A BRIDE FOR BRYNMOR (Songbird Junction, book 1)

Can a sister who’s lived only for others find freedom with one man?

Family has always come first—for both of them. He’s never forgiven himself for letting her go. She’s never forgiven herself for almost getting him killed.

When Lark and her songbird sisters are separated fleeing their cruel and controlling troupe manager, only Brynmor Llewellyn can help Lark save her sisters and escape to the far west. But Lark wants more. And so does Brynmor. When they’re stranded in a spot as difficult to guard as it is to leave—a rustic cabin at a train junction between Denver and the mountain town of Noelle, Colorado—they find themselves fighting not only for survival but for redemption, forgiveness, and a second chance for their love.

Will the frontier train stop of Songbird Junction be Lark and Brynmor’s salvation? Or their downfall when her manager—a con artist who calls himself her uncle but cherishes only his own fame and fortune—demands a debt no one can pay?

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STEAM LEVEL: Sweet

STORY LENGTH: A novella (136 pages)

STORY CONNECTIONS: Includes characters (such as reader-favorite Grandpa Gus Peregrine) featured in my Noelle, Colorado, Christmas stories: The Calling Birds (set in 1876) and Robyn: A Christmas Bride (set in 1877).

REVIEWS

• “A special journey that kept me following along to see what would happen. I cannot wait to read about the other two sisters and also Brynmor’s brothers turn out!” ~ Lori D. 
• “A perfectly written love story.” ~ SKM
• “Lighthearted suspense and a charming happily-ever-after.” ~ Michelle R.
• “A spellbinding story to transport you to another time and place.” ~ N. Love
• “I enjoyed this book very much…lots of action, friends, family, love and so much more.” ~ Agnes 
• “Oh, I love this book. There is something about getting lost for a few hours in this era. So well written and descriptive, you feel like you are right there in all the action.” ~ B
• “A great love story with perilous danger.” ~ Dorothy R.

EXCERPT

Denver, Colorado
January 1878

Alone in the shadows of the alley, Lark surveyed the sunny street filled with city folk who might end her family’s escape if they— She shook her head, rejecting her doubt. If wasn’t acceptable. She couldn’t fail her sisters again.

Oriole and Wren had to make it to their pre-arranged meeting place across the street.

She tucked her nose under her scarf, thrust her hands deeper into her skirt pockets, and rocked on her boots. Nothing helped. Her shivers grew because they weren’t from the frosty air or the snow-covered ground.

She trembled with dread that her pursuit of freedom might end in her sisters’ deaths.

Oriole, sweet as she was savvy, had chosen this location. But two years earlier when Oriole’s violin required repairs, Oriole had been the only one allowed to enter Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s Music Emporium.

Lark had been disappointed not to view the treasures inside. Today, she cared only for what she might see outside—her sisters, who’d agreed to meet at the music shop if they were separated fleeing Cheyenne. After fourteen years together, the last twelve days apart made her heart ache unbearably.

She kept searching for Wren’s tiny and timid form—so easily lost in a crowd. And smothered there as well. Being a couple years younger than Lark and Oriole hadn’t helped Wren’s confidence either.

Wren may be the best singer in their three-woman songbird troupe, but she only shone when she performed in the circle of their act. She would suffer the most on her own.

How could she have lost them? She’d lied and schemed and surrendered everything to keep their trio together, including her liberty and the man she loved. How had it all gone so wrong?

Because Beelzebub wouldn’t let his pawns go without a fight.

Their troupe manager, Ulysses T. Stone, was both a devil and a dog. He had a hound’s nose for finding people he could bamboozle into giving him what he craved most: fortune and fame. He coveted an audience’s attention as much as their money.

Anger stirred the turmoil in her heart. He may be the maestro of manipulation, but she was the granddaughter of Cree warriors. She would not fail Oriole and Wren. She would find them and take them far away from the man who’d vowed to never let them go.

She scanned the street for the wiry, dark-haired Irishman whose fake gentleman’s accent and dandified clothing concealed a thug carrying an arsenal of weapons, including a spring-loaded derringer under one ruffled sleeve. No one, in disguise or plain sight, matched his stature.

She saw no sign of Oriole or Wren either. They’d agreed to meet at noon. Her pocket watch read five past one.

Accept it. There’s no when or if. They aren’t coming.

Or maybe they’d arrived earlier and gone? But not before leaving a message saying where. They’d agreed to do that as well.

Abandoning her hiding spot, she crossed the street at a brisk pace. The snow crunching under her feet marked her progress as she slipped into the alley flanking the music shop and examined the wall from top to bottom. When she rounded the back of the building, she found that alley empty as well. A stroke of luck.

She continued hunting for a crevice that held a piece of paper. There had to be a letter. Had she missed it? If she did a second pass, maybe she’d—

“Looking for something?” The words cracked like a whip, close behind her.

Cringing from the memory of his lash on her back, she spun to face Ulysses. The footlong strip of rawhide tied to his wrist remained lowered. A weapon she now feared had permanently scarred the one good Samaritan who’d been brave—and foolhardy—enough to step between her and her troupe manager.

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THE SONGBIRD JUNCTION SERIES

Welcome to Songbird Junction, where Welsh meets West in Colorado 1878. The journey to find a forever home and more starts here.

Brynmor, Heddwyn, and Griffin Llewellyn are three Welsh brothers bound by blood and a passion for hauling freight—in Denver, where hard work pays. Lark, Oriole, and Wren are three Irish-Cree Métis sisters-of-the-heart bound by choice and a talent for singing—in any place that pays.

Book 1 – A Bride for Brynmor
Book 2 – A Bride for Heddwyn 
Book 3 – A Bride for Griffin (Apologies for the delay. I’m still working on finishing this story.)