geesh, I posted accidently without telling you about the book.

It's called The Chili Queen and written by Sandra Dallas.

It had so many twists and turns and the ending BLEW me away! 

The story has whores, robbers, gun slingers, dashing men, old maids...and all of the characters make this incredible story.

Sounds great. I just ordered it. Thanks for the suggestion.

I've read her book Persian Pickle Club and it was good.  Maybe I'll try this one as well.

Eve, have you ever read The Calico Palace by Gwen Bristow?  If you like the western genre with a lot of the human element thrown in, this is an excellent book.

I'm a little less than halfway through The Chili Queen and I love it. It's one of those books where you can't wait to see what happens but by the same token don't want it to end, kwim? Thanks so much for the recommendation.

Sandra Dallas is a great writer. While I enjoyed The Chili Queen, I loved two other of her books, The Diary of Mattie Spencer and Alice's Tulips.

Eve,

I ordered this book on your recommendation and I"m really looking forward to it :)

I just finished this book. What a lot of twists and turns. I figured out Emma and John and thought I had the whole thing figured out, but I had no idea about Welcome. What an enjoyable book.