Twice a Texan - A Journey of Undoing (In the Borders of Paradise Book 1)

A Historical Family Saga of Hardship, Courage and New Beginnings

Texas, 1928. When Mary Gaines is abandoned by her husband, she is left penniless, homeless and responsible for three young children in a community where scandal is not easily forgotten. Forced to depend on reluctant relatives and weakened by illness, Mary must fight to survive while her children grow up beneath the weight of a disgrace they did not create.

As the years pass, hardship tests the Gaines family in different ways. Gossip, poverty and judgment shape their early lives, but so do resilience, sacrifice and an enduring determination to build something better. When the possibility of a new beginning draws them west to Los Angeles, Mary and her children discover a world far removed from central Texas—and the difficult truth that rebuilding a life sometimes means leaving the past behind.

Twice A Texan: A Journey of Undoing by James W. White is a sweeping historical family saga about survival, belonging and the strength required to begin again. It is the first book in the In The Borders of Paradise series.

Discover Twice A Texan and begin the Gaines family’s journey from hardship toward a new life

Excerpt from the book

Her fever broke after three days, and when Mary woke, she was alone and shivering. A blanket lay on the floor, and her mattress was wet. The hospital gown had untied and lay rumpled across her legs. A ring of bed curtains was open to the windows at the foot of her bed. Dust, illuminated by dull winter sunlight, floated in front of the windows. It must be midday, she thought. Somebody ought to be around.

She lay quietly and concentrated on controlling her claustrophobia by breathing slowly. She knew if she cried out, it would only make matters worse. Better to wait and calm down. Someone will come. When her breathing came easier, she tried to move, but leather restraints held her waist and legs to the bed. They were not tight, but they frightened her.

She released the waist restraint buckle, sat up, and rearranged the gown. After patting down her tousled hair, she drank some water from a glass sitting on the bedside table and splashed a handful on her face. "There," she whispered. "That's more presentable." A rush of dizziness stopped her when she tried to release the leg restraints.

Her first words spoken out loud grated against her throat like sandpaper. "Can somebody please help me?" The weak voice didn't sound like her own. While she waited, she stretched her stiff joints and told herself her strength was coming back.

A nurse carrying a glass and a towel drew back the curtain. "Well, don't you look as frisky as a lamb's tail in June." She picked up the dropped blanket and lay it on the bed. "Looks like you’re getting your color back. How're you feeling?" Eyeing Mary intently, she replaced the empty glass and took her temperature.

"Better, I think," Mary sputtered with the thermometer under her tongue. "I'm a little hungry, and my bedding is damp. I musta spilled something."

"You've been real sick. We were worried about you… There," the nurse said after reading the thermometer. "You're on the mend now. Let me take these leg straps off. We'll change that sheet, and I'll get you a little something to eat right quick."

The next day, Mary opened her eyes when someone nearby cleared their throat. When she focused, her brother Stan stood at her bedside holding a bowl. He had on his sweat-stained straw hat, but below his neck he was wearing clean bib overalls over a starched plaid shirt and collar, an ensemble Mary knew was insisted upon by his wife, Willie. His typical frown, accentuated by a look of abject discomfort, bore down upon her like a heavy, dark cloud.