THE QUARRYMAN'S DAUGHTER (TRACIE PETERSON)

Story Description:

Baker Publishing Group|June 1, 2013|Trade Paperback|ISBN: 978-0-7642-0620-7

Emmalyne Knox and Tavin McLachlan were destined to be together…until the tragic deaths of Emmalyne’s youngest sisters.  Family tradition mandates that the youngest daughter should remain single to care for her parents in their old age, and now that daughter is Emmalyne.  Her father unyielding, Emmalyne surrenders to her duty, heartbroken.  Tavin leaves town, equally devastated. 

Years later, Emmalyne’s family moves, and she and Tavin meet again.  Their feelings for each other are as strong as ever, but their painful past and Emmalyne’s father still stand between them.  Soon both families are in the midst of the growing conflict rising between the workers at the granite quarry that Tavin’s father owns and operates.  When a series of near-fatal accidents occur, Tavin must figure out who is behind the attacks before someone gets killed. 

Bound by obligation, yet yearning for a future together, can Emmalyne and Tavin dare to dream that God could heal a decade-long wound and change the hearts of those who would stand in the way of true love? 

My Review:

It is April of 1886 and, Emmalyne Knox, seventeen-years-old and engaged to marry Tavin MacLachlan in just two months stood at the side of the two graves.  Her two younger sisters, Doreen aged fourteen and, Lorna aged ten had been killed in a tornado.  Along with the loss of her two sisters, was the loss of their family home.  The house was now nothing but a pile of wood. 

Her mother, Rowena and father, Luthias shook hands with other mourners who had come to pay their respects.  Her father’s anger was evident to everyone present.  Emmalyne’s younger brother, Angus just barely twelve-years-old stood with his family not knowing what to do.  Luthias was a harsh and angry man and Emmalyne had grown up fearing him.  She had never witnessed or received gentleness or kindness from her father, and she seriously doubted he was capable of either. 

The MacLachlan family had been gracious enough to allow the Knox family to stay with them after the tornado.  After all, they were just about family anyway with Emmalyne and Tavin getting married.  Everyone was returning to their carriages as the grave diggers began throwing dirt atop the small caskets they had just lowered into the ground. 

Tavin spoke up to say he was going to walk Emmalyne back to his house when her father, Luthias interrupted and told him: “No, you won’t be doin that.”  He then proclaimed: “We’re movin to Minneapolis.”  Mrs. MacLaclan piped right up away and responded: “But surely nae until after the wedding…tis but a few weeks away.”  Luthias replied: “There will be no weddin.”  Emmalyne was stunned and Tavin asked: “What are you saying sir?”  Luthias said: “I’m sayin the weddin is off.  Emmalyne has a responsibility to her own family.  With her younger sisters dead and her older sisters married, it falls to her to remain and care for her mother and me.” 

Emmalyne had forgotten all about the TRADITION!  With her two youngest sisters dead, that now made HER the youngest daughter, and in the Knox family lineage that made her responsible to give up a life of her own to care for her aging parents.  It had been done that way for generations.  So, there definitely would be no wedding.  Emmalyne fought back tears and nausea as everything she planned fell to pieces in front of her.  The tornado had not only taken the lives of her sisters and destroyed their home; it had cost Emmalyne her future. 

Tavin tried to convince Emmalyne to elope that very night before her family left for Minneapolis in the morning, but Emmalyne said she just couldn’t go against her father’s word or the word of God.  Tavin was upset and angry and told her: “Your days will be long…and no doubt very lonely” and he stormed out of the room without another word.  Emmalyne cried and didn’t know what was worse, her father’s anger, God’s judgment, or Tavin’s wrath and disappointment.  Somewhere in the middle of all this were the shattered remains of her heart. 

It would be eleven years, in 1897 before Emmalyne would see Tavin again.  She was now twenty-eight-years-old yet her broken heart had never really healed, no matter the amount of time she spent in prayer or reading God’s word.  Misery and suffering were her only companions. 

Will Emmalyne and Tavin pick up where they left off, or has Tavin already moved on and married? 

The Quarryman’s Daughter was a beautiful love story and showed the power of prayer and if we put our faith in God, together we can move mountains. 

I would like to thank Baker House Publishing for sending me a copy of this book.  The opinions expressed above are purely my own and I received no remuneration for my review.