Texas Reclaimed

Lone Star Redemption Book 3

When Captain Ben McKenzie limped out of Andersonville, he thought his war was over, but the battle within had just begun. His only hope for redemption is to fulfill his promise to his fellow POW and best friend, Jeb Scott. Ben delays his betrothal to a Philadelphia belle to travel to Texas and ensure Jeb’s family is provided for. Once there, he discovers that Jeb’s parents are dead, and his sister Cora, a fiery-eyed Scott with a stubborn streak a mile wide, is struggling to hold onto the family ranch.

It doesn’t take long for Cora to decide that Ben is a man she should stay far away from, if only her heart would listen. But Ben has no intention of leaving until he’s fulfilled his commitment to Jeb and earned Cora’s respect. His future awaits him back in Philadelphia, but the only life he wants is right there on the frontier at the side of a blue-eyed, chestnut-haired Texas gal who is determined to keep him at arms’ length. As their hearts begin to open to each other, their past threatens to tear them apart.

In Progress - Release Date February 2026

“Love this new to me author! Excellent H&H interplay. Character developement and setting A+. Will be reading more. Spiritual moments and faith in right places. Clean and believable...good resolutions...have at it”
~ Granmother of 19, Amazon Reviewer

Book Excerpt

“Ben McIntosh gripped the edges of the oak bureau and stared at himself in the beveled mirror. A bead of sweat glistened on his brow. Perpetual dark circles underscored his eyes.

Piano music drifted up from the parlor he’d vacated minutes before. Dressed in yellow silk like the first flower of spring, Olivia Edmondson would likely be surrounded by admirers as her nimble fingers slid across the keys. But surely, she’d notice his absence all the same. After all, they’d agreed their fathers would announce their engagement this evening.

He shouldn’t have allowed himself to be nudged into a proposal. Not yet. He had no business making a promise when he had another promise long overdue.

Ben loosened his royal-blue cravat from its tight bind on his throat. His head throbbed. Stupid of him to think today would be the time to cut back on his medicine. Medicine? That’s what the doctor called it, and so did Olivia and his family. He knew better.

His bones seemed to grate against one another like nails on a chalkboard. Twenty-two hours since his last dose. Maybe if he only had a few drops, half a teaspoon full of laudanum, it would be enough to make it through the evening.

His hand shook as he picked up the small bottle from the lace doily.

Every pore in his body stretched forth in anticipation of the sweet taste of the brown liquid on his tongue. No. He flung the bottle to the floor. The glass clunked on the tightly woven carpet and rolled against the desk leg. His breath caught as he waited to see if the stopper would hold or if the liquid would ooze out. When it held, the crest of his tension eased back a notch.

Curse the doctor who’d ever given him the first dose of the tincture of alcohol and opium.

Lying there exhausted beyond endurance in that hospital cot in Wilmington, with his legs knotted with scurvy and curled beneath him and his stomach as useless as a shriveled prune, Ben had been willing to swallow any concoction the nurses offered. He’d been deaf to the hiss of the serpent which slithered its way into his veins.

Ben’s fingers curled into a fist atop the bureau. A whole year he’d been home. Regaining his health. Working for his father. Courting Olivia. But falling short of everything he’d vowed to do when he’d hobbled out of the hell on earth that had been Andersonville.

How could he expect to get a grip on his need for laudanum and bring an end to the war in his soul if he didn’t show himself a man by keeping his promises?

His chest squeezed as if someone had tightened a vise around it. He strode over to the window and threw up the sash, desperate for fresh air. Beyond the barren maples and winter-dead lawn, the western sky glowed orange above the tree-topped ridges. Maybe freedom lay somewhere out there. He had to get out of the house and away from Philadelphia. He couldn’t marry. Not yet. Not until he set things right.”