The past is about to catch up to the women of Carlisle Crossing, and it will take a miracle to right the wrongs of the past and heal the broken bonds of love too long neglected by the family living in God's Country. Come along for the ride in this debut novel by Lea Ann Lewis. On the Wings of the Morning is the first book in The Women of Carlisle Crossing series.
Located in the hill country of Texas is the close-knit community of Carlisle Crossing. Eighteen-year-old Maura Carlisle is the beloved daughter of Robert and Malissa Carlisle. Moses Morgan, better known as Poppy, is Robert's right-hand man, foreman of God's Country, the Carlisle ranch. Having no family, Poppy becomes a grandfather figure to the Carlisle children, Rory and Maura. It is Poppy who, like it or not, dubs her Peeper just days after Maura's birth.
When Peeper and her arch nemesis, Gwen Flanders, are accepted at the same women's college back East, trouble ensues. The mix of Maura's Carlisle stubborn determination and Gwen's penchant for gossip stirs up conflict seemingly wherever they go. At the end of their first term, both young women return to Carlisle Crossing-Maura with questions and Monique with an agenda.
Maura soon wrestles with doubts regarding her return to Britemour. Then she is offered a position assisting the new pastor, Jon Marc Moultrie, a handsome young man from South Carolina. At first, she prejudges him to be a soft Easterner. He views her as too young. Though neither is very experienced in their new positions, Maura and Jon Marc soon fall into a comfortable friendship.
With the arrival of Uncle Jesse, her father's younger brother, and the beautiful LarkAnne, it isn't long before Peeper is given more to contemplate-turning more lives than Peeper's upside down. Will there be a future for Maura and Jon Marc? Why has the younger Carlisle couple returned to GC ranch after so long? And what is the secret that neither Carlisle brother nor their wives want revealed?
This is the first in a series but may be read as a Stand-Alone novel. In the following books, characters introduced in this novel will become primary characters, or will play supporting roles. Although adult topics and themes are present in this series, there is no explicit sex or profanity, except for the occasional 'damn' or 'hell' used to create authentic characterization. This series emphasizes Christian values, although not in a 'preachy' manner. If you are looking for wholesome, uplifting reading, this is the series for you.
