Texas Destiny
Author: Lorraine Heath
Publication date: June 1, 1997
Series: Texas Trilogy #1
Pages: 384
Genre: Historical, Romance
Synopsis: She was his brother’s wife…
Arriving on the Fort Worth train, Miss Amelia Carson, mail-order bride, had never met Dallas Leigh, the Texan she promised to marry. The tall cowboy at the station wasn’t Dallas. He was Houston, Dallas’s brother, sent to escort her on the rugged three-week trek to the ranch where Dallas waited. Brought up in war-ravaged Georgia, Amelia thought Dallas’s letters made Texas sound like heaven, a place for her dreams to grow with the right man beside her.
And his only love…
By all appearances, Houston Leigh would hardly be considered the “right man.” The war he survived had scarred him inside and out, and he was little competition for his handsome brother. But from the moment Houston met Amelia, he knew she possessed the courage this wild land needed. She had eyes that could see past his wounded face to his soul. And he would fight any man—except his brother—for her heart. Now he and Amelia were riding down dangerous trails, sleeping under the stars, and God help them, they were falling in love.
Love Factor (How much I loved it):
Would I recommend it:
Would I read it again:
This book may contain explicit intimate scenes, so if you are not 18+ then I probably wouldn’t recommend it for younger readers.
My Opinion
As I started this book, I had no idea that I would end up loving it as much as I did.
Houston is scarred on the outside as well on the inside due him being in the Civil War at 15 years old (he was force-ably joined at 12 by his father along with his brother) as a drummer. While in battle, he suffered a tremendous blow from shrapnel from a mortar blow that badly mounded his left side of his body resulting in him loosing his sight and hearing. Ever since he kept to himself, not opening to anyone until he meets Amelia – whom is his older brother’s Dallas’s hand and heart mail order bride. He meets her at the train station to take her back to his brothers ranch an along the way, Amelia gets Houston to open up when no one else could. He constantly struggles – as so does Amelia – with his feelings for Amelia as he believes he shouldn’t have them as she is promised to his brother and thinks Amelia deserves a hell lot better than what he (Houston) could ever offer her. But finally, in the end, he opens up to Amelia an admits his feelings for her, telling her that he needs her. Dallas could see their love for one another and grants Amelia an annulment so she is free to follow her heart.. An as you can assume everything is HEA afterwords.
I really loved an enjoyed Houston’s character and how him and Amelia interacted with each other. They were just suburb together. I loved when they played checkers and how she would flip the board over just to rile him,when he was attentive to her after she got bitten by a snake, their game of truth or dare, and when he told her numerous times that “you’re aggravating, you know that?”.
All in all, it was a sweet read that I enjoyed thoroughly and look forward to see what beholds Dallas and Austin.