Bonus Content
Stay A Little Longer
Chapter One
Carlson, Minnesota--October 1926
RACHEL WATKINS wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand while absently moving a strand of her coal-black hair from her green-flecked brown eyes. Though the early October day carried the crisp chill of autumn, the inside of Will and Clara Wicker’s small home blazed as if it were the hottest day of July; water boiled in a cast-iron pot on top of the wood-burning stove and
candles flickered in every corner, their meager light sending faint shadows dancing across the walls.
“Oh, Rachel . . . it hurts . . .”
Clara Wicker lay on her back in the bed, one thinboned hand spread across her enormous pregnant belly. All of the color had drained from her thin face except for the dark purple circles under her eyes and her bitten, red lips. Her blonde hair, slick with sweat, was drawn back
from her face. Beads of moisture stood out on her forehead. Her eyes were closed tightly and her breathing was shallow. Not particularly pretty, Clara’s face was now a mask of agony.
“It’s to be expected,” Rachel comforted her.
“Ohhh!” Clara answered, her cry almost a moan.
“It’ll be over soon.”
Gently, Rachel wiped the sweat from Clara’s painchiseled face. Looking around her, she took inventory of all that she would need to bring the young woman’s first child into the world; the extra sheets that had been prepared for the birthing, a nightdress, towels, clean rags, and a dented bucket for water. Everything was as ready as it could be.
“You sure you know what you’re doin’ . . . ’bout birthin’ and all?” Will Wicker asked from where he meekly stood at the head of his wife’s bed, his voice little louder than a whisper. He nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the next, his small, dark eyes flickering back and forth
from Clara to Rachel, never lingering for long. His filthy fingers, the fingernails caked with dirt, twitched uneasily as he rubbed one thin hand over the stubble of his bony jaw. His clothes hung loosely on his small frame, just as sweaty and soiled as the body they covered.
How did Clara allow this man to lie between her legs?
“I do,” Rachel answered simply.
“Wouldn’t it be better if your mother was here?” Will followed.
“I’ve already told you that she couldn’t make it.”
“But don’t you think . . . that . . .” he stammered. “You know . . . given that . . .”
“There isn’t time for this.” Rachel took a deep breath, trying to settle her growing dislike for the man. From the moment she’d been summoned to the Wickers’ ramshackle house at the far outskirts of town, she’d hoped that Will would simply accept that she was every bit as capable as Eliza Watkins of bringing a newborn child into the world.
This is an excerpt from STAY A LITTLE LONGER by Dorothy Garlock. Copyright © 2010 by Dorothy Garlock. Reprinted with permission from Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Stay a Little Longer
In Stay a Little Longer, Dorothy Garlock, “the premier writer of Americana romance” (Booklist), takes us back to the country’s heartland at the end of World War I, and the town of Carlson, Minnesota, where many young men were lost. Yet the person Rachel Watkins mourns most is her sister who died giving birth not long after learning her new husband, a soldier, was dead. Rachel has raised her niece Charlotte, now 8 years old, and ekes out a meager living running her family’s boarding house.
But more hardship stands on her threshold. Charlotte’s father, Mason Turner, came from a powerful family at the helm of which sits his odious brother, who covets Rachel’s property for business reasons, and is not above using unscrupulous means to get it.
What distracts Rachel from the encroaching battle is the dangerously ill stranger Charlotte happens upon in the woods. Was he hiding? Unkempt in appearance, his face nearly obscured by a heavy beard, the man looks oddly familiar. But as Rachel nurses the mysterious loner back to health, she recognizes that they both share an implacable will to survive…and something else neither can deny. What will Rachel risk to attain a dream she never imagined possible?
Hardcover : 384 pages
Publisher: Hachette Book Group, USA ( April 26, 2010 )
Item #: 12-959229
ISBN: 9780446540209
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.25 x 0.86inches
Product Weight: 15.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
What a great read 
October 04, 2010
The pages flew as I read this book, couldn't turn them fast enough. What a wonderful story. Plenty of depth to the characters, from the sexy hero, the strong heroine, totally disreputable and unlikable villain, and some endearing supporting ones as well. The plot was fast, never dull or dragged out, and had plenty of twists and turns and action and ofcourse the great romance. Highly recommend.
Reviewer: Bridgette H
loved it
July 31, 2010
Loved the book thought it was a great read. look forward to more of her books.
Reviewer: Debbie W
Copyright © Bookspan. Rhapsody® is a registered trademark used under license. Unauthorized use prohibited. All rights reserved.
51407201205ADFL
Card Security Code
The card security code is an added safeguard for your credit/debit card purchases. Depending on the type of card you use, it is either a three- or four-digit number printed on the back or front of your credit/debit card, separate from your credit/debit card number. To make shopping at Rhapsody® Book Club even more secure, we require that you enter this number each time you make a credit/debit card purchase. Please note that your security code will not be stored with us even if you have saved your credit/debit card information.
