Aundy (Pendleton Petticoats #1)(35)
Author: Shanna Hatfield

Wherever it came from, the style accented her curves and made heat climb up his neck at the thought of helping her remove that dress later, back at their home.

Breathing in her rosy scent, he liked the idea of having a home and a future with the lovely, lively, strong-willed girl. Garrett patted her hand where it rested lightly on his arm, excited to begin their forever together.

The pastor smiled at them both as he began the ceremony. Although Aundy had gone through the experience once before with Erik, she realized how different, how much more meaningful and blessed it was when the one you were marrying already held your heart.

Staring at Garrett through the lace of her veil, Aundy drank in the sight and smell of him. From the top of his dark hair to the tips of his polished boots, he was the embodiment of every single dream she’d ever had for a husband.

Reciting their vows, Aundy held out her hand as Garrett slid the ring on her finger through the slit in her glove then she slid a gold band onto his.

When Pastor Whitting announced Garrett could kiss his bride, he folded back her veil then locked his silvery gaze to hers. It was hard for him to believe that just a few short weeks ago, he thought he’d lost Aundy forever, and now she was his bride. His beloved, cherished bride.

Lowering his lips to hers, he kissed her more thoroughly than many would have deemed proper, making Aundy blush furiously and his mother smack his arm.

Grinning broadly, he wrapped his hand around Aundy’s waist as they turned to face those gathered to help them celebrate their nuptials. Leaning close to her ear, his breath on her neck stirred tendrils of her hair, making her shiver in anticipation of what was to come. “You ought to know, Mrs. Nash, that I’m just getting started with those kisses.”

Shooting him a smile over her shoulder, the look in her eyes made Garrett’s blood heat as it zinged through his veins. “I’m counting on it.”

###

White Cake

Here is a simple sheet cake recipe that Aundy would have used to make a basic cake. She may have covered it in frosting, served it with freshly whipped cream or topped it with fruit.

White Cake

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter

3 cups flour

1 cup milk

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan and set aside.

Beat eggs until pale yellow and light. Cream butter and sugar; beat in eggs and milk. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add to egg mixture and beat until well blended. Add vanilla and mix well.

Pour in the baking pan and bake until light brown on top and springy in the middle, about 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool before serving.

Butter Cookies

These cookies are simple and easy to make (especially with all our wonderful, modern conveniences). You can roll and slice them or drop them. The secret is to chill the dough so they hold their shape when they bake.

Butter Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup softened butter

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

In a small bowl, mix the flour and the baking powder, set aside.

Beat the sugar and softened butter separately in a large bowl until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add in vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Add the flour and baking powder mixture until the entire mixture is evenly blended. Chill until firm.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease the baking sheets lightly (or line with parchment). Keep your cookies about one-inch apart on the baking sheet. Bake for about 8 minutes or until cookies just start to turn brown. Remove from oven and cool on racks.

Books by Shanna Hatfield

FICTION

HISTORICAL

The Christmas Bargain

Pendleton Petticoats Series

Aundy

Caterina

CONTEMPORARY

The Coffee Girl

Learnin’ the Ropes

QR Code Killer

Grass Valley Cowboys Series

The Cowboy’s Christmas Plan

The Cowboy’s Spring Romance

The Cowboy’s Summer Love

The Cowboy’s Autumn Fall

The Cowboy’s New Heart

The Women of Tenacity Series

The Women of Tenacity – A Prelude

Heart of Clay

Country Boy vs. City Girl

Not His Type

NON-FICTION

Savvy Entertaining Series

Savvy Holiday Entertaining

Savvy Spring Entertaining

Savvy Summer Entertaining

Savvy Autumn Entertaining

Available Now!

Caterina – On the run from the Italian mafia in New York City, feisty Caterina Campanelli travels across the country to the small town of Pendleton, Oregon, trying to hide her past while she decides what to do about her uncertain future. Seeking comfort in her cooking, she battles her attraction to one of the town’s most handsome men.

