You did it! We figured this one out! It is a truth universally acknowledged (by me for certain) that the Bitchery pretty much knows everything, and really, it's true. Scroll down to see the solution for this HaBO - and many thanks!
This HaBO is from Margaret, who is looking for a book with…a lot of features. LOTS of features.
I am looking for the name of a book I read ages ago – back in the 90s, but the book was definitely written in the 80s. Totally loved and hope to read it again or at least find out the author and see what else she wrote. 🙂
Anywho. Details: the novel is set in Texas. The main characters are two women, half sisters, but did not grow up together as one was the daughter of the mistress. They look very similar, but one is meek and the other feisty. I believe their names are Rachel and Eden (not sure on this).
Their father dies and the mistress’s daughter ends up with money while the legitimate daughter gets nothing due to bad investments. They both attempt to come to terms with each other and their father’s death and of course fall in love – Rachel with Eden’s lawyer and Eden with a oil rigger/gambler named MCrea (I think) who has a notable feature – a pinkie with a short tendon. This is how he realizes that Eden’s daughter is his because she hides her pregnancy from him…
That’s all I can remember, but I hope it is enough!!
So, short pinkie fingers, inheritance drama, and surprise sisters – well, hello there, the 80s! Do you recognize this book? Help a Bitch Out!
Heiress by Janet Dailey?
Do shortened pinkies act like pregnancy divining rods? One learns something new every day!
This won’t help in the search, but I think your hero suffers from Dupuytren’s Contracture.
However, if that’s true, I don’t think the science is correct. I’m not entirely sure that its genetic, it’s ten times more likely to occur in males, and it doesn’t generally show up until later in life.
So there: Trivia!
It’s definitely “Heiress.”