Their Marriage Bargain
Carly Morrison’s father issued an ultimatum: get married or lose her ranch. But while she can rope and ride as well as any man, leading one to the altar is another matter—until newcomer Sawyer Gallagher suggests a marriage of convenience. Their arrangement might be a sensible solution to her predicament, but Carly’s growing feelings are a genuine complication.
Desperate to provide a home for his orphaned sister, Sawyer takes a chance on lassoing himself to headstrong cowgirl Carly. He’s convinced he’s too hardened by life to love anyone...until their union is threatened. Is it too late to turn this practical partnership into a real Big Sky family?
“Poor Jill. I can’t imagine losing both parents.”
“Even worse, she acted so badly that no one would keep her.”
“She was hurt and fighting her pain. That little girl is a fighter,” Carly said.
“I can never hope to replace the home she’s lost.”
Carly tried to not let it bother her that Sawyer spoke as if he was alone in this. She gently corrected him. “No, we can’t. But we can give her something else. A new beginning. A chance to learn that love is still an option.”
They had stopped walking and faced each other. He searched her gaze so intently that her eyes stung. She didn’t look away. Didn’t want to end this moment and prayed he would see that she included him in her hope of a happy future.
A smile began in his eyes and spread to his mouth. “Love is an option. That sounds very hopeful.”
She sensed an unasked question. Did he wonder if love was available to him? She’d married a stranger. Their agreement was to remain businesslike. But did he sometimes want more?
LINDA FORD lives on a ranch in Alberta, Canada, near enough to the Rocky Mountains that she can enjoy them on a daily basis. 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.
Montana Groom of Convenience
Linda Ford
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
and a light unto my path.
—Psalms 119:105
Dedicated to mothers who teach their children to find answers in the Bible, who help them commit verses to memory so that the Word guides their footsteps. My mother was such a woman and this book is especially dedicated to her memory.
Contents
Bella Creek, Montana, 1891
They were dead! His plan had been to deliver his eight-year-old half sister, Jill, to her mother’s cousin and her husband in Bella Creek. The local sheriff’s explanation that the couple had passed away several months ago had brought a stop to that idea.
Twenty-three-year-old Sawyer Gallagher stared at Jill as she devoured her breakfast. He didn’t know the first thing about little girls, nor what they needed. He didn’t even have a home. For years, he had wandered from place to place. Now what was he supposed to do with his little sister? He couldn’t take her with him on a cattle drive or even if he got a job as a ranch hand. That sort of life wasn’t suitable