"With You Always" by Jody Hedlund

[reviewsbyerin]

 


Immediately following the events of prequel novella "An Awakened Heart," we find ourselves in 1857 in New York City during the beginning of a financial crisis. Elise Neumann and her siblings are staying and working at the Seventh Street Mission under the care of Christine Pendleton, but when many jobs are cut and income is lost, Elise decides she must put herself into the care of the Children's Aid Society and head west on the orphan train to look for work. The sisters part with heartbreak and determination that one day they will be reunited again.

Thornton Quincy never wanted to be in competition with his twin brother. As heirs of their railroad baron father's estate, only one of them can run the company. To determine the worthiness of his sons, Mr. Quincy has tasked Thornton and Bradford to build towns in rural Illinois and also to tend to matters of the heart - fall in love and get married. Both requirements must be fulfilled within six months. As Thornton travels west to oversee the building of his town, he gets to know Elise. Through the days of railroad travel, the two are quite drawn to each other. Thornton arranges to hire Elise in his town.

When Elise discovers that Thornton hasn't revealed everything about his identity, she's angry and feels like she has been bought. The less than ideal circumstances she finds at her job fuel her rancor. When she has the chance to give Thornton a piece of her mind, Elise never dreams that he might  listen to her and begin to implement change and reform in the growing community. 

Knowing that every day counts in the challenge with his brother, Thornton works hard to improve morale with his workers. But even if he can build the more successful town in six months, what about the second half of the stipulation? Falling in love seems impossible since his heart already belongs to Elise.

I enjoyed this story by Jody Hedlund. It captures a unique slice of untold history, when the Children's Aid Society actually facilitated the placement of grown women on the orphan train. I hope Elise and her sisters will be featured in the rest of this series, as their story still seemed to be dangling at the end. All historical fans should find something to delight in with this book.

I received my copy of the book from the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.