The Magnificent Clara - Brides of Lazarus County Book Eight

Lazarus County has yet to be tamed. There’s drought, bandits, and natives to contend with. People have moved out there hoping to better themselves, have a chance at the kind of life they could never hope for back East. The town of Gilgamesh, the county seat, offers plenty of people second chances. One of those people are Harry Payton, a baker, and Clara Smith. Clara Smith is an acrobat. Her stage name is ‘The Magnificent Clara’ and she performs her tricks on horseback and on the trapeze. But she is not really happy with her life on the road, and when she meets Harry Payton, she begins to wonder what life in a small town, with a good husband and family, might be like. But her father and brother do not approve – mostly because they do not want to have to train someone else to take her place in their act, though they claim it is because they believe she will come to miss their life as circus folk aren’t made to stay in one place. She and Harry write to one another, and their bond grows. Harry’s bakery is doing well – but he is prepared to give it all up to follow the circus if Clara truly does not want to give up her act. Clara wishes she had the courage to tell her family that she wants nothing more than to be Harry’s wife.