Margaret F Carr 
To Have and Hold 

Theasoya Thomson is a woman struggling to hold onto her small business and family against mounting odds. When her small riding stable is attacked by vandals she is grateful for the help of a stranger. When more deadly things begin to happen, Thea searches for a reason. Adam Berrisford and his daughter are searching for a home. His in-laws are suing for the return of their granddaughter. Desperate he offers Thea a marriage proposal to resolve both their problems. Thea is warned to ‘look for a stranger nearer to home’ when Adam and his daughter move into the farmhouse. Then a neighbour informs her that her troubles can be laid at the door of Adam himself, the stranger she has trusted with her life and that of her business and family.