Good Morning!
Well, grandson turned 13 yesterday and is headed to Disney in FL for a surprise trip. I'm back at Sam Rayburn lake until tomorrow so I'm not going to take any more of your time but will introduce today's guest....brand new to our blog, Chrystal Caudill with her debut novel, Counterfeit Love....
Can this undercover agent save the woman he loves—or is her heart as counterfeit as the money he’s been sent to track down?
After all that Grandfather has sacrificed to raise her, Theresa Plane owes it to him to save the family name--and that means clearing their debt with creditors before she marries Edward Greystone. But when one of the creditors’ threats leads her to stumble across a midnight meeting, she discovers that the money he owes isn’t all Grandfather was hiding. And the secrets he kept have now trapped Theresa in a life-threatening fight for her home—and the truth.
After months of undercover work, Secret Service operative Broderick Cosgrove is finally about to uncover the identity of the leader of a notorious counterfeiting ring. That moment of triumph turns to horror, however, when he finds undeniable proof that his former fiancé is connected. Can he really believe the woman he loved is a willing participant? Protecting Theresa and proving her innocence may destroy his career--but that’s better than failing her twice in one lifetime.
They must form a partnership, tentative though it is. But there’s no question they’re both still keeping secrets--and that lack of trust, along with the dangerous criminals out for their blood, threatens their hearts, their faith, and their very survival.
Combining rich history, danger, suspense, and romance, Crystal Caudill’s debut novel launches this new historical series with a bang. Fans of Elizabeth Camden, Michelle Griep, and Joanna Davidson Politano will be thrilled to find another author to follow!
Excerpt: December 31, 1883
“I don’t understand why we can’t marry sooner. Cincinnati doesn’t require your grandfather’s consent.”
Not this topic again. Theresa sighed as her fiancé tilted the umbrella to shield her from falling sleet and helped her into the closed carriage. She’d spent weeks updating her seasons-old dress with a larger bustle and salvaged lace. Couldn’t they simply enjoy the New Year’s Eve Ball at Bellevue House and for one evening pretend all was right in the world?
“You know I want his blessing.” However, convincing her stubborn grandfather that Edward Greystone was a suitable match would take more time. Lots more.
“I don’t see why.” The carriage rocked as Edward squeezed into the cramped space. “The curmudgeon hardly gives you anything, much less his approval.”
“He’s a good man.” What other grandfather would sacrifice a beloved military career to raise a fourteen-year-old granddaughter? “And he’s all the family I have left. I need him as much as he needs me.” “You’re better off without him.” Edward turned sideways to allow his long legs room to stretch and speared her with a pointed look. “What did you pawn this week to pay his debts?”
She waved aside the answer as the carriage rolled forward. He didn’t need to know the elegant furniture from her parents’ bedroom had succumbed to her desperate need. One less creditor on their list of many made the sentimental loss worth it. She owed Grandfather everything within her power to help.
“Can we just enjoy the evening, please? I want 1884 to be the year life takes a turn for the better.”
“Then wed me tomorrow.” He clasped her hands and rubbed his thumb over the emerald engagement ring she wore inside her glove. “My work at the shipping docks may not afford us a mansion yet, but I can provide for you and save you from Colonel Plane’s downfall.”
Edward’s hopeful expression pricked her conscience. Grandfather would never approve of their marrying, no matter how long she tried to convince him. Edward’s vocal southern sympathies earned him no respect from the former Union colonel. Whatever Edward did to cultivate favor, he’d always be the enemy. Would Grandfather ever find any man acceptable? Broderick Cosgrove had shared most of her grandfather’s political views, but Grandfather had still objected to him. Of course, he’d been right about that match.
Unbidden, the image of her former fiancé’s smiling face filled her mind, and disappointment washed over her anew. She’d waited six years for Broderick to return with an explanation and a desire for reconciliation. Her foolish heart should know the truth by now. He was never coming back.
Edward, though, stayed by her side, whatever the hardship. He loved her. To delay their marriage bordered lunacy. Besides, where her head went, her heart eventually followed.
She smoothed Edward’s waxed mustache and offered a tentative smile. “I—”
The carriage halted, and voices rose.
“Stay here. I’ll check with the driver.” Edward reached for the door, but the handle jerked from his grip.