Kade Rawlings is dedicated to his work as a deputy in Pendleton. Determined to remain single and unfettered, he can’t seem to stay away from the Italian spitfire who rolls into town keeping secrets and making the best food he’s ever eaten. Using his charm, wit, and brawn to win her trust, he may just get more than he bargained for.

Turn the page for an exciting excerpt from Caterina…

Chapter One

1899 – New York City

“Mamma, stop fussing. I’ll be fine.”

Caterina Campanelli forced a smile as she stuffed the last of her dresses in a trunk and attempted to slam the lid. Flinging herself on top of the bulging chest, she bounced a few times trying to hold the lid shut while her mother quickly fastened the latches and hooked the buckles over the leather straps.

Muttering a string of complaints in Italian, Angelina Campanelli shook her head in fear and frustration as she looked around her daughter’s bedroom. Everything the girl decided she couldn’t live without was hastily stuffed into trunks or bags and even now, she could hear Caterina’s five brothers loudly making their way up the stairs to carry the trunks outside to the waiting wagon.

“La mia bambina,” Angelina said, trying to hold back the tears stinging her eyes. “My poor baby girl. Isn’t there another way?”

“No, Mamma,” Caterina said, refusing to cry as her mother held her close. Letting her mother’s soft scent fill her nose, she wanted to memorize every detail about the woman in case she never saw her again.

The fragrance of lemon verbena and the scent of cinnamon would forever make her think of her mother. Rubbing her fingers along Angelina’s cheek, she drew back with a brave smile, casting to memory the feel of velvety skin.

She never wanted to forget the look of complete love and acceptance in her mother’s deep brown eyes. The youngest of six children, Caterina knew her mother spoiled and pampered her not only because she was the baby, but also because she was the only girl.

“I’ll miss you, Mamma, so very much, but I’ll be fine,” Caterina said, stepping back from Angelina and giving the room one last glance. Assured she packed everything she might need, she threw her arm around her mother’s slight shoulders and led her to the door.

Watching the morning’s first rays of sunlight filter through the lace-covered window, she inhaled the scent of roses from the sachets she’d made and stashed in her dresser drawers. Picking up her traveling bag, she gathered her purse and gloves, draped a shawl over her arm and said goodbye to the lovely room that had been hers since she was old enough to sleep in a bed instead of a cradle.

Without the time or energy to expend on thinking how painfully she would miss this house and her family, she strengthened her resolve to face her uncertain future bravely.

Hearing the clumping steps of men in the hall, Caterina pinned a smile in place and turned to look at her brothers as they entered the room.

“Mamma, must she take every single thing she owns?” Antonio grumbled as he hefted a trunk to his broad shoulder. “Can’t the little wench make do with a bag or two?”

Angelina smacked at her son’s arm, shaking her head as she hid her smile. “No, Tony, she cannot. You boys haul whatever she wants down to the wagon and be quick about it. If she decides to take the piano, then be ready to pack it, too.”

“Mamma!” Brando and Bruno, the twins of the family, protested while Alonzo and Carlo grinned. They each took a trunk or a bag and made a final trip down the stairs while Angelina waved them on.

As jovial as the boys seemed, Caterina knew it would be easy to forget the danger that awaited them all if things didn’t go according to her father’s hastily made plans.

“I’m so worried about you,” Angelina said, clinging to her daughter again, holding her so tightly Caterina thought her ribs might crack.

“Please, Mamma, don’t make this harder,” Caterina said, feeling her throat tighten with emotion. “You know I must do this. I must go and never come back.”

“I know, bambina, but you are taking a part of my heart with you,” Angelina said, swiping at tears she couldn’t contain as they rolled down her cheeks. “I love you, sweet Caterina.”

Caterina shook her head. “Mamma, I’ve never been sweet. Sassy, spunky, most often in trouble, but not sweet.”

Angelina smiled and kissed her daughter’s cheek. “You’ve always been sweet to me. Sweet and beloved.”

“Mamma,” Caterina said, feeling tears prick her eyes.

