Eliza's Longing

Eliza Bell is the last of her school group to marry and there is nothing that hints marriage is in her future. Born with one leg shorter than the other, she’s been marked as a spinster from the day she turned eighteen. Now at twenty-three, she decides to set off on her own. She longs to be useful and focused her efforts on learning to work with her hands since she felt she wasn’t fit to do much else. Her embroidery and dresses are known for their quality, but Greenville is too small to make a living selling her wares. Wishing to flee the pitying looks of all who know her, she learns of a job as a seamstress in Denver and procures lodging with the Cartwright sisters at the Broad Street Boarding house.

Henry Ellsworth is down on his luck. His business plans went bust when his partner invested their combined money with an unscrupulous company. To make matters worse, Henry’s fiancée called off their engagement when she learned there was no money. Now Henry has little to his name but dreams to do something worthwhile. An advertisement for a journalist at a newspaper in Denver could be the hope he needs.

When Henry meets Eliza on the train to Denver, he’s impressed with her intelligence, simple beauty, and kindness and only a little surprised to see she walks with a limp. When he discovers she’s planning to start a business, he wants the best for her and finds lodging at the boarding house next door. Little did he know how much more he would come to admire her and long to protect and shelter her from the dangers of the new big city. But since he’s in no position to offer anything but his presence and she’s already making plans for her success, is there any chance he can win her over, or will he be destined to admire her from afar?