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In the heart of the Piney Woods of Texas, Letty Hood has spent the last fifteen years of her life hidden away with her grandmother to escape the deadly schemes of an uncle who wants her dead. Now, with her twenty-first birthday on the horizon, she is forced to accept the escort of a stranger and return to Houston in secret so she can claim a birthright that will make her one of the wealthiest women in Texas.

If she lives long enough to inherit.
Pinkerton agent Philip Carmichael has one duty: get the Radcliffe heiress home alive. Expecting a spoiled girl, Philip is surprised to encounter a woman of rare strength with a kind soul and keen wit. As they journey together, Letty's resilience wins his admiration, breaking through his hardened cynicism. Yet the threat to Letty grows more menacing with every mile, and Philip fears that keeping her out of harm's way may be just as impossible as keeping her out of his heart.

"Little Red Riding Hood" and "Sleeping Beauty" entwine for a romantic fairy tale retelling that explores the power of true love conquering even the darkest of nights.

For those who love to smile as they read, bestselling author Karen Witemeyer offers warmhearted historical romance with a flair for humor, feisty heroines, and swoon-worthy Texas heroes. Voted #1 Readers' Favorite Christian Historical Author in 2023 by Family Fiction Magazine, Karen is a multiple award-winning author and a firm believer in the power of happy endings. She is an avid cross-stitcher, tea drinker, and gospel hymn singer who makes her home in Abilene, TX with her heroic husband who vanquishes laundry dragons and dirty dish villains whenever she's on deadline.

As much as Letty wanted to be at her grandmother's side, she knew she could trust Mr. Darby to be there in her stead. To protect her as Grandmother had once protected him.

Even so, waiting still proved dreadfully difficult. She wanted to be helping, not hiding. Yet hiding was exactly what Grandmother would wish for her to do. That fact eased the guilt somewhat but did little to mitigate her worry.

Heal her, Lord. Please. I'm not ready to say goodbye. I need—

Rusty's head came up, jerking Letty out of her prayer. The wolf scrambled to his feet, pulling away from her arm. His throat rumbled a low warning as he took a step, not toward the cabin, but deeper into the woods behind them.

"What is it?" Letty rose slowly and reached for the knife at her waist, pulling it from its sheath and gripping the hilt. "Do you hear something?"

She peered into the trees, searching for anything that didn't belong. Whatever was out there had sense enough to approach from the downwind side, hiding its scent from Rusty. It could be a small predator raising Rusty's hackles—a skunk or a bobcat. Yet instinct insisted she not dismiss the warning. The predator stalking her could very well walk on two legs, not four.

Running for the shelter of the house wasn't an option this time, which meant she could either run deeper into the woods and hope she was fleeter of foot than whomever waited in the trees, or she could make her stand here.

Not wanting to leave her grandmother, she braced her feet apart and tightened her grip on her knife. "Show yourself! I know you're out there." 

But she really hoped she was wrong. The skunk option sounded better by the second.

A movement caught her eye to her left. One that revealed a creature far too tall to be a skunk.

A man stepped out from behind a tree, his hands raised. He looked nothing like the loggers she'd encountered. He wore dark brown trousers with a tan vest and a buckskin coat. A wide-brimmed planter's style hat sat on his head, covering hair too short to show beneath the brim. He wore a gun, but his upraised hands indicated he had no immediate plans to use it.

She lifted her chin. "This is private property. You need to leave."

His gaze shifted down to Rusty before climbing back to her face. "I mean you no harm, miss. And if you still want me to leave after you read the letter I brought you, I will."

Letter? What letter? No one knew she was here. It had to be a trick.

"It's in my pocket. Is it all right if I reach for it?" He pointed a finger toward the opening of his coat.

"Stop!" She stepped toward him, holding her knife in front of her. Rusty snarled.

The man slowly moved his hand back to the upright position, his gaze returning to the wolf. "All right. No reaching. Got it." 

He waited for Rusty to stop snarling before he chanced looking at her again. His eyes were light in color, though from this distance she couldn't make out much more than that.

"How about if I grab my lapel and open my coat so that you can see there's no weapon hidden inside. You can fetch the letter yourself if you want."

She wasn't going anywhere near him. If she got too close, he could knock her knife away and snatch her straight off her feet. Rusty would attack, of course, but he'd be no match for a pistol.

Letty shook her head. "If you truly mean me no harm, you'll forget you ever saw me and leave this place."

She expected an argument or at the very least a scowl. What she got, however, was a smile. A rather handsome one, at that.

"You're smart," he said. "And cautious. That's good."

She narrowed her eyes, not wanting him to guess the delight she experienced at his compliment. "You're slow to follow instructions. That's bad."

His grin widened. "All right. I'll head out. I left my horse by a fallen log just south of here. I'm guessing you're familiar enough with the area to know the place I mean. Anyhow, I'll leave my coat on that log. Once I'm far enough away that you feel comfortable, you can dig out the letter and decide for yourself whether or not I can be trusted. I'll return tomorrow. If my coat's where I left it, I'll know I'm not welcome. If it's not, I'll assume it's safe for me to come calling at the house. Sound good?"

"The heading out part sounded good. Let's focus on that."

"Yes, ma'am." He dipped his chin and touched the brim of his hat then finally started moving his feet.

He kept his hands raised for the first twenty steps or so, as if she had a gun trained on his back, then finally disappeared into the forest. Knowing precisely where the fallen tree lay, she jogged through the trees on a path parallel to the one he would take and spied on him.

Sure enough, he took off his buckskin coat and draped it over the log before mounting a waiting horse—a beautiful gray with black mane and tail. The stranger didn't search the trees for signs of her, just rode away without a backward glance.

Her gaze returned to the coat as curiosity swelled in her breast. Letter or no letter, she really ought to learn what she could about the man. He could be the greatest danger she'd faced since the fire in Houston.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today! I hope you enjoyed this post and perhaps even found your next read. The link is automatically shared to my Facebook author page if you'd like to know when a new post drops. However, the best way to keep in touch is by subscribing to my weekly email, Fireside News. I hope you'll join me! Thank you, again, for reading this post. I hope you'll visit again. Happy Reading! ~ Danielle.