Becoming Lucy (Winds Across the Prairie #1) - Martha Rogers

This book popped up for less than $2.  This is a new author for me and I thought it worth the money to give her a chance since it seemed like her books popped up on my recommendations a lot.

Lucinda has just lost her family.  She is 17 and decided that it would be best for her to move in with her aunt and uncle until she turns 18 and comes into her inheritance.  She also would like to get away from her uncle, who feels like that money should be his.

From the moment she arrives in Oklahoma, her gaze is drawn to Jake, a man working on her uncle's ranch.  He is handsome, but he's not a Christian, so Lucinda's aunt and uncle talk to her about guarding her heart.  Even though they look on Jake as a son, they wouldn't want to have to send him away to protect Lucinda's heart.

Jake has a dreadful secret that he has kept from everyone.  Lucinda's uncle has given him a Bible and an open invitation to talk to him about God, but Jake isn't so sure.  He comes to love Lucinda, but knows that with the secret between them, there can't be any future.

Coming to Christ, Jake realizes that he needs to clear his conscience and face the consequences of what he's done.  He wants Lucinda to wait for him, but he's not sure that he'll be coming back.  It's a long ride to Texas and there is no telegraph in the small town that Lucinda lives near.

While she waits, Lucinda's aunt and uncle await word of Jake, but they wonder if maybe they should encourage Luke, a young man from town who has his eye on Lucinda.  There is also some nastiness from the townsfolk when they find out about what Jake has done and they blame the family.

I found it to be an enjoyable enough book, but there was something about the flow of it that bothered me.  We read about the uncle willing to do anything to get Lucinda out of the way, but the attempts on her life were incredibly far apart.  And the final showdown was just weird.  The timing and the way it was written was almost like it was crammed in there.  I also found the pressure to consider moving on from Jake after only two months and no news to be unrealistic.  I also had two chapter 28s, not the author's fault.

All in all, it was worth the money.  There are 4 books in the series and also a prequel and a Christmas book. I don't plan on watching for any of them, but if they popped up for free, I might pick them up.  I wanted to like it a lot more than I did.  Decent book.