America’s back has nearly been broken by the Civil War. The South is defeated, and the North is victorious.
It’s time for the Westward Expansion to begin.
Not everyone feels victorious, though. Joe Hadley fought for the South against his brother, a Yankee soldier. He lived while his brother died. It tore his family apart, and he no longer feels welcome on his family’s farm. He sees his opportunity for redemption in the resurgent stagecoach lines opening up the West for the ordinary traveler. He answers an ad in a local newspaper, only to learn he must have a wife to become a Station Master.
The only woman he can picture by his side is Hannah Edison, who was scarred as a child by the fire that killed her parents and siblings.
They make their way westward amidst the trials of both a riverboat journey and days spent in a stage coach, replete with political rivalries from the late war, battle-weary men, and people who blanch at the scars on Hannah’s face. The three days on the coach reveal what their guests will have to endure, giving them understanding, as well a bit of trepidation, when they realize they aren’t prepared at all.
Once at the new Sweetwater Station, they face hailstorms and horse thieves. To complicate their lives further, the animal handler hired by the stage line is an ex-Northern soldier who intensely dislikes the idea of working alongside a rebel from the South.
Can these two scarred people make a new life for themselves and find contentment in each other at the same time?
Sweetwater Station is a true-to-life story of what life in the 1860s would have been like for the brave people who challenged a rough and dangerous Wild West, one that only the most intrepid of families could hope to survive.
From the back cover of the book:
After battling a lost cause in the War Between the States, Josiah Hadley takes a position as manager of a relay stage coach station at the base of the mighty Rocky Mountains and finds himself with the new challenge of hail storms, stolen horses, angry coach drivers, and disgruntled passengers. Along with his wife, Hannah, their dog, Jack, and the drivers of the Overland Stage Lines, Joe seeks peace and contentment form the scars and unhappiness of the past.
You will develop respect for Joe and admiration for Hannah, and you will remember these two people long after you close the pages of this engaging book. You do not want to miss reading Sweetwater Station, a love affair with the way the West used to be.
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