Love On The Line by Deeanne Gist
This story was a good read about a phone operator during historical times. Georgie is unlike most women her age. She’s young and independent. She works for a phone company and lives alone in her cottage. She also has a fascination with birds. She’s determined to make the town see that birds should not be shot down and used solely for their feathers and bird parts. A local milliner uses the bird parts for hats, and this incenses Georgie, making her angry and sad. The birds are like her personal companions. They nest in her back yard and she even sits still as a statue, so still that the birds flutter to her, eating right out of her hand.
Luke, a troubleman for the phone company, is really a Texas Ranger whose real name is Luscious who’s working undercover. He’s determined to capture Frank Comer, a well-known and respected bandit who robs trains with his gang. Frank has slipped away from Luke one too many times and Luke’s boss has stated if Luke doesn’t catch him this time, he’ll be taking him off the case. Determined to capture Frank, he accepts his undercover job, which puts him into direct contact with Georgie on a regular basis. Georgie works alone in her cottage – the phone equipment is set up in her living room and her cottage belongs to the phone company. Luke arrives, stringing phone wires high on the telephone poles. Attracted to Georgie, he is bothered by her weird personality. Why would she cry because a bird has been killed? He sees her deep connection to the young creatures, not fully understanding why she loves the the birds so much.
The attraction between the two of them literally snaps off the page. As they spend more time together, getting to know one another, Luke is face with a choice..he’s a Texas Ranger, he’s not in the market to get married. His job would take him too far away from his family. He finds himself falling for Georgie while he gets close to some of the townspeople – people who may be connected to Frank Comer. Frank is rumored to be living in the area, which is why Luke was assigned to this particular town.
I thought this book had an interesting premise, seeing the way the phone was used and operated in historical times. It’s also refreshing to see a historical where a woman is independent, living alone, supporting herself. Georgie thinks that she can do anything a man can do, a woman shouldn’t be treated as a second-class citizen. There’s also a highly-unusual twist that happens near the end, it’s a twist that I was NOT expecting!
This was a great, enjoyable read and I look forward to reading more books by this author. The characters were so well-developed and believable. Both Luke and Georgie suffered from great loss as children – losses that molded and affected the lives they lead as adults.