Houston slowly begins to talk and he, who has always hidden from humanity, discovers the pleasure that simple human contact can bring. During the long journey, Houston and Amelia are thrown together into each other’s company constantly and she does her best to draw this taciturn man into conversation. When she sees Houston, she is surprised, but to his surprise, she is not repulsed by his scars.ĭallas’s ranch in west Texas is a huge one and it takes three weeks journey from the train station to get there. Amelia has been corresponding with Dallas Leigh and has agreed to come to Texas to marry him. Amelia’s parents and siblings are all dead and she is very much alone. She is a Southerner whose family lost everything in the Civil War. Houston wears a patch over his eye and it covers the worst of the scars, but he is still the object of stares and comments and when he does go into town, the whores charge him double.Īmelia turns out to be a lovely young woman with a kind and gentle nature. He lost his left eye and the left side of his face is horribly scarred. When Houston was only 15, he was badly injured in the Civil War. He is a recluse on his ranch and never goes into town if he can help it. Houston is not happy with this errand at all. Unfortunately, Dallas has broken his leg trying to tame a horse, so he sends his brother Houston to get her.

I’ve often thought if I could get a copy into the hands of all the fans of romance novels and then buy stock in the companies that make hankies, I would be a rich woman.ĭallas Leigh needs to pick up Amelia Carson, his mail-order bride. Texas Destiny is a Beauty and the Beast story, a road romance, and quite possible the most tear-inducing book I have ever read in my life.

Texas Destiny by Lorraine Heath