Keturah by Lisa T Bergren

Their father has died in the West Indies and now Keturah is the oldest in the family.  The farm her father was managing over there hadn't made any money for a couple of years and he had used up their capital trying to improve the farming techniques.  They'll lose the home they are living in if it continues.  So she's going to the West Indies to manage the farm and find a new overseer.  But she's not going alone.  No matter how she tries to talk them out of it, her two sisters come with her...

Bethany House Publishing sent me a copy of this book to read for review (thank you).  It has been published so you can buy a copy now.

The West Indies is run by men.  They have no respect for women.  If she wants to keep the farm, she needs to marry one of them and let them run it.  Keturah is defiant.  She was married once and he abused her.  She will not let a man tell her what to do again.  When no one will work for her as overseer, she mentions it to one of her Negroes on the farm.  The lady takes her to meet her brother.  He's a freeman and has his own small plot.  She offers him wages, a share of the crops and room and board.  He takes the position.  Now she's pissed off the men even worse.  Negroes are less than women, they treat them like animals.  She's not done doing things her way.  When the overseer gets beat up and Keturah gets threatened, she starts carrying a knife with her.  So do her sisters.  With no law to speak of, you have to protect herself.

The other part of the story is a couple of budding romances.  Keturah's old childhood friend owns the farm next door and they go into a partnership.  He hopes that will keep her safe and that she might come to love him someday.  Her younger sister is being dated by the ship captain that brought them to the islands.  It's not going to be long before all the sisters in this family find their loves.  Keturah is just the first.