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What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than with a Valentine's Bride?
Someone knocked on the front door.
“I’ll get that,” Jolie called out. She paused to check her hair in the mirror, and smoothed down wayward strands. Yikes, she needed another treatment to bring out the auburn, and she was pale as a corpse. She bit her lips and pinched her cheeks—that didn’t really help—then grimaced at her reflection before she turned away. Hopefully, it was no one important. The regulars knew better than to call before noon.
If it did happen to be a customer, she’d call down one of the other girls to entertain him. That was one advantage of being the madam, not having to work upstairs in order to make a living. One of the worst parts of being in the business was putting up with men that were, in a word, repulsive.
Jolie opened the door and sucked in a gasp.
The least repulsive man she’d ever seen stood on the front porch. Arresting blue eyes framed with dark lashes; rich brown hair, clean and shiny and just long enough to tempt a woman’s fingers to comb through it; smooth-shaven face with strong lines, yet too classic to be called rugged. He wore a clean, pressed suit—which put him in a minority in the rough mining town—and held a battered case with leather straps. Next to him sat a huge brindle-colored dog.
A smile tugged at Jolie’s lips. She hadn’t seen a dog that large since she’d bid goodbye to her beloved childhood pet, Soldier. For a heartbeat, she couldn’t decide whether the man or the dog was a more welcome sight.
“Good afternoon.” The man’s rich baritone sent shivers down Jolie’s spine. His gaze appeared to be trained on a spot a bit to the right, as if he were looking over her shoulder. She glanced back to see if Angelique stood behind her. No, no one else there.
“It’s not quite after noon,” she pointed out.
“Is this La Maison?” He appeared uncertain.
Could he not read the sign? She’d paid dearly to have a new one painted and had even asked the French-speaking artist to create an image of a chateau. The idiot had painted a hat. Chapeau, he’d proclaimed proudly. It would’ve cost much to repaint it. Maybe that’s what had confused this man.
“Yes, this is La Maison. May I ask your business?”
“Yes, ma’am…or is it Miss?”
“Neither. You can call me Jolie.”
His remarkable blue eyes shifted to her face and narrowed in a way that suggested he was evaluating her features. “As in très jolie?”
Ah, a smooth-talker or he was having a joke at her expense. Either way, she didn’t appreciate it. “No, just Jolie.”
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Hank Donovan, but just Hank will do. May I come in, Jolie?”
“Yes, of course, just Hank.”
His lips twisted in amusement. How nice to know he could take a joke, as well as deliver one. Too many men were sadly lacking in humor and she’d borne the bruises to prove it.
She moved out of the way so Hank could enter. Business was business, after all. She didn’t turn down a chance to make money and neither did the other girls, especially when a customer looked as nice as this one.
***
What Amazon reviewers are saying about JOLIE
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Touching, emotional and so much more. LOVED IT!
This story is a big win for me it has just about everything you could ask for sorrow, trust issues, starting over, finding one’s self, humor, danger, a delightful big dog that I wish I could have and so much love. I doubt you can read this without it touching you in some way. I laughed, smiled and wanted to cry. This author held me in the palm of her hand as she twisted my heart right around her finger. There was nothing I didn’t love about this story, I loved it so much I picked it as one of my favorite reads for the year.
E.E. Burke brings a great novella to this amazing series. In this case two characters who deal with personal issues which could make them outcasts become incredibly strong characters to the growing town of Noelle.Sometimes sight is not necessary to see clearly into one's heart. Hank, Jolie and of course Bear become so memorable -especially on Valentine's Day.
E.E.'s Fun Facts
Jolie is part of Brides of Noelle, which came about as a result of the wonderful response we had to our multi-author series, Twelve Days of Christmas Mail-Order Brides. Three of our crew members wrote for this series (E.E., Amanda and Jacqui).
Where is Noelle?
It is a fictional town inspired by a real place: Leadville, Co. We've taken a few liberties, but for the most part we've stayed true to the history of that area where the richest silver strike in the state was accidentally discovered!
Does Hank have a seeing-eye dog?
Not exactly, but... After World War I, a doctor in Germany noticed the protective behavior of his dog around patients and set up some experiments, then the first recorded training occurred in England. That's not to say there weren't blind people who discovered how smart dogs were long before that. Hank, being a very smart man, connects with Bear, a very smart dog, and the two learn from each other. Yes, I'm taking liberties by having Hank "train" Bear, but I don't think it's so far off to be unbelievable. Initially, the formal schools didn't accept the idea that dogs could be trained, but eventually the dogs showed them it could be done!
What were the attitudes toward prostitution in the Old West?
"Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em." That pretty well sums it up. In the mid-1800s, men, primarily single, younger men, fanned out across the frontier and prostitution (the oldest profession, as they say) followed. Men wanted access to women for all kinds of reasons (not only sex, also a sense of female companionship they sorely missed). Women entered prostitution for all kinds of reasons (abandonment, abuse, to avoid starvation, for the lure of easy money, etc.). But these were Victorian times, and a woman who expected to marry was also expected to remain "pure." Men put "pure" women on pedestals. They used the services of whores, enjoyed being with them, but most would not marry one. That isn't to say it didn't happen. Some men did want to marry their painted ladies. In quite a few cases, well-off working girls or madams didn't wish to be married because it meant giving up their relative freedom and handing their husbands power over them. In Jolie's case, it takes a very special and unique man to convince her to leave behind her hard-won position, the only security she knows, and take a risk on love.
Why pick a "fallen woman" as a heroine?
Simply put, she was a character I thought most needed her own love story. She's resentful of the brides when they arrive and really gives them a hard time. Saying she's jealous doesn't get at all the emotions behind her reaction to being evicted from her home to make room for a passel of new brides.
When I first conceived this story, I was a little concerned about featuring a prostitute as the heroine because I wasn't sure readers would be able to "relate" to her. Although this is a Sweet Romance, I didn't sanitize Jolie. I did try very hard to humanize her and explore emotions that we can all, as women understand and appreciate. I thought her story would be fascinating to write. Finding her perfect hero, now that was a challenge!
Pick up JOLIE for only 99 cents during Valentine's Week.
You can find the original Twelve Days of Christmas Mail Order Brides series here
All Brides of Noelle books can be found here.