Book 1 of the Desert Roses series. Working as a Harvey Girl at the luxury resort of El Tovar, located on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, Alexandra Keegan feels she is in a dream come true. But when her father's indiscretions come to light and her mother is suspected of murder, Alex finds herself the center of some unwelcome attention. Will she soon find herself alone in the world?
Shadows of the Canyon (Desert Roses)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Tracie Peterson is a full-time author who has written or co-written over fifty novels in both historical and contemporary genres, including the WESTWARD CHRONICLES, the YUKON QUEST and the SHANNON SAGA series.
Tracie also teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects including inspirational romance and historical research. She and her family live in Montana.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter One
El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon, 1923
And in here," Alexandria Keegan announced, "are the bulk refrigerator storage areas." Alex stepped past the new Harvey House recruit and opened the door to the unit. "We keep all manner of fresh produce, fish, and ..." She fell silent as she heard the new girl gasp.
"Oh, Miss Keegan," the girl said, blushing red and turning away.
Alex couldn’t imagine what the problem was, for the girl looked positively mortified. Turning to look into the unit, Alex fully expected to see a dead rat on the floor. Such a distasteful occurrence didn’t happen often, but there was that rare occasion when something unpleasant marred the Harvey restaurant’s otherwise impeccable reputation.
Alex grimaced at the scene. It was a rat, all right. But this rat was the two-legged type. Worse still, this rat was her father.
Rufus Keegan, well-known for his philandering ways, was at it once again. Pressed into a compromising position in the corner of the room, one of the newer Harvey Girls appeared to be enjoying Rufus Keegan’s lack of discretion.
Alex felt her cheeks grow hot as embarrassment washed over her. How many times would she have to endure this shame upon her family? How could her father just go on humiliating her mother like this, never concerning himself with the pain he caused? Alex felt tears come to her eyes at the thought of all her mother had endured.
"Bernice, please go to the main dining room and bring Mrs. Godfrey." Alex steadied her emotions. She knew it would be better to have the dining room manager and housemother take charge of the situation.
Bernice, whose face was nearly as red as her bobbed hair, hurried off down the corridor. Alex turned to find her father smoothing the wrinkles in his clothing.
"Do you never tire of bringing shame to our family?" Alex asked, her voice a deadly calm.
"There needn’t be any shame if you keep your mouth shut. Honestly, Alexandria, I don’t see why you concern yourself with matters that have little to do with you."
Alex forced herself to remain silent and looked past her father to Melina Page. The girl was clearly embarrassed, but she didn’t appear overly worried as she adjusted her black Harvey uniform.
"You should gather your things, Melina. I’m certain Mrs. Godfrey will have no further use for you," Alex said, staring hard at the girl.
"But you said you’d keep me from getting fired," Melina said, turning to Rufus. He only shrugged and chuckled. "But you promised!" Melina’s voice raised an octave.
"He promised my mother a great many things, as well," Alex said. "But so far, he doesn’t seem to honor any of those promises, either." Without conscious thought, Alex reached for the closest object—a plump, ripe, California tomato. "You are without a doubt everything the newspapers say about you and more. I’m ashamed to call you Father."
"Then don’t. And don’t take that tone with me. You don’t have to call me Father or even acknowledge me as such, but I won’t take a dressing down by the likes of you or anyone else. I don’t take that tone of voice from the governor of this state! What makes you think I’ll take it from my daughter?"
Shame was quickly overcome by anger, as years of betrayal seemed to culminate in this one act. Without warning, Alex threw the tomato. She picked up another tomato and then another. Hurling them mindlessly at her father, she shouted a tirade of disapproval.
"You don’t care anything about my mother. You’ve caused her nothing but shame and anguish. Her health suffers because of you and she has no friends because you can’t even give the pretense of discretion."
The ripe tomatoes splattered against the wall, against Melina’s dress, and against the stun-faced Keegan.
Uncaring about the mess she was making or the vegetables she might destroy, Alex only knew that she wanted to hurt her father as badly as he’d hurt her mother. "We’ve suffered so much because of you. Mother can’t even go to church for fear of what will be said to her!"
"Miss Keegan!"
The voice of Mrs. Godfrey caused Alex to pause. She looked momentarily at the confused woman, then picked up an apple. "My father and Melina chose to make this their trysting place." She hurled the apple, which her father barely managed to dodge before it hit the back wall with a dull thud.
Mrs. Godfrey reached out to Alex. Her grasp on Alex’s left hand did nothing to waylay her from securing another apple with her right. This time she aimed for Melina.
"He doesn’t deserve to get away with this." Alex nearly screamed the words, not caring who heard.
"Hey, what’s happening? I heard the hollering going on all the way down the ..."
