The Scout's Bride
Jack Bellamy Could Strike Fear In The Toughest HeartBut the widow Emerson could hold her own against any man - even a brawny giant in buckskins, though in truth, his blue-eyed glance had her considering his offer of protection with a lot more than coldhearted interest.Rebecca Emerson Had A Stubborn Streak A Mile Wide Yet army scout Jack Bellamy saw the delicate prairie rose beneath the prickly exterior. Someone had to convince her that the western frontier was no place for a woman alone, and it looked as if he was just the man.
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Table of Contents
“I’m not jealous.” She was
astounded by his presumption.
“I don’t mind jealousy,” he went on, as if he had not heard her. “It’s indifference that pains me.”
“You’re about to feel some real pain,” she warned ominously.
He yelped when she applied the alcohol to his arm. Kneeling beside him again, she placed a pad on the wound to cushion it. Her fingertips felt soft and cool against his skin as she wound a length of gauze around his arm, tying it expertly. But she never met his eyes.
“I don’t know what to make of you, Rebecca Emerson,” he murmured, reaching out to cup her chin in his big hand.
“Nor I, of you.” She looked at him at last.
“Then we’re starting even,” he whispered, tracing the line of her lips with his thumb before he bent to kiss her….
Dear Reader,
Everyone at Fort Hayes, Kansas, expected Rebecca Emerson to return East when her husband died. But Rebecca was determined to remain on the frontier, even if it meant accepting the help of the rugged army scout who had become her unwanted protector. Kate Kingsley’s new Western, The Scout’s Bride, is a marriage-of-convenience story you won’t want to pass up.
USA Today bestselling and multiaward-winning author Ruth Langan’s new series, THE JEWELS OF TEXAS, moves into full swing with this month’s Jade, the story of a small-town preacher who surrenders his soul to the town madam. Don’t miss this wonderful story from one of our readers’ all-time favorite authors.
This month’s Lady Thorn, from Catherine Archer, the story of a Victorian heiress who falls in love with a sea captain, is—in the words of the reviewer from Affaire de Coeur—”impossible to put down.” And Josh Colter and Alexandria Gibson discover they are both looking for the same man in Susan Amarillas’s new Western, Wyoming Renegade. Susan’s last two books have won her 5
Whatever your taste in reading, we hope you’ll keep an eye out for all four titles wherever Harlequin Historicals are sold.
Sincerely,
Tracy Farrell
Senior Editor
Please address questions and book requests to: Harlequin Reader Service
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To Denny,
my husband, my best friend
and the hero of my own story
KATE KINGSLEY
loves to write historical romance. And having been raised in south Louisiana, she certainly has the background to bring history to life. Kate, who now lives in the San Francisco Bay area, has a strong background in advertising and media. She also does volunteer work at a local hospital, enjoys reading, biking and especially traveling—whenever she can find some extra time. With her daughter in college, Kate has a bit more time to spend with her husband, an actor and television announcer whose sexy voice can be heard on numerous network and cable programs.
Author’s Note
In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the government of the United States built a string of forts across the frontier.
Fort Chamberlain could have been one of them.
Arid and constant, the wind swept in from the prairie. It whistled between the buildings of Fort Chamberlain, snatching the tune from the instruments of the regimental band, nearly drowning out the clatter of the returning cavalry. Gusts raised dust devils and snapped the tattered flag, but did little to cool the sweltering afternoon.
At the flagstaff, trail-dusty soldiers halted and presented themselves to the garrison commander while onlookers cheered. On the verandas of Officers’ Row, women and children gathered to scan the forward ranks for beloved faces.
The blackclad widow who watched the company’s arrival from the edge of the parade ground did not linger to see its dismissal. Though glad for the joyful reunions that would follow, she could not bear to watch them. Squaring her slender shoulders, Rebecca Hope Emerson walked briskly toward the post hospital.
Three wagons had drawn up in front of the infirmary. Nurses, all enlisted men, poured out to assist the walking wounded while litter bearers moved among the wagons. The shouting and activity unsettled the teams, causing the mules to lurch in their traces and bray loudly, adding to the pandemonium.
Through swirling dust, Rebecca saw Doc Trotter, the civilian contract surgeon, in one of the open wagons, directing the bearers.
“Westfield, Farina, step to it! And be gentle,” he bellowed at two “mill birds” or guardhouse prisoners, who had been drafted into hospital duty. “These are wounded men, not sacks of potatoes.”
