The Golden Rush

Book 1: Hearts of Gold

by Ariella Talix

Genres: Historical Fiction; Historical Romance; Polyamory Romance; Western Romance; Erotic & Steamy Romance

Synopsis

Exhausted, starving, and fretting about her ailing father, Adeline Hart disembarked in San Francisco after a harrowing sea voyage. The last thing she needed was immediate marriage proposals from multiple men. Women, at that time, were as scarce as hen’s teeth.

Jasper Langley, handsome and dark with sadness in his eyes, and Royal Dawson, who personified sunshine with his golden glow, provided the comfort that Adeline needed. Everyone else was rushing off to the gold fields or trying to carry her away.

Jasper and Royal forged a special bond during their treacherous overland journey to California. They arrived before gold was discovered. Luck and hard work made them extremely wealthy men.

San Francisco was lawless and wild. The ramshackle shanty town quickly became the fastest growing city in North America. Tremendous opportunities existed for ambitious people to succeed. The unscrupulous also flourished.

There were times when it was necessary to be reckless and daring just to survive—for the good as well as the wicked.

No one was safe. Including Adeline.

This dramatic romance is a steamy MMF love story filled with danger and suspense.

Release date: April 5, 2022

Publisher: Ringmaster Publishing

Print pages: 320

Content advisory: explicit sex, MM MMF MF sex, violence

Sample

Chapter 1  

San Francisco, California, 1850

 

Royal Dawson clapped his best friend on the back, a grin split his handsome face in two. “It’s going to be a fine hotel, Jasper. All we need to do is help Isaac build some more furniture, outfit the kitchen properly and hire one of the cooks we’ve spoken to. People will start lining up to stay here.”

Together they admired the fine brick building. It was sturdy and substantial looking compared to the many tents and ramshackle buildings around the city.

“I hope so,” answered Jasper Langley. “I can’t wait to lie my head on something softer than the floor or the hard ground finally.”  He smiled at Royal and added, “We’ve earned it!”

Laughing, Royal replied, “I seem to remember you using me for a pillow more than once. Don’t tell me you’re turning soft.”

“Well, there’s nothing soft about you. I may have ended up with my head on your chest a time or two, but it’s as hard as a rock. I probably just drifted over because I was cold.”

Royal snorted good-naturedly. “I never minded.”

Smiling, Jasper turned away from the freshly painted sign over the hotel entry and faced the harbor. His eyes lit up as he exclaimed, “Look, Royal, a ship is arriving. This one looks like a cargo ship! Let’s grab the wagon and see if we can purchase anything important for the hotel.”

They were off in a flash.

***

As the two friends made their way down the pier that jutted a long way out into the harbor, they could tell by the hoard of men crowding the rail of the ship that the Wind Gypsy had to be a cargo ship as they’d hoped. There were no families or obvious passengers aboard—just some rough-looking sailors who wanted to disembark in the worst way. They shoved and cursed at each other to get to the gangway first.

Royal chuckled and said, “These rascals certainly look like they’ve traded sea sickness for gold fever. So many hopeful arrivals every day, and they don’t even know they’re still over a hundred miles from any mining sites.”         

Instead of agreeing, Jasper suddenly grabbed Royal’s arm and asked, “Do you hear that?”

Through the cacophony of the cheering and cursing men, they could barely hear the voice of a woman pleading for help. It was coming from the Wind Gypsy.

“What is the matter with these fools?” hollered Royal as the two men fought their way through the riot of men thundering down the gangway and spilling into the pier. The dock was so overcrowded it creaked precariously beneath their feet. Finally, the mob thinned enough for them to climb up and board the ship. And what they saw took their breath away.