Alex turned, catching sight of Luke Toland. The tall, lanky cowboy had his hat pushed back on his head, his sandy-colored hair hanging down over his left brow. He appeared shocked to say the least, but Alex could take no more of her father’s indiscretion.
She jerked away from Mrs. Godfrey and reached again for the nearest object. It just happened to be a large stalk of celery. Before she could throw it, however, Luke stepped in and took hold of her.
"I don’t know what’s happening here, but I’m sure throwing this celery isn’t going to remedy the matter." He spoke softly and eyed Alex with grave concern. His gentleness was her undoing, and her tears overflowed as she collapsed against his chest and began to cry.
"He doesn’t care how much he hurts us," she sobbed.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than eighty-five novels. Tracie also teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research. She and her family live in Montana.
Visit Tracie's web site at: http://www.traciepeterson.com
Visit Tracie's web site at: http://www.traciepeterson.com
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Romance Peppered with Murder, Intrigue & Saving Lost Souls,
This review is from: Shadows of the Canyon (Desert Roses #1) (Paperback)
Alex Keegan was never going to marry. Why would she after seeing the way her father hurt and humiliated her mother day after day by his philandering? Nope, men could not be trusted. Four years ago, she left her home in Williams, Arizona, to be on her own as a Harvey girl at the El Tovar Resort on the Grand Canyon. The El Tovar hosted parties for the rich, famous and powerful - the perfect place for her to make enough money to take her mother somewhere far away from her father. Luke Toland is the cowboy in love with Alex Keegan and it cuts him clear through to his soul when she can't see past her father's infidelities to open her heart to another. When presidential candidate Senator Winthrop of SC comes to town with his beautiful, young, flirtatious daughter who has her eyes set on Luke, Luke has a difficult time convincing Alex he has no desire to take Valerie Winthrop up on her offers. To make matters worse, Rufus Keegan, Alex's father, joins the Winthrop party and she must witness his thirst for power and position no matter what the cost. For Rufus, the cost may be his youngest daughter, Alex. Winthrop's top aide, Joel Harper, who happens to be his daughter's fiancée, has his eye set on Alex because she presents a challenge to him. He usually has girls falling at his feet. Alex sees him as a man like her father and wants no part of it. He also has a very unsavory past that threatens to rear its head every now and then. With Valerie chasing Luke and her fiancée chasing Alex, Alex's perceptions of men and marriage are confirmed until Luke convinces her to look in the mirror. Just as she is doing nothing to encourage Joel he is doing nothing to encourage Valerie. When Valerie approaches him after Joel has been especially cruel, he senses that something has changed. She isn't the calculating flirt she once was. She is confused and lost. Luke decides she needs God in her life and he's willing to share what he knows with her and trusts that Alex will understand why he's spending time with Valerie. Throughout Alex's day to day struggle with father, her confusing jealousy where Luke and Valerie are concerned and the aggravation of Joel's attentions, Alex's mother is invited by the Winthrop's to attend one of their lavish parties. Rufus Keegan is furious - not only because she is there, but also because of the reason she decided to accept the invitation and join her husband in El Tovar. When she arrives, the story takes a turn from the battles raging in Alex's head - her feelings for Luke and trying to honor God by respecting her father - to the drama playing on the rim of the Grand Canyon. Though set in the 1920's during the Prohibition era, Alex Keegan is a modern woman. She set out on her own to make money and to take care of her mother. Though there is a trace of romance and love, the story centers on Alex moving from friendship to trust. There is even a hint of mystery and a plot twist towards the end.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another winner!,
By
This review is from: Shadows of the Canyon (Desert Roses #1) (Paperback)
I have read many of Tracie Peterson's other books, so I eagerly picked this one up. This is an interesting story about trust. If you don't your family, can you bring yourself to trust your feelings? Alex's father is a rat, basically--always throwing his infidelities in her mother's face. Seeing this has soured her on all men. Luke is her friend, and he loves her but cannot bring himself to tell her. THere is betrayal, murder, mystery and romance all wrapped up in 370 pages. A fast read that will have you perched on the edge of your seat. Enjoy!
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
First book of a promising, exciting series as usual,
By
This review is from: Shadows of the Canyon (Desert Roses #1) (Paperback)
Tracie Peterson has done it one more time! Alex is a Harvey Girl in Arizona, a fine Christian young woman who cannot trust men, believing they are all like her womanizing, despicable father. Politics are present even in Christian fictions written around 1925, and this book presents politics as an ugly, dog eat dog situation. Alex has as her goal to work just long enough to get her mother safely away from her cheating father but Luke Toland first must be reckoned with. You will love Alex, admire Luke, pity her mom, scowl at her dad and the senator and positively hate Joel (the scoundrel).. A suspicious death brings tremendous intrigue into the story. I could barely put down the book. I will watch amazon carefully for signs of book 2. Way to go, Tracie!!!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
