A Business Arrangement
When the railroad pushes to buy her land, orphaned Cameron Sims will do anything to keep the only home she and her sisters have ever known. Even if she must marry a stranger. But she’s determined her agreement with the mysterious, dashing man—who’s unlike anything the Kansas railroad town has ever seen—will remain simply business.
Duncan Murray doesn’t want a wife. He wants Sims Creek, a sanctuary that can help him forget a troubled childhood. But his reluctant, and captivating, bride-to-be is key to making his dreams a reality. And despite their business arrangement, Camy and Duncan might be signing on the dotted line for true love...
“Get your stuff and get off my land.”
“Your land?”
“That’s right, mister.” Camy rooted her feet in place.
He swayed toward her, one corner of his mouth curving upward as if he knew something she didn’t, then held out his hand. “Duncan Murray.”
The earthy scent emanating from him assaulted her senses, catching her off guard. The name suited his towering height and brawny muscles. If she pulled on her memories she could hear tales spun by her mother and could almost imagine him brandishing a sword in the plaid buried at the bottom of her mother’s trunk. His name was strong and true to his heritage.
“I dinnae care who you are, Mr. Murray.” She allowed her own accent, faded through the years, to thicken as she straightened her spine and propped the butt of the rifle against her shoulder. “I do not want to shoot you, but I will if I must.”
“I have no wish to be shot.”
Born and raised in Kansas, where she currently lives with her husband and children, CHRISTINA RICH loves to read stories with happily-ever-afters, research, take photos, visit the ocean, write stories with happily-ever-afters and talk about her family and Jesus.
The Negotiated Marriage
Christina Rich
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”
—Acts 10:34–35
Mom and Dad, thank you for being some of my biggest fans. Thank you for believing in me.
Love,
Chris
Contents
Rusa Valley, Kansas
Spring 1867
“Hold it right there!” Camy Sims drew a bead on the man lying down at the bank of the creek, his feet dipped in the water. She eased the bucket to the ground. How dare anyone trespass on their land? Her land, given that Uncle Hamish disappeared with the wind and her sisters Ellie and Mara seemed to have other things in mind like carriage rides and frilly dresses. Not Camy. She didn’t have aspirations for anything other than staying right here on Sim’s Creek and enjoying the solitude of country life. A solitude sorely interrupted by a man who refused to acknowledge her presence. “I said,