Remnants Series Collection

A widow, a widower, and some matchmaking daughters.

Elise Hewitt came to Hope Ranch because there was nowhere left to go. She’s making a place for herself by helping with her daughter Indigo’s yarn business and watching her grandchildren, but neither of those things ignites any passion in her heart. Maybe she’s just too old for that.Dave Fitzgerald’s call to the mission field is all he’s ever known. Now that he’s a widower, he’s more involved than ever before. Running a camp for young adults considering full-time missions is a break from the trouble-shooting assignments he usually seeks out, but a summer in the mountains of New Mexico isn’t any kind of hardship.When Elise’s daughters get a look at the handsome older man, they begin to conspire to throw the two of them together. Everyone else in the family has found love at Hope Ranch, why shouldn’t their mom have a chance at love a second time around?

Elise Hewitt stepped onto the narrow trail that led up the mountainside. Would she go all the way to the summit? Maybe, maybe not. She wasn't as limber as she'd been when she was younger. For right now, the plan was to get away from the crowd at the ranch and clear her head. How long that took varied, but her Sunday rambles, as Indigo and Jade had taken to calling them, were at least accepted.

It was the one time each week Elise could let down her guard. Putting on a happy face all the time got exhausting. She wasn't unhappy -- not at all. So what was it?

Elise paused and reached out to run her fingers over the smooth, white trunk of an aspen. The trees were different than she'd imagined. Most of New Mexico had ended up being different than she'd pictured - from her in-laws down. Martin -- her heart panged -- he'd had such a tainted view of life. Elise hadn't realized it until everything had spiraled out of control. Now he was gone, and she was left to deal with the fact that their last words had been angry.

And the fact that she didn't miss him like she should.

What did that say about her?

She started back up the trail, head down as she focused on putting one foot in front of the other. She didn't want to roll her ankle and end up needing one of the kids to come up and rescue her.

How mortifying would that be?

"Don't move."

Elise squeaked and froze as a strange, but handsome, man grabbed her arm. She tried to yank free, but for an older guy, he had a grip of steel.

Her heart hammered in her chest. What was he doing up here? How could she get away? Oh, Jesus. Help me.

"Rattler." The man nodded toward the path. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Mouth dry, Elise turned her head and squinted at the path ahead. Sure enough, ten, maybe twenty feet away, there was a snake, starting to coil. She would have seen it, but it probably would have been too late.

"Are you okay?" The man released her arm, his voice gentling. "Would you like some water?"

Elise shook her head and backed up a few slow, shuffling steps. What she wanted was to have more distance between her and that snake. And the man. For all she knew, he was more dangerous than the reptile.