Loving the Enemy — Anne Conley

The year is 1865 and The Civil War is officially over, but tensions are still high as everyone tries to get back to normal. Emily Evans and her mama, Rachel, are waiting for their men to come home. They've spent the last two years doing whatever it takes to hold on to their Texas farm, so when a passel of Union soldiers makes their way through on their way back to the North, the women find a possible solution to keeping their land out of the bank's hands. The last battle of the war, a fruitless skirmish at Palmito Ranch, was Isaack Ward's last chance for a death of honor. When he survives the futile conflict the North lost, he and his men can only begin the long journey home. The last thing he expects is to fall ill and wake up to a loving gaze and halo of golden curls. Recuperating on a farm somewhere in east Texas, Isaack realizes he has nothing to go home to and only love and comfort where he is. Emily's sunshiny demeanor and caring outlook provide visions of a future he hadn't thought he deserved. When Emily receives word her future husband isn't coming home, she allows herself to acknowledge the emotions evoked by the quiet soldier with the dangerous eyes evokes. Can she learn to love the enemy?