Big Sky Daddy

For His Son’s Sake

Caleb Craig will do anything for his son, even ask his boss’s enemy for help. Not only does Lilly Bell tend to his son’s injured puppy, but she offers to rehabilitate little Teddy’s leg. Caleb knows that getting Teddy to walk again is all that really matters, yet he wonders if maybe Lilly can heal his brooding heart, as well.

Precocious little Teddy—and his devoted father—steal Lilly’s heart and make her long for a child and husband of her own. But Lilly learned long ago that trusting a man means risking heartbreak. Happiness lies within reach—if she seizes the chance of love and motherhood she never expected…

Montana Marraiges: Three sisters discover a legacy of love beneath the Western sky

“I’ll take good care of Teddy. We all will,” Lilly said.

“He has a special fondness for you.”

The words melted her heart. “And I for him.”

Caleb touched her hand and rode away. He lifted his hat at the crest of the hill and waved to her. She waved back and stood watching until he was out of sight.

He would return tonight, just as he said.

Because of Teddy, she reminded herself. Not because of her.

She would not expect any man to return to her. That led only to disappointment and pain. As Rose had pointed out, she’d learned that lesson at a very young age and she’d had it reinforced throughout her life.

She was more than content living on the farm with her family, tending the garden and the animals. But she’d accept the company and care of Teddy and his father for a short time, even knowing it couldn’t last.

The pain would be worth the joy of the moment.

LINDA FORD

lives on a ranch in Alberta, Canada. Growing up on the prairie and learning to notice the small details it hides gave her an appreciation for watching God at work in His creation. Her upbringing also included being taught to trust God in everything and through everything—a theme that resonates in her stories. Threads of another part of her life are found in her stories—her concern for children and their future. She and her husband raised fourteen children—four homemade, ten adopted. She currently shares her home and life with her husband, a grown son, a live-in paraplegic client and a continual (and welcome) stream of kids, kids-in-law, grandkids and assorted friends and relatives.

Big Sky Daddy

Linda Ford

www.millsandboon.co.uk

He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay,

and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

—Psalms 40:2

My father taught me many things: how to shoot a gun, how to drive a car, how to find fossils in a gravel bed, how to recognize the constellations in the sky, but most of all, through his example, he taught me how a noble, kind man should act. This book is dedicated to his memory.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Bar Crossing, Montana Fall 1889

Did he hear gunshots? Caleb Craig jerked toward the window. “Listen.” He held up his hand, trying to cut short the storekeeper’s detailed description about the young woman who had stepped out of the store as Caleb and his son, Teddy, went in.

“Lilly Bell,” the storekeeper had said. Twin sister to Rose, the two were the least alike, though to be sure, both were sweet and generous and loyal. Their parents were elderly, but that didn’t mean they were feeble. Oh, far from it.

A series of pops convinced Caleb someone had set off firecrackers. They were not as deadly as gunshots, but they were enough to start a dangerous chain reaction.

Before he reached the window, Caleb knew it had already started. Several women screamed. A deeper voice called out. The rattle and creak of wood and harnesses signaled frantic horses.

“You stay here,” he ordered five-year-old Teddy, and then raced through the door.

The young woman, whose virtues the storekeeper expounded on even as Caleb hustled out of the shop, wrestled with a rearing horse hitched to a swaying wagon. Packages and sacks tumbled out the back. A redheaded woman raced toward the struggling gal. That must be the twin sister, Rose. An older man hobbled across the street toward them while other people huddled on the sidewalks, watching but doing nothing.

Caleb saw it all in one glance as he jumped to Lilly’s side and grabbed the harness, his hand right next to hers.

“Steady there,” he ordered, his voice stern yet kind—something animals understood.

Breathing raggedly, the horse allowed Caleb to pull his head down. Still holding tight to the animal, as was she, Caleb turned to the young woman. The name Lilly suited her. Blond hair, unblemished skin, blue eyes flashing like lightning.