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BY ANY MEANS

A binding contract…five determined nuns…and a runaway French beauty – riverboat gambler, Brennen Benedict has just been dealt a full house, and his queen of hearts holds all the cards. 

 With the Mississippi River his playground, ex-Confederate Cavalry Captain now affluent gambler, BRENNEN BENEDICT lives life by his own rules – until a winning hand saddles him with the deed to a ramshackle Kentucky plantation. Refusing to be tied down, his quick sale is thwarted by Ursuline nuns who hold a lien on the property. To satisfy this obligation and rid himself of the burden, Brennen is forced to fulfill a contract made by the previous owner and provide the nuns with bricks for their new orphanage from a kiln on his property. Annoyed and unable to hornswoggle himself out of this mess, Brennen agrees to the sly Mother Superior’s terms, as well as allowing one of her ‘nun’s’ to oversee his brickmaking progress until the commitment is fulfilled.

Charged with a murder she did not commit, French-born beauty ANNABELLE SWAN is forced to flee Philadelphia. Offered safeguard by the kind-hearted Ursulines of St. Joseph, she disguises herself in their black-and-white garb and travels with them to Kentucky. On a riverboat en route, she bumps into Brennen, a gambler as charming as he is generous. However enticed she may be, his devilish nature assures her he’s a man best kept at a distance. Once they reach their destination, Annabelle hires an attorney to prove her innocence while she assists with the nuns. Her plans to keep a low profile are shattered when the abbess assigns her to oversee the brickmaker’s progress. Frustrated by the turn of events, she struggles with her ever-growing fascination for the wicked rogue who represents everything she despises in life.
From the first moment they met, Brennen is suspicious of Annabelle – for the captivating minx with soft, womanly curves and a worldly attitude is like no other nun he’s ever known. Regardless of his doubts, when her true identity is revealed, his attraction for her escalates, vexing him as much as do her dangerous secrets. He damns the draw, determined to return to the riverboat…Still, the needs both try to deny blaze ever hotter. They’re swept into a fiery passion…Until Annabelle’s greatest secret is unknowingly exposed. Can Brennen win the most-important game he’s ever played to save his little minx? Or will the gamble cost Annabelle her life? 

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Let our fingers do the talkin’ …

Posted Apr 16 2018, 5:50 pm

Speaking of nail polish, did y’all know the habit of ‘decorating the fingernails’ originated way back in 3000 BC China?

Yep. And unlike the stuff we use today, the ingredients were henna, beeswax, egg whites, gelatin, & even vegetable dyes. Society ranking, ‘specially In Ancient Egypt, was determined by which ‘coloring’ was used on the nail…the lower class often wore nude and light colors, while the upper crust chose blood red [no wonder red manis are so iconic].

In 1878, a forward-thinking entrepreneur named Mary Cobb opened America’s first manicure parlor & she even held the monopoly on creating the world’s FIRST emery board with her then husband, J. Parker Pray. What began as a small shoppe called “Mrs. Prays Manicure” soon blossomed into popularity. By 1900, Mrs. Cobb [who’d divorced Pray by then & resumed using her maiden name] had become one of the largest female owned & managed business IN THE WORLD!

Yep, throughout history, nail polish has played a crucial role in a woman’s life, but, we modernists can thx the invention of the car, or more specifically, the car’s PAINT, for our current trend of bright colors. In fact, a non-color ‘clear coating’ was even introduced in 1916. But, we must thank a small company called Cutex who in 1917 became the first commercial nail polish brand.

And in 1932, its competitor company, Revlon, released a lacquer that used pigments, rather than dyes that would ‘stain’ the nail bed. Stylish ‘flappers’ flocked to these colors in droves!

My real nails are weak & brittle, so I use acrylics & THIS TYPE of ‘fingernail coating’ debuted in 1978 when a dentist named Fred Slack, Jr. broke his index nail while at work which led to him creating a “temporary replacement” out of aluminum foil & dental acrylic that he had on hand. The new ‘nail’ worked & looked quite stylish, so his brother, Tom Slack, took the process one step further & patented a successful acrylic version of the material, which ultimately led to a new business called, Patti Nails.

But, the most expensive nail polish ever made costs a whopping $250,000 a bottle. And the color? Black Diamond King, ’cause it’s made with 267 carats worth of black diamonds. Holy Moly!!!! Miley Cyrus & Kelly Osborne love & wear the color, along with several other celebrities! All-in-all, however, there are THIRTEEN “types” of nail polish finishes: shimmer, micro-shimmer, micro-glitter, glitter, frost, lustre, crème, prismatic micro-glitter or shimmer, iridescent, opalescent, matte, duo-chrome, & translucent. In an unopened bottle, nail lacquer will last indefinitely…but, once that slender brush is pulled out & air reaches the paint…you’ve got only TWO YEARS to use your color ‘for weird things start working on the compound. So…there you have it, Klatchers – Yep, NAIL POLISH is all the rage…to the tune of over $758 million dollars a year…& now YOU know the history of how the whole idea began! Hmmmm…I’m thinking OPI’s ‘Pinkin’ of YOU’ — How ’bout y’all? Woohoo!

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