The smell of stale whiskey and cheap cigar filled the interior as a dark-haired vagrant forced his way inside, lobbying the barrel of a gun at them.
Edward lunged in front of her, blocking her view. “Get out.”
“Not ’til I get my money.”
Theresa sucked in a breath. No one forgot that raspy voice once they heard it, and she’d heard it coming from behind Grandfather’s closed office door more than once. Vincent Drake, the money monger, looked as villainous as his reputation.
“Over my dead body.” Edward, the brave fool.
“I can arrange that.”
Her heart skittered. “Move, Edward. Mr. Drake is Grandfather’s creditor.”
He didn’t shift.
The gun cocked. “I’d hate for the bullet to go through you and kill her.”
Edward eased next to her, fists clenched.
“Now, Miss Plane, where’s my money?”
“If you’ll speak to my gran—”
“Already did. All I got were excuses. I’ll not be put off again. A nice filly like you will make what’s owed me in a few nights on George Street.”
Edward lashed out with a growl, and the gun blasted.
Theresa "inched, and her ears shrilled as acrid smoke fogged the air and filled her lungs. She blinked at Drake’s smug smile, then swung her gaze to Edward. God, please, no. He was pressed against the side of the carriage, face pale, jaw slack, hand over chest. With breath held and fingers trembling, she pried away his hand. Nothing. No blood. No hole. Not even a tear.
“Consider yourself lucky. Next one won’t miss.” Drake gestured to the narrow space between her and Edward.
Theresa swallowed. A bullet-sized circle next to Edward’s head gave view to the dark, deserted street outside. Thank You, God. For once, He’d seen fit to intervene. Unfortunately, with the miserable weather and New Year celebrations, everyone remained indoors. No one would come to their aid, even if the driver dared to call for help.
“How much does my grandfather owe you?”
“Two hundred twenty.”
That much? “Perhaps we can make another arrangement.”
“Unless it involves money in my hand tonight, I think not.” Drake knocked on the carriage’s ceiling and called out “George Street!” The conveyance lurched into motion.
“Even if I had it to give, the banks are closed.”
“Not my problem.”
At the edge of her vision, Edward’s hands flexed. Any more heroic attempts, and he might not survive. She needed a plan of her own. Her gaze dropped to the bump beneath her glove and sparked an idea. It wouldn’t settle the debt, but it should help her negotiate payment for the remainder.
“Will you take a valuable item instead?”
Edward shot her a look, but he needn’t worry about his engagement ring. Praise God Lydia insisted on a literal funeral for Theresa’s past with Broderick. The ritual of burying both his engagement ring and her dreams in the ground next to her parents seemed childish a year ago, but now her novelist friend’s dramatic ways proved a godsend.
“I knew I did right comin’ to you.” Drake’s smirk sent shivers down her back as his gaze swept the length of her body. “Where is it?”
“Hidden.” She took a shaky breath. “In Spring Grove Cemetery.”
The place where her dreams met their death over and over again.
Please, God, not this time.
Crystal Caudill is the author of “dangerously good historical romance,” with her work garnering awards from Romance Writers of America and ACFW. Counterfeit Love is her debut published novel.
Caudill says that reading and writing are part of her soul and have been since she first held a crayon. While she considered writing to be an escape from challenges and struggles and a way to keep her sanity, Caudill would come to recognize that God used it as a teaching tool. “The stories came through my fingertips, but they were marked with His fingerprints,” she shares.
As she delved into history and crafted her own stories of hope through danger, Caudill would answer the call to pursue writing as a career after her first writer’s conference. “My stories are still filled with danger, struggle, and history, but they are also permeated with the hope and love of Christ. I hope they are dangerously good. Good for the heart and for the soul.”
She is a stay-at-home mom and caregiver, and when she isn’t writing, Caudill can be found playing board games with her family, drinking hot tea, or reading other great books at her home outside Cincinnati, Ohio.
Find out more at crystalcaudill.com or find her on Facebook (@crystalcaudillauthor) and Instagram (@crystalcaudillauthor). You can also join fellow readers in Crystal Caudill’s Reading Friends group on Facebook.
Counterfeit Love can be purchased at Amazon, Christianbook.com and other places Christian fiction can be found!
Sounds like a great story, Crystal, thanks for sharing! We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with your book and in all things.
Until next time, friends, take care and God Bless.
PamT
