Spirit of the Winds — Judy Kentrus

Boston 1849                                                                                                                Cadell Leighton's dream is about to come true. He's worked hard to gain the knowledge to captain a new design in sailing ships. Spirit of the Winds, the latest addition to Leighton Shipping, will prove his claim to deliver cargo in record time.  Wagers are heavy against him that he won't make it back to Boston harbor alive.      His command of the ship is contested by a Boston society chit who causes unforeseen calamity in his life.  Backed into a corner, he's forced to sacrifice his cherished freedom. The different moods of the sea won't be the only thing that will challenge his command and his heart.   Katherine Jameson hates the prim and proper life of a society deb. She's being pressured into honoring a marriage contract that her mother has arranged to an undesirable clod old enough to be her father.  Her dream has always been to go to sea, following in the footsteps of her father, captain of a sailing ship. When she discovers her late father, who died under mysterious circumstances, made her part owner of a magnificent clipper, she sees it as a chance to fulfill her dream. When these strong-willed characters are forced into a marriage neither of them wants, the storms won't only be confined to the seas.  They'll also have to work together to get answers to the questions behind their father's past lives before they can get their much deserved, happily-ever-after.