Introduction

Can a Southern belle tame the heart of a rugged cowboy? Crystal Clark arrives in Colorado's Yampa Valley amid the splendor of a high country June in 1892. After the death of her father, Crystal is relieved to be leaving the troubles of her Georgia life behind to visit her aunt Kate's cattle ranch. Despite being raised as a proper Southern belle, Crystal is determined to hold her own in this wild land-even if a certain handsome foreman doubts her abilities. Book one in the Heart of the West series, No Place for a Lady is full of adventure, romance, and the indomitable human spirit.

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Excerpt

June 1892
The Yampa Valley, Colorado
Crystal Clark gripped the side of the bouncing buckboard to keep
from tumbling onto the rocky roadbed below. From the first moment
she'd left home she'd been wondering if she'd done the right
thing by coming to Colorado. Maybe she should have remained
in Georgia. At least there she knew what to expect. Out here the
only person she knew was her aunt. Crystal had once thought her
life was almost perfect, but in an instant, her father's death had
changed everything that she thought secure.
Rusty, her aunt's driver, had been waiting in Steamboat Springs
when she stepped off the stage. Now he pulled hard on the reins
and stopped the horses on a rise that overlooked the Yampa Valley.
“Thought you might want to take a minute, enjoy the view
up here.”
Crystal gazed at the unfolding vista resplendent with flaming
Indian paintbrush and chickweed. Mountains loomed ahead.
“What a breathtaking sight,” she said, coughing as dust filled
her throat and nostrils. Sweat ran in tiny rivulets down her
back beneath her fitted corset and slithered its way down her
clinging stockings into her snug-fitting heels. Despite these
momentary inconveniences, Crystal could only think about
her heartache.
“It's mighty pretty from up on this here rise.” He grinned. “I
knew the minute Kate sent me to fetch you that you were gonna
like it here, ma'am.”
Like it here? she thought.
Still, Crystal felt her lips turn up at the edges. Despite everything
she'd been through, Rusty seemed to have the ability to
make her smile.
“Kate said you're coming here to stay,” he added.
Crystal frowned. She didn't know what she would be doing
with her future, but in truth, she felt she had no alternative but
to stay.
“I don't know about staying . . . That depends on a lot of things.”
Crystal thought the old-timer a bit nosy for all his charm.
“So, missy, what'd ya think of the mountains? Ain't they somethin'?”
“They are so majestic, Rusty. God made beauty everywhere,
didn't He?”
“For a fact, ma'am. He did, He sure did.” He scratched his
scruffy beard with his free hand. “It'll be mighty nice to have
a young person of the female persuasion around for a change.
Being with cowboys all the time can wear on a man after a while.”
He chuckled.
“Right now, I'm afraid that I'm just tired and looking forward
to a good night's sleep.”
“I hear you're from Georgia. When'd you start out?” Rusty
asked.
Crystal sighed. “Nearly two weeks ago.” Thinking back on it
made her appreciate the settlers who had first come to this wild
land years ago. “At Kansas I boarded the Rio Grande, which took
me to Denver. From there I took the Colorado Central and Pacific
narrow gauge railroad to Central City. Believe me, I was leaning
as far back in my seat as possible when the engine hugged the
edge of the mountains to start down. From Central City, I had
to travel the rest of the way by stagecoach.” Crystal closed her
eyes and thought back to how scared she had been when the
stagecoach crossed over the Continental Divide and then labored
over Rabbit Ears Pass. “I had trouble breathing up there and had
a headache as well.”
“I know what you mean, missy.”
Inspired by the vastness of the beautiful valley nestled below the
majestic snowcapped Rocky Mountains, Crystal soon forgot about
her aching and stiff muscles. “Aunt Kate's description of Colorado
was accurate. This is very different from what I'm used to.”
... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. When Crystal arrives from Georgia, she is still grieving from the death of her parents and is questioning her relationship with Drew. She has left behind everything she has ever known, and is starting over in a new and very unfamiliar place. Have you ever faced a similar adventure? What did it feel like, and how did you face it? How did Crystal's faith in God affect her choices and decisions?

2. Aunt Kate welcomes Crystal with open arms, as do some of the older neighbors like Rusty and Sarah. Luke and some of the younger women are suspicious of her at first. Why do you think that is? How did Crystal begin to win them over? Have you every felt alone in an unfriendly environment? What did you do?

3. Sins of pride, jealousy, and judgment run throughout this story. How does Crystal's pride affect her relationships, especially with Luke? Why do Crystal and Luke have difficulty speaking honestly to one another and examining their pre-judgments of each other? How does the question of who makes the pies- Carmen or Crystal-play into their misunderstanding of one another and speak to their pride?

4. The beautiful, open, mountainous, and dry land of Colorado, with all of its beautiful flora and fauna, plays an important role in the story. How do the land and climate differences between Georgia and Colorado affect Crystal? Why does the beauty of her surroundings come to be so important to her?

5. What do you think drives Crystal to assume leadership of the ranch after Aunt Kate dies? How does she overcome her uncertainty and fear to save the ranch and participate in the cattle drive? She learns many things very quickly from both Rusty and Carmen. Where does she find the desire and the strength to seek their guidance and to “grow where she is planted”?

6. Crystal and Luke have very different experiences with their faith in God. Crystal seems to have always known God and had a personal relationship with Jesus. Luke, though he has been attending church with Kate every Sunday since he was fourteen, has a specific moment of decision when he reaches out and asks God to help and guide him. Has your faith experience been more like Crystal's or more like Luke's? Did you have a moment of decision, of acceptance of God? What was that experience like?

7. Crystal and her friends and neighbors suffer many moments of loss in this story. How do they approach and begin to work through the grief they experience? What is the significance of community in the story? How does Crystal build and nurture communities around her, and how do they affect the way she copes with the loss of Aunt Kate, Curly, and Emily's baby?

8. The relationship between April and Crystal is contentious from the moment they meet in Steamboat Springs. Why is April immediately antagonistic to Crystal? Why does Crystal have such a hard time remaining friendly and polite with April? Have you ever met someone to whom you took an instant dislike, or who took an instant dislike to you? What was that experience like? How did you handle it? Were you able to become friends? Do you think Crystal and April will eventually become friends?

9. Many people find love and companionship in the story. Why is finding that special someone so important to these people? Luke and Crystal have feelings for one another right away, though they do not realize it. Do you believe in love at first sight? Do you believe that God created a specific special someone for everyone?

10. What do you think will happen to the characters in the next book? If you could choose the characters the next story would focus on, whom would you choose, and why?

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