla insists on accompanying Zach when he returns to Haven. If she hadn't gone with him, do you think Margaret and Hank might have reacted differently? Why or why not?

12. Several times Zach feels called to do something. At what points in your life have you experienced a calling? Have you answered it?

13. Both Priscilla and Zach recognize that what has happened in their lives-both good and bad-is part of God's plan. How do you see his plan reflected in your life? Have there been times when you struggled to see the plan?

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