Jeanne Hardt

Promise to Marry Jeanne Hardt

Twenty years have passed since the war between the North and South ended, and life in Cades Cove, Tennessee has somewhat returned to normal. Livelihoods have been rebuilt, families have once again grown, and everyone is striving to overcome the pain of loss. But the lasting effects of the war remain. Noah Henry is approaching his twentieth birthday and still lives at home with his folks and eight siblings. He struggles to find privacy, and as a grown man, he's ready for a family of his own. Years ago, he and Opal Jacobson made a promise to marry. However, Opal lives in Asheville, North Carolina, and seeing each other isn't easy. They've kept their relationship alive over the years through correspondence, but her letters have stopped coming, and Noah needs to know why. He decides it's time for an official proposal, so he sets off for Asheville, hoping she's as ready as he is to finally tie the knot. Opal has other ideas. She spends her days helping her father tend the general store; she's a business woman, not a farmer's wife. The thought of living anywhere else doesn't appeal to her, but a mysterious man, who arrives in town seeking employment, does. A promise is a promise. Yet sometimes, the best-laid promise may be impossible to keep.