She blinked twice while her mother gave her a gentle nudge down the hall. “Hurry along to the kitchen. I’ll be right there.”

The Campanelli family owned a grocery store catering to the Italian community by stocking their shelves with products hard to find in America. Caterina lived above the store with her parents and two of her brothers, Tony and Alonzo. Carlo, Brando, and Bruno were all married and lived in their own homes nearby.

Entering the large, sunny kitchen, a long table was set for eleven and her three sisters-in-law were busy preparing breakfast. Swallowing back her tears, Caterina knew she would sorely miss being part of her loud, boisterous, loving family.

“Oh, Rina.” Brando’s wife, Natalia, reached out to pull her into a hug. The women soon surrounded Caterina as they hugged and cried and told her how much they’d miss her.

“I’ll miss you all so much, but we must stop,” Caterina said, grabbing a dishtowel to mop at her tears.

“But, Rina, what will we do without you around to keep things lively?” Bruno’s wife, Elena, asked as she rubbed her protruding belly. The baby was due in another month and Caterina refused to think about not being there to see her first niece or nephew.

Unable to speak around the lump in her throat, Carlo’s wife, Anna, squeezed her hand and offered an encouraging nod.

Caterina and Anna had been best friends for years, ever since the girl’s family moved in across the street and opened a dry goods store. Although Anna’s family came from England, they fit in well in the tight-knit community, or as tight as a community can be when it sat just beyond the edges of a slum where the mafia ruled.

Thanks to Anna and her family, Caterina had a glimmer of hope to escape the trouble the mafia would bring to the Campanelli’s door if she spent one more day in New York.

Taking a deep breath, Caterina inhaled the scent of spices that filled the kitchen with a mouth-watering aroma. She would never be able to separate the smell from home and family. In her mind, the two were inexplicably intertwined.

Convinced Caterina wouldn’t be able to find much of the specialty food carried in their store, Angelina carefully packed a trunk with supplies. It was her way of sending a taste of home with her daughter to savor when she was far, far away from those who loved her most.

Their family’s ability to create such wonderful tastes of Italy, combined with Caterina’s temper, got them into this mess in the first place.

Wishing she could go back and do things differently, Caterina realized that line of thinking wasn’t going to help her now.

Looking up as her mother hurried into the kitchen, she noticed something clutched tightly in the woman’s hand.

“You must take this, Caterina,” Angelina said as she fastened a pietra dura pendant around her daughter’s neck. “Take care of it for me.”

“But, Mamma, this belonged to your grandmother. I can’t take it,” Caterina said, holding the cool metal in her hand as she looked at the large piece of jewelry. The mosaic, cut from hardstones, featured a pink rose and leaves on a black background. Caterina always thought the piece was lovely, even if it seemed a little heavy.

Closing her fingers around Caterina’s, Angelina shook her head. “And now I pass it on to you. Someday you will have a wild, headstrong daughter who means the world to you and you will give it into her keeping.”

“Oh, Mamma,” Caterina cried, throwing her arms around her mother, convinced she’d never again embrace the woman in her lifetime. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, bambina,” Angelina said, frowning at her husband as he walked in the room. Hunched shoulders gave away his feelings every bit as much as the tension riding every angle and plane of his face. “Franco, isn’t there any other way?”

“No. It must be done. Soon, before we raise any suspicion,” Caterina’s father gave her a long, sad look before he washed his hands and stood at the table. When Caterina’s brothers came in, they all took seats and shared the morning meal together as a family.

While Natalia and Elena did the dishes, Angelina took Anna to her room to help her change her appearance. She was going to pretend to be Caterina, since she was close to the same height and shape. Although her dark hair didn’t hold the same midnight luster as Caterina’s, beneath a broad-brimmed hat, no one would notice.

Franco took his sons to his office and they returned grim-faced and quiet. Tony stood with a revolver tucked into a holster. Although he was the closest in age to Caterina and her favorite brother, he was also the biggest and strongest of the Campanelli men. There was no question of his ability to protect his sister, perhaps better than anyone.