Lilia's Haven — Kay D. Rizzo

Beautiful, willful, and adventurous, Eulilia Northrup of the Virginia Northrups felt no need for the God of her best friend, Serenity. Swept off her feet by the wily Wade Cooper, eighteen-year-old Lilia elopes, imagining a life of bliss and roses in her future. It does not take long, however, for her to discover the real reason Wade married her.After she makes this heartbreaking discovery and sees the hidden stash of precious coins he purloined from her father, she begs to go home. Before she can return, she receives a telegram from her brother informing her that their father has placed a $1,000 bounty on Wade's head. With jail awaiting him in Norfolk, Wade takes his bride aboard the Ohio River paddle wheeler Cameo, where they determine to head out to Independence, Missouri, to Serenity Inn ??? the gateway to the West ??? and to second chances.Along the way, Lilia experiences tremendous heartbreak, loneliness, and abuse before recognizing the serious consequences of the choices she has made. Life on the prairie is certainly harder than she imagined. While she longs for the peace that radiates from Serenity, she wrestles with trusting an invisible God.Lilia's Haven is the heartwarming story of a young woman who keeps running into the tender, forgiving love of her heavenly Father, while struggling to adjust to life on the untamed frontier.