Widow Celina Innes, a dress shop owner in the small 1886 mining town of Aspen, Colorado, struggles to live down her late husband’s bad debts for the sake of her four-year old daughter, Keena. Celina made the mistake of following after one man’s dream of striking it rich and has sworn not to do it again. Toussaint’s General Store co-owner, Mikel, watches this proud woman run a successful business but wishes he could make her life a little easier. He has to be contented by slipping treats to the child in hopes of pleasing her mama. When illness strikes the child, Celina turns to Mikel for help and they work together all night to get past the crisis, deepening their friendship. But when the crisis is over, Mikel disappears from Aspen and Celina learns he is seeking to increase his stores.
How could she have been so wrong about the man? Can a woman sworn to put down roots and a man looking for more riches find happiness?
Comments1
The Ring That Binds - good read!
I really enjoyed this short historical novel. The author has the knack of making me feel the action instead of merely reading about it as a detached observer. I'm not ordinarily that much a fan of American West gold-rush days books, but "The Ring That Binds" is an exception.