Holiday Cheer - Laura's Peach Cobbler

In my novella SALVATION BRIDE, Laura is a mail order bride with a secret and David is a lawman with a wounded past. Forced to marry hours after meeting, Laura takes up household on David's homestead. In one scene, she makes peach cobbler for dessert (excerpt below). This isn't really Laura's peach cobbler. She lived in 1873 and lived in a small Texas town. She would not have used Bisquick, though she may have used canned peaches. Still, this is a great recipe and an alternative to all the chocolate and cookies I've been posting of late!



Laura’s Peach Cobbler

Ingredients

1 cup Bisquick Mix
1 cup milk
½ tsp cinnamon
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 29-oz can sliced peaches, drained

Directions

Hat oven 375°. Stir together Bisquick, milk and cinnamon in an ungreased 8x8xx2 pan. Blend in butter. In a bowl, blend peaches and sugar; spoon over batter. Bake 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.

Blurb:

The hot dusty town of Salvation, Texas has more than its share of secrets in 1873 when Laura Ashton's stage rolls into town. Sheriff David Slade has no idea what baggage his mail-order bride is bringing into his life. Throw in the nightmares from his Civil War days and he's got more than courting to contend with. Laura's a woman ahead of her time, a woman trained in medicine. And she's got a will that could move mountains. Unfortunately, the only mountains in Salvation are in Sheriff Slade's memory. Can the determined doctor heal his pain, or will the dark secret in her past turn up to steal his Salvation Bride?


What People are Saying About
SALVATION BRIDE

Four Spurs from Love Western Romances

"With compelling characters and surprising secrets this is a story that will grab your interest and keep through the end." ~ Carol
Read Carol's entire review here.

"SALVATION BRIDE carried me away for an afternoon and I loved every word. From the beautifully written love scenes to the emotional turmoil each character experienced, I felt each and every sensation. This truly is a wonderful book."
~ Natasha at Romance Junkies, a Four Ribbon Review
Read Natasha's full review here.

Five Book Review by Lilac at The Long and Short of it Reviews:
"Salvation Bride" is a wonderful story that I would definitely recommend!


Excerpt:

Laura tried to twist free, but he increased the pressure. She wasn’t going to turn her back on him again.
“Don’t think I’m not grateful to be here, David. I am. This is a better place than what I left. I could have come here or anywhere for that matter, on my own, but my uncle didn’t want that. I didn’t want that, but this is not the marriage I envisioned.”
He clamped his jaw tight. He knew what she meant, what she wasn’t saying. Maybe wooing her wouldn’t be as hard as he thought. “What sort of marriage had you envisioned?”
She blinked rapidly and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does! It damn well does matter.”
He pulled her into his arms and his lips crushed hers. For a few moments, she struggled and he had flashes of Angie, but he wouldn’t let Laura go. He softened the kiss, holding her close to him, one hand splayed across her back, the other burrowing into her hair. He tasted her lips, running his tongue over the seam, willing her to open her mouth.
She softened in his arms, her body falling flush against his. Her mouth opened and he stifled a groan. He ran his tongue over her lips and teeth. She tasted of cinnamon from the cobbler they’d had for dessert.
His hand slipped down to her backside to cup her buttocks, holding her tight against his erection. She knocked his hat off as her fingers swept through his hair. Lust shot through his body, pooling painfully in his groin.
He scattered kisses along her jaw, nuzzling the crook of her neck as his hand palmed her breast. She mewed softly in his ear.
He lifted his head and looked into the face of his wife. The falling darkness made it difficult to see the confusion and passion clouding her eyes.
He hadn’t meant to kiss her, not yet. He thought to ease into the situation, even though his need for her had grown over the past two weeks. He’d lay in bed nightly, thinking of her soft curves, warm smile and expressive eyes. He dreamed of her until he was hard with wanting. Once, he’d resorted to what he’d done more than he cared to remember when married to Angie—he brought himself to his own release, but it was not what he desired. What he desired stood dazed and wanting in front of him. Who was he to deny her?
He lowered his head to kiss her again. Laura twisted out of his arms and his hands gripped air.
“What was that all about?” she demanded.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it. I know otherwise.” He’d be damned if he’d let this wife put up a wall he couldn’t chisel through.
“I didn’t say that. I asked what it was all about. You said you wouldn’t bed me.” She glanced toward Angie’s grave, then narrowed eyes on him.
“Do you really expect us to live the rest of our lives without bedding each other?” he asked.
She hugged herself and glared at him. “No, but you said—”
“I was stupid.” He ran his hand through his hair. “No, it was the circumstance, Laura. We had to marry the same day we met. I couldn’t expect you to lay with me when we didn’t even know each other. I wanted to put your mind at ease, to make you realize I wasn’t a lecher.”
He couldn’t see her now that darkness had fallen, but he heard her exhale. “I don’t know, David. It doesn’t seem right. We still don’t know each other and right now, I’d say there are too many grave issues between us to allow intimacy.” She turned toward the house and walked away from him.
His erection deflated. He picked his hat off the ground and crushed it in his hands. He’d spend another night sleeping alone.

Purchase SALVATION BRIDE here

Tomorrow's recipe: Reindeer Chow

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. ~Hamilton Wright Mabie