Read more excerpts at: https://sites.google.com/site/forloveofmaggie
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STOLEN SON
Available in e-book and paperback
Ella Mason knows Rafe Wallace is keeping a secret, but she doesn’t care. For the first time since her son was stolen five years before she’s happy, thanks to the new man in her life. Rafe hates lying to Ella, but what choice does he have? His agenda has everything to do with taking care of his son, and nothing can stop him from meeting it--not even loving Ella. TOP PICK AWARD Winner from Romance Reader at Heart.
Video, reviews, excerpts, and more at: https://sites.google.com/site/franshaffsstolenson
An Intimate Moment Excerpt
Setup: Rafe and Ella share intimate moments on their first date.
When the quiet lunch was over and the cleaning up had been completed, Rafe stretched out on the old quilt Ella had packed. He stared up at the sky.
“It’s an exquisite shade of blue today, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” His voice was gentle, reflective.
“Days as beautiful as this one can sometimes make a person forget every trouble she ever had.”
“Maybe for a while,” he said softly, “but troubles always return. They never really go away.”
What a morose thing to say. It was true, of course, but his comment was the antithesis of everything they’d experienced to this point.
She moved next to him. He seemed oddly sad. She felt a need to reach out and touch him. She trailed her fingers across his forearm. “Is anything wrong, Rafe?”
His gaze shifted from the sky to her. He blinked several times as though he were trying to hide the pain she now saw in his lovely blue eyes. “Not really.” He looked back at the sky. “That was a great meal, Ella.”
“Thank you.” His kind words made her heart beat faster.
The strange look remained on his face. Perhaps she’d read him wrong. Maybe it wasn’t pain, but guilt his eyes displayed. What if...could he be married?
“Rafe, something is bothering you.” She took hold of his hand.
He sat up and looked at her. No doubt about it. There was definitely guilt in his eyes. She decided she might as well come right out and ask him.
“Are you married, Rafe?”
“No, of course not,” he said, sitting up. “I’m widowed.”
She squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah,” he said, looking into the distance, “me too.”
“Has it been long since you lost her?”
He gazed at her. “No, just a year.”
“You must miss her very much.”
He gave her a strange look. “Not as much as I did a few days ago.”
What an odd thing to say. “Excuse me?”
He quirked a brow. “I found out a couple of weeks ago that I hardly knew my wife at all. Ten years of marriage and… How the hell--“
“You didn’t know her? What on earth do you mean? What happened--no, don’t tell me. I shouldn’t have asked.” She shifted into a more comfortable position on the quilt. “Do you... have children?”
He stood as soon as she asked the question and walked to the tree. He leaned against it and watched a hawk circle over the bank of the river.
Ella went to stand behind him. “Rafe, we don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to.”
He turned and looked down at her, his eyes showing pain and confusion. He stared at her an endless moment. Finally, he said, “I have a son.”
A boy. He had a son, just like she’d had herself.
“How old is he?”
“Five.”
Just like Mica.
Ella turned away. Her baby would be five years old now too, in only a few days. She reined in her emotions and turned back to him. “That’s a wonderful time in a child’s life. Most of my pupils are five when they start with me in the fall. They’re so curious and creative.”
He touched her chin with his finger. “You love teaching small children, don’t you?”
The intimacy between them at that moment nearly overwhelmed her. She could barely answer. “Yes.”
He drew back his hand. “Let’s sit down and talk awhile.”
The CD clicked off, and the horses made a low, rumbling sound as Ella sat again.
Rafe sat beside her. “Have you ever been married, Ella?”
She shook her head. “I believed once that my boyfriend and I were going to be married?”
“But you weren’t?”
“No.” She pushed back the heartbreak which never really left her. “Once he found out I was pregnant, he couldn’t get far enough away from me.”
She could see his jaw tighten. “Sleazy son-of-a-- What a rotten thing to do to a woman.”
“I can’t argue with that.”
“A man who leaves a woman he’s made a baby with is no man. He’s slime.” He looked away. “Did he ever come back to you?” he asked when he gazed at her again.
She shook her head. “He was killed in a rock-climbing accident before Mica was born.”
Rafe bolted to his feet and went to the tethered animals. “I should water the horses.”
Ella went to him and touched his arm. “The horses are fine, Rafe. We’ll water them in a minute.”
He looked at her. She’d never seen so much pain in anyone’s eyes.
“Mica?” he said softly. “You had a boy?”
“Yes.” She choked on the word.
He looked away, staring over the top of the horse beside him across the expanse of rolling prairie.
“He’s not with me now.” Tears slid from her eyes.
Rafe’s gaze remained on the horizon.
“The day I was supposed to bring him home from the hospital, he was… stolen.”
He still didn’t look at her.
She laid her hand on his shoulder. “I have no idea what happened to him. I pray every day he is alive and happy, but I’ll never know.” More tears rolled over her cheeks. When she sniffled, he finally turned to her.
He wiped his thumbs over her cheeks to dry her tears. He stared hard at her for what seemed an eternity, his eyes reflecting the pain in her heart. At last, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly against his powerful chest.
