Marci’s Desire

Luck’s latest historical western (after Rimfire Bride) follows a brash, sometimes naïve heroine from Washington, D.C.’s elite circles to the plains of Wyoming. Young socialite Marci Winters is attending Wells College in 1895 New York when she meets Cadet Cade McDowell during a weekend trip to West Point. After a truly memorable weekend, Marci and Cade lose touch and she goes home to D.C., where the vice-president’s mother catches her kissing her smarmy beau, Stanton Caldwell. Marci’s father ships her off to Wyoming, where she meets Cade again, who’s been stationed there. As Marci and Cade rekindle their romance, he discovers her independent spirit and wonders whether she would be willing to become an army wife. Their romance is fueled by mutual lust, though a lasting permanent relationship is hampered by their differing social statuses and Stanton’s threats. Though Marci and Cade’s fateful encounters feel somewhat contrived, the overall plot is well developed and nicely garnished with historical figures. Agent: Frank Weimann, the Literary Group. (June)