Tender Absolution
Page 25
In the early 1960s, the largest sawmill burned to the ground. The police suspected arson. As the night sky turned orange by the flames licking toward the black heavens, and the volunteer firemen fought the blaze, the townspeople stood and watched. Some thought the fire was a random act of violence, others believed that Hayden Garreth Monroe III, grandson of the well-loved old man, had lost favor and developed more than his share of enemies when the company cash became worthless and the townspeople, other than those who were already wealthy, began to go bankrupt. They thought the fire was personal revenge. Names of those he’d harmed were murmured. Fitzpatrick came to mind, though by now, the families had been bonded by marriage and the timber empire of the Fitzpatricks had experienced another boom.
Some of the townspeople, the very old with long memories, thought of the legend that had nearly been forgotten. Hayden Garreth Monroe III had drunk like a glutton from Whitefire Lake and he, too, would lose all that he held dear—first his wealth and eventually his wife.
As time passed, other firms found toeholds in Gold Creek, and in the seventies and eighties technology crept over the hills. From the ashes of Kelvin Fitzpatrick’s gold and timber empire rose the new wealth of other families.
The Fitzpatricks still rule the town, and Thomas Fitzpatrick, patriarch of the family, intends one day to turn to state politics. However, scandal has tarnished his name and as his political aspiration turns to ashes and his once-envied life crumbles, he will have to give way to new rulers—young men who are willing to fight for what they want. Men like Jackson Moore, Turner Brooks, Hayden Garreth Monroe IV and Ben Powell. With strong women at their sides, these men are destined to rule.
In Gold Creek, old names mingle and marry with new, but the town and its legend continue to exist. And, to this day, the people of Gold Creek cannot shake the gold dust of those California hills from their feet. Though they walk many paths away from the shores of the lake, the men and women of Gold Creek—the boys and the girls—can never forget their hometown. Nor can they forget the legend and curse of Whitefire Lake.
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ISBN-13: 9781488029981
Tender Absolution by Lisa Jackson
First published as He’s My Soldier Boy by Silhouette Books in 1994
Copyright © 1994 by Lisa Jackson.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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