After not seeing Pappy for a few months and being concerned Deputy Matthew McCracken had gone up into the mountains to check on him only to have him die while he was there. But not before saddling him with his mute nephew Cecil.
The boy looked to be approximately thirteen and looked to have dirt embedded in his skin and smelled to high heaven. He needed a bath before he put him on his horse to travel back to town. But the boy had other ideas about a bath and ran.
When the boy still tried to run again he took him over his knee and spanked his butt until he promised not to run. When Cecil still refused the bath Matthew had had enough and grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged it to his waist.
Except when he stripped Cecil down for a bath...Cecil is not a boy...Cecil is a young woman and before he could get over his shock that Cecil was a girl the three mountain men standing before him sent for the preacher as they kept their shotguns pointed at him.
I loved this book! It is very well written and the characters are very well developed. The story is centered in America on the cusp of electricity and automobiles, but neither has reached this small mountain town.
I love Cecelia. She lived through a traumatic event when she was eight that didn't take her memories, but it did freeze her voice. Imagine growing up with a mountain man who had no idea you were female for ten years. Having no one to ask her questions even if she was able to talk. I found her to be very refreshing in her innocence and determination to learn as much as possible.
Matt is thrown for a loop when he finally pays closer attention to 'Cecil' and wonders how he never noticed her features which were obviously feminine. Over the years as he visited with Pappy she was always in the background staying out of the way and he never really gave the boy much attention.
This book is action-packed from beginning to end. The dangers of living in the mountains, Cecilia learning how to be a woman and not a hidden boy, and Matt realizing almost too late that she was his to keep.
I highly recommend this book although if you have an issue with spanking it may not be the book for you. Although I have to say they are well deserved. Looking forward to reading more by Brandy Golden!
Start reading A SHOTGUN WEDDING today!
A SHOTGUN WEDDING is book two of the BROCTON CHRONICLES Series!
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