“I’m so sorry, Ella. You’ve been through so much. I’m so very sorry.”
Her heart swelled, and more tears flowed over her cheeks. What a sensitive, caring man he was to share her pain this way. God had sent her a treasure to ease her burdens, and she sent a prayer of thanks heavenward.
He held her tightly for precious, warm moments. When he pulled back and released her, he told her again he was sorry.
“Rafe, it’s kind of you to be so sensitive about my son, but, although it often doesn’t seem like it, my loss is in the past just as yours is. We both have grief to overcome, and in time we will. You’ll get past losing your wife, and I’ll eventually move on to life after Mica.”
He looked away again. Ella was amazed at the depth of sensitivity in him. He reacted as though her pain were his pain. She had to change the subject before they both ended up in a heap of sorrow clinging to the earth.
She lifted her chin. “Come sit down, Rafe.” She took his hand and tugged him back to the quilt.
He followed her and made himself comfortable next to her. “Are you over your loss, Ella?”
She guessed she should have moved more quickly to change the subject. “I’m getting there. I promised myself that, beginning this summer, my mourning would be over, but I still have bad moments.” Like the one she’d had the first time they met, she added silently. “It’s taken me a lot of time to heal.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “The first two years after I lost Mica, I thought it was my fault and blamed myself. I thought for a long time I was being punished for what I had done--for getting pregnant without being married and for deciding to give my baby up for adoption. I thought I had done everything wrong.”
“You were go
ing to give up your son?”
He seemed especially interested in what her intentions toward her son had been. Ella thought his reaction a bit strange and took a moment to reply.
“I was. Then I had a sonogram. Once I saw the baby moving and kicking inside me, there was no way I could ever give him up. In that instant, he became my whole world.”
“I see.”
“The last months before Mica was born, I spent a great deal of time preparing for his arrival.” She stopped to regain her voice as her words began to choke off. “Unfortunately, I was never able to bring him home from the hospital. As I said, he was taken away from me.”
Rafe had been sitting next to her. When she finished speaking, he lay back and stared up at the sky. “Sometimes life stinks.”
An understatement, Ella thought, but she knew what he meant. Now was the time to slip in that change of subject.
“You’ve met my parents, Rafe. Why don’t you tell me about yours?”
He looked at her blankly and shrugged. “There isn’t much to tell. I had a mother and a father. They were good parents, and I loved them very much. One day my mother learned she had cancer. Our insurance ran out before her treatments had been completed. Medical bills ate away every cent we had, but Mom needed more care.” He shifted his gaze back to the sky as he continued to lay on his back. “Dad embezzled money from his company to pay for Mom’s care. Two days after Mom died, he got caught.”
“Oh, no!” Ella’s hands covered her mouth. “How tragic. Did he go to prison?”
Rafe shook his head slowly. “In some ways, I wish he had.”
“What a terrible thing to say. He was only trying to help your mother.”
“I know that. Everyone knew that, but he did the wrong thing. He stole, and he would have been prosecuted.”
“Would have been? You mean he wasn’t charged?”
He leaned on his elbow as he turned to face her. “He was charged with grand larceny, but he never went to trial. He sold everything he owned, paid back the money, then he killed himself because he was so ashamed of what he’d done.”
“Oh, Rafe, no.” She took his hand and pulled him to a sitting position, drawing him close to her. “When did this happen?”
He let her hold him a moment before he pulled back and looked her in the eyes. “Half a lifetime ago, when I was seventeen. Seventeen years ago last winter.” He slid his fingers through her hair. “I’ve never told another soul that story, Ella.” He drew his hand back. “Oh, everyone in Cheyenne knew about it, but I left there as soon as I scraped together the bus fare to go to Denver. I joined the carpenters’ union and went to work. I met and married Wendy, made friends with my business partner Logan Culpepper, and eventually moved to the Billings area to start my current business.”
“You are absolutely remarkable.” She leaned back, bracing herself with her hands. “You’re indestructible. I wish I had a tenth of your strength.”
He smiled and lay back, looking up at the sky. “I’m not the Rock of Gibraltar you think I am. I’ve had plenty of weak moments in my life.”
“You have? I don’t believe it. When have you ever given into a weakness?”
He sat up and faced her, a grin tugging at his lips. “Plenty of times.”
She tilted her head to one side and looked at him coyly. “Like when?”
He touched her cheek and trailed his finger to her lips. “I’m having a weak moment right now.”
Her heartbeat kicked up a notch. “You are?”
“Yes.” He leaned closer to her. His cobalt eyes cut through her, their potency reaching her heart and setting it on fire. He grasped her arms and held her steady. When his lips touched hers, a thrill coursed through her. His touch was gentle, teasing.
She kissed him back more hungrily than she’d intended, and he responded to her urgent plea for more. He held her firmly; kissed her thoroughly. When he pulled back, they were both breathless--
Video, reviews, excerpts, and more at: https://sites.google.com/site/franshaffsstolenson
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Contemporary Romance
Montana Magic
Kelly and the Candidate
Ever so Humble
Montana Match
The Love Trap
MONTANA MAGIC
Available in e-book, paperback coming soon
As a social scientist, Deanna Worthington never believed in the mythical idea of romantic chemistry between men and women. Then, while visiting her sister in Montana, she meets C.R. Whitmore who teaches her that everything she theorized about romantic relationships might just be more fallacy than fact.
