Paperback & ebook, 272 pages
November 1st 2016 by Whitaker House
Ruby McCoy is haunted by her father's sins....
When Ruby McCoy arrives in Fairplay, her ornate carriage is followed by an entourage who heft steamer trunks, hatboxes, and traveling bags into the hotel…where she has booked the entire second floor. Upon her notorious gangster father's death, the now-wealthy Ruby, hiding under her mother's maiden name, set out to right her father's wrongs. Ruby is determined to spend every penny of her inherited "blood money" on those who paid the price for her father's crimes.
Sheriff Rex Truett doesn't trust Ruby and doesn't care who knows it. The keeper of Fairplay's law and order makes it his business to find out why a stranger, especially a beautiful, spoiled, rich, female stranger, would set up businesses, donate to schools, hire workmen to rebuild houses, and provide access to the best medical care. But when a typhoid epidemic sweeps through the city, he is forced to reconsider.
Will Rex blame Ruby for her father's sins? Or will he accept the possibility that she is trying to create and feel the peace her father stole?
Praise for the Book
“Healing of the Heart, book three of Secrets on Sterling Street, makes for a brilliant conclusion to the series. Lough’s descriptive narrative and delightful, often comical, dialogue pull us into the story. Sparks fly between Rex, the hard-shelled sheriff, and Ruby, the gutsy, gorgeous heroine. This fast-paced, absorbing read will have you flipping those pages into the wee morning hours. Don’t miss it!”
—Sharlene MacLaren
Author, Tennessee Dreams series and Summer on Sunset Ridge
“Loree Lough has once again brought the emotional intensity and passion of the West to life in her riveting historical romance, Healing of the Heart. With themes of forgiveness, righting wrongs done by others, and love that can wipe away the sins the past, this book explores all of that in the midst of the fierce and deadly beauty of Colorado in in the late 1800s. A story to treasure more than once.”
“This just might be my favorite story by Loree Lough. Her characters, driven by noble motives, endure hardships that can’t crush their budding emotions. Healing of the Heart is romance, faith, and mystery in one page-turning story.”
Author, The Gardner’s Gazebo series
Excerpt
He’d do anything to ease his pa’s pain, and though he had no idea why, Rex said, “All right, I forgive you.”
Calmer now, his pa lay back and gave a single nod as his big hand went limp.
Rex’s heart was racing. What would he do without this good man in his life, this man who was as much friend as father, who’d taught him just about everything he knew?
The first cop bent at the waist. “Is he gone, boy?”
Rex nodded, unable to speak past the aching sob that blocked his throat.
Straightening, the cop told his partner, “I heard that Verdell Lundgren and his gang were in the area, but never in all my days did I believe they’d be bold enough to hit Baltimore.”
“Yeah, well, we need to get the mortician down here,” the man said, wincing at the bodies, the bloody boot prints that led to the door, and a single silver dollar glinting on the threshold, like the medallion that hung from a matching chain around the killer’s neck.
The first cop shook his head. “Sorry for your loss, son.” He lifted his chin a notch to add, “You can help us catch your pa’s killers if you tell us everything you remember about them.”
In the blink of an eye, Rex relived that moment in the street.
“The one in charge had dark eyes. It’s all I saw. They wore bandannas up high and their hats down low.”
The officer’s pencil scritch-scratched across his little tablet. “What about their boots? Horses? Saddles?”
“He had a hoarse voice, deeper than any I ever heard. Same voice that gave the order to silence the whimpering of….”
Rex stood, slapped a palm to the back of his neck. “He rode a red roan mare. Never saw boots like that…grey and white snakeskin. White Stetson with a black band. And a medal of some sort around his neck.”
“Very observant,” the copper said, looking up from his notes. “We’re shorthanded at the department.” He sent Rex a halfhearted smile. “You should look into signing on.”
The comment put him back a step. “Seems a peculiar thing to say, what with my pa not even cold yet.”
The officer’s face went red. “My apologies.”
“I need to take him home. We have a lot to do.”
“We?”
Aunt Mavis. His brain reeled with disjointed thoughts. He’d need every minute of the long ride home to figure out how to break the news to the aunt who’d raised him from infancy. Then, there’d be grave to dig and a headstone to carve. Under the circumstances, maybe that tightwad McGraw would extend the loan payment, especially once he secured the hotel job. Abigail had sworn him to secrecy: no one else had applied for the job.
But what about Mavis? She’d never agree to move into town, and he couldn’t leave her all the way out there, alone on the farm, with no one to help with the chores and no protection.
“Go on, son,” the officer said, his voice soft and low. “Take your pa home.”
Rex nodded. “I’ll be back for him, just as soon as I turn the wagon ’round.”
He wanted to get his father cleaned up, so Mavis wouldn’t have to see him this way. Maybe the undertaker would take pity on him and help. Rex wanted to do things right, the way his pa would have.
Forgive me….
Rex shook his head, hoping to dislodge the troubling words from his brain.
“Don’t do anything stupid, son,” the cop said.
“Huh?”
“I been readin’ faces for nigh on to two decades now, and what yours is tellin’ me will only land you in the graveyard. If it turns out the Lundgren Gang was behind this….” He put his tablet and pencil away. “Let’s just say I can tell you’re not a cold-blooded killer. But Lundgren? He doesn’t have a heart or a soul. Wouldn’t think twice about putting a bullet between your eyes.”
The man had almost done exactly that, just moments ago.
“Your pa wouldn’t want you to end up that way.”
“How can you tell all that, just by looking?”
“Like I said, been doin’ this a long time.”
An idea began to form in Rex’s mind.
If he joined the police force, and learned the things this officer already knew, he could put the knowledge to use…
…hunting down the animal who had killed his pa.
