Her Secret Suitor
When six-time mail-order bride Winifred Sattler is stranded in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, sheâs grateful to find a temporary position at Mr. Ewan Burkeâs business until she can return home. Ewan is handsome, but stuffy and seriousâher complete opposite. Unlike her new anonymous correspondent, Mr. Businessman, who appreciates her bubbly optimism.
To keep his mining company afloat, Ewan canât be distracted by Winifredâs vivacious beauty. He needs a no-nonsense wife. Someone like Miss Thoroughly Disgruntled, the only respondent to his recent ad with whom he truly connected. In person, Winifred and Ewan donât get along, but in their letters theyâre falling in love. Will they discover a perfect match in each other?
JANETTE FOREMAN is a former high-school English teacher turned stay-at-home mom with a passion for the written word. Through her romances, she hopes people see themselves as having worth in Godâs eyes. When she sneaks in time for hobbies, she reads, quilts, makes cloth dolls and draws. She makes her home in the northern Midwest with her amazing husband, polydactyl cat, bird-hunting dog and the most adorable baby twin boys on the planet.
Also By Janette Foreman
Love Inspired Historical
Last Chance Wife
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk
ISBN: 978-1-474-08442-0
LAST CHANCE WIFE
© 2018 Janette Foreman
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
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âYouâre certain these are all the sales youâve made?â
âYes.â
She pointed to each name, but Ewan averted his gaze. Three sales.
âThis man, Arnold Pickling, needed a screw to hold the chain on his arrastra. Do you know what an arrastra is, Mr. Burke? Mr. Pickling told me all about them.â
Irritation built in his gut. âI know what an arrastra is, Miss Sattler.â Sighing, he rubbed his hand down his face. âI used one before I built up the mine.â
The mine. The years of defending his claim, of mining gold along the creek in the beginning, battling the rain and the snow. Of building the store, the kitchen and his office. The fight to make a living. The desire to be more than a failure to his father.
What if he lost it all?
Miss Sattler placed her hand on his forearm, jarring him out of his thoughts. âEverything will work out, Mr. Burke.â
Slowly he met her gaze. âThank you,â he murmured.
She smiled. A nice smile. Genuine. Warm. For all her faults, Miss Sattler wasnât malicious. Heâd do well to respect her, even if her personality grated on his patience.
As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
â1 Peter 4:10
Dear Reader,
The idea of a heroine âsix times ordered but never a brideâ intrigued me, so when I finally got my chance to write her story, I had so much fun! It was a joy visiting the Lead-Deadwood gold mines last summer for research, even if I was experiencing morning sickness while pregnant with my twin boys. My mind came alive as I traveled the damp, dark drifts, imagining Ewan fighting to save the Golden Star...and dealing with Winifred as she jumbled his well-laid life with her unorthodox ways and unending optimism. Two real Deadwood staples are mentioned in the storyâSol Star truly was the postmaster, and the notorious and deplorable Gem Theater really employed women tricked into working there. I always wanted someone like Ewan to give down-on-their-luck people a second chance. Iâm thankful to know that with Jesus, we all can have that chance at redemption.