Read excerpts and more at: https://sites.google.com/site/franshaffsmontanamagic/
KELLY AND THE CANDIDATE
Available in e-book, paperback coming soon
Reporter Kelly Graham, who isn’t the least bit fond of politicians, finds governor candidate Brett Conifer completely irresistible. Brett, who can’t stand reporters, makes an exception where the lovely Kelly is concerned. Scandals, fist fights, miniature matchmakers--Kelly and Brett are in for one very complicated love affair.
Read excerpts and more at: https://sites.google.com/site/kellyandthecandidate/
EVER SO HUMBLE
Available in hardcover only
Talk about falling for the wrong man! Marisa takes this peculiarity to a whole new level. Once she’s smitten by Lee’s charm, she learns he’s the man who intends to renovate her apartment building and evict her and all of her neighbors. But Lee isn’t all bad. She knows that for sure. Can she convince him to reconsider his business plans or will she lose both her new-found love and her home?
Learn more at: https://sites.google.com/site/fshaff/Home/more-romance-stories
MONTANA MATCH
Available in hardcover only
Jake Ruskin, a wealthy rancher, hires Chicago matchmaker Becky Montoya to find him a wife who will give him an heir to his fortune. Becky decides to go to Montana and give Jake’s case the personal touch. Jake’s elderly male housekeeper, seeing the attraction between his boss and Becky, decides to do a little matchmaking of his own.
Learn more at: https://sites.google.com/site/fshaff/Home/more-romance-stories
THE LOVE TRAP
Available in hardcover only
The noise coming from her neighbor’s garage is making it impossible for Carly Ross to work. When her attempts to convince neighbor Devin Serrano to stop using his noisy power tools are unsuccessful, Carly gets an idea. She’ll set a love trap by fixing him up with a girlfriend. If he’s occupied with a girlfriend, he’ll be too busy to disturb her concentration. Good idea, but will she be caught in her own trap?
Learn more at: https://sites.google.com/site/fshaff/Home/more-romance-stories
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Young People’s Historical Novels
A Partner’s Promise
The Trading Game
A PARTNER’S PROMISE
Available in e-book and paperback
RECOMMENDED READ AWARD, EPPIE nomination for excellence in young people’s literature. 1880’s. Caught stealing! Eleven-year-old Axel O’Grady faces a choice--go to jail or leave New York on the orphan train bound for Iowa. Axel chooses Iowa, but he promises his best friend Nate he will return. Keeping his word won’t be easy, but A PARTNER’S PROMISE can never be broken.
Excerpts, reviews and more at: https://sites.google.com/site/franshaffsyabooks
Chapter One
“Read all about it! Man with two heads! Get your paper here!” Axel O’Grady knew how to sell newspapers on New York street corners better than just about any other newsie in the city. “Man with two heads,” Axel repeated as he took coins from a man in a dark suit and handed him a paper.
“Indeed,” the man said in a disapproving tone. “This is the eighteen-eighties, boy. Don’t you think it’s time you newsies showed respect for the modern reader of newspapers?” He tucked his paper under his arm. “Two heads, indeed.”
Axel grinned
and pushed back the worn brown cap resting on top of his carrot-colored curls. He watched his customer take a few steps away. The man leaned into the corner of one of New York’s tall buildings and opened his paper.
A moment later the scowling fellow glanced back at Axel and jerked his chin.
Axel’s grin broadened. He knew in an instant his customer must have looked for the story of the man with two heads and found the headline: Joseph Mann Appoints Two Presidents to Head Up Company. Axel shrugged his shoulders at the man and turned back to bark out the headline which had earned him a good day’s wages. “Read all about it! Man with two heads!”
The bustle of activity along the streets of the large city made the warm, sunny day seem even more alive with the hope of a fresh spring season. The coins jingling in Axel’s pockets made the April afternoon brighter than any he’d known in a long time.
Once he’d sold all his papers, he shifted his gaze from passing potential customers to his partner, Nate Greenleaf. The lanky friend, whom Axel considered more brother than anything else, had a stack of unsold newspapers sitting next to him.
Axel walked over to his dark-haired partner. “Why don’t I take a dozen of those papes back to my side of our corner? I got lucky and sold all of mine.” He stuck his hands inside his pockets and jingled his coins.
Nate scratched his light brown cheek, narrowed his dark eyes, and grinned at Axel. “Got lucky?” He cocked an eyebrow. “I can tell from those twinkling sky-blue eyes, O’Grady, that you lied your way through your sales again. Which headline did you modify to suit your purposes today? The mayor’s party? The governor’s taxes? Or maybe you dug into the obituaries and took advantage of some poor soul.”
A sly smile slid over Axel’s freckle-covered face. He shrugged his shoulders and jostled the coins in his pockets again. “What’s the difference? We’ve got enough money from our sales to keep us fed for days.”