Nicole Renard returns from finishing school to find her father in dangerously ill health. He begs her to go to St. Louis and choose a husband that can be his heir in his steamboat shipping empire. Part of her dowery will be the legendary knife of the pirate Jean Lafitte that is famed to bring the owner good luck in business. Her father's most bitter rivals, the Jenkins brothers, are after the knife, and so Nicole is forced to take an unexpected detour to Liberty Texas and lay low for a while to evade their detection. She assumes a false name and takes a job as a secretary to an eccentric, but also young and handsome, scientist, Darius Thornton, who has made it his life's mission to make boilers on paddle boats more safe. At first put off by Darius' single minded devotion to his research, Nicole gradually comes to respect, and then admire him for his good intentions and loyal heart. As that admiration turns into love, Nicole must decide between honoring the promise made to her father to find an heir, or follow her heart.
This is the third in the series that started with the Short-Straw Bride, but I couldn't find any connection with the first two books except that they are all set in Texas. I just realized that might be because I never read the second in the series. But really, this book works just fine as a stand alone. As I have said before, I am a little embarrassed that I like Witemeyer's books so much. As I was listening to this one I found myself purposely looking for jobs to do around the house that I could do while listening. It is not that she is that great of a writer, (though I think she has gotten better over time). It is just that her books are such a lovely escape from everyday life. They make me smile, but also remind me what it means to be a committed Christian. If I ever met Ms Witemeyer in person, I would be seriously tempted to give her a hug. (508 p, 2014)
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