Rancher Wants a Wife
A marriage to save them both…Among the responses Cassandra Hamilton receives to her advertizement as a mail-order bride, one stands out–Jack McColton's. The last time she saw him, she was a carefree girl, but tragedy has made her a cautious woman.Jack is mesmerized by his new bride–Cassandra might bear the scars of recent events, but she's even more beautiful than he remembers. They both have pasts that are hard to forget, but under the cloak of night, can their passion banish the shadows forever?Mail-Order WeddingsFrom blushing bride to rancher's wife!
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âWelcome to my valley.â
There went her nerves again. Cassandra couldnât get enough of looking at the new Jack. Goodness. Wasnât he handsome? Perhaps he knew it. Perhaps this new confidence she sensed in him came from being aware of how he was perceived by the women around him. And those women ⦠they had such fine features and beautiful skin.
It hurt to remember that sheâd once looked like that. That sheâd once turned heads and garnered male attention.
She composed herself and tried to remain positive. Jack hadnât asked anyone else to marry him; he had asked her. So Cassandra focused on what the future with him might bring, and gave him a cheerful nod.
âNice to be here finally.â
âYes, finally,â he said, as if he were thinking about something more.
She swooped down to inhale the perfume of the roses, hoping the colour heating up her cheeks didnât show.
Finally, after all these years, Jack McColton would be taking her virginity.
Kate Bridges invites you to her
MAIL-ORDER WEDDINGS
From blushing bride to rancherâs wife!
The Great Fire of Chicago might have changed
best friends Cassandra Hamiltonâs and Natasha OâSullivanâs lives for ever, but theyâre determined to carve a new future for themselves as mail-order brides in the West.
Then along come their Stetson-wearing, gun-slinging, breathtaking new husbandsâit seems Cassandra and Natasha have got a whole lot more than they signed up for!
Read Cassandraâs story in:
RANCHER WANTS A WIFE
And look out for Natashaâs story
WELCOME TO WYOMING Coming April 2014
Award-winning and multi-published author KATE BRIDGES was raised in rural Canada, and her stories reflect her love for wide-open spaces, country sunshine and the Rocky Mountains. She loves writing adventurous tales of the men and women who tamed the West. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Kate worked as a paediatric intensive care nurse. She often includes compelling medical situations in her novels. Later in her education she studied architecture, and worked as a researcher on a television design programme. She has taken postgraduate studies in comedy screenwriting, and in her spare time writes screenplays. Kateâs novels have been translated into nine languages, studied in over a dozen colleges on their commercial fiction courses, and are sold worldwide. She lives in the beautiful cosmopolitan city of Toronto with her family. To find out more about Kateâs books and to sign up for her free online newsletter please visit www.katebridges.com
Previous novels by the author:
THE DOCTORâS HOMECOMING
THE SURGEON THE ENGAGEMENT THE PROPOSITION THE CHRISTMAS GIFTS THE BACHELOR THE COMMANDER KLONDIKE DOCTOR SHOTGUN VOWS KLONDIKE WEDDING KLONDIKE FEVER WANTED IN ALASKA HER ALASKAN GROOM ALASKAN RENEGADE
Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk
This book is dedicated to my family for their loving support and for always coming through with their sense of humour.
In writing this story I owe many thanks to my fabulous editor, Carly Byrne, for her talented editorial input and advice. Iâd also like to thank Linda Fildew for her support, and the entire team in the UK offices for their friendliness when I came to visit and their dedication behind the scenes.
I would like to thank my marvellous agent, Erica Spellman Silverman, for her enthusiasm and guidance, and the whole team at the Trident Media Group. Itâs a great pleasure to work with all of you.
Contents
Chapter One
Chicago, February 1873 Mrs. Pepikâs Boardinghouse for Desolate Women
âWhat if my husband doesnât like me? What if I donât like him?â Cassandra Hamilton leaned forward at the crowded dining table. Her blond braid dipped over her shoulder as she lifted a stack of letters from her would-be grooms.
A dozen other chattering young women jostled around her to read the names and notes.
All these men, thought Cassandra, interested in her?
âDonât worry so much, my dear. Wedding jitters are normal. Especially since youâll be our first mail-order bride.â The landlady, plump Mrs. Pepik, peered down her spectacles at Cassandra and patted her hand.
A nearby fireplace sizzled with the last of the ice-covered logs they had rationed for this evening. The warmth penetrated Cassandraâs cracked leather boots.
âYouâre pleasant and...and wholesome.â The landladyâs eyes flickered over the scar on Cassandraâs cheek before she politely gazed away from it. âHeâll like you.â
Cassandra ran her hand along her right cheek, wondering if sheâd ever be comfortable again with her own looks. Sometimes when she was alone and immersed in a task, she blissfully forgot about the burn injury, but in the presence of others, their curiosity and sympathy rarely allowed her that freedom.
