Patricia Johns - The Lawman's Runaway Bride

Winning the Lawman’s Heart

Forced to work with the woman who left his brother at the altar five years ago, police chief Chance Morgan must also face his own guilt. Sadie Jenkins’s return to town stirs feelings he thought he’d buried along with his soldier brother, who died overseas. Almost kissing Sadie the night before her wedding was a mistake—one he won’t make again. For Sadie, planning a remembrance ceremony for the town’s military men will help build her event-planning business. But working with Chance is bringing up all the emotions she once ran from. Is she ready to finally take that leap into the future...with him?

PATRICIA JOHNS writes from Alberta, Canada. She has her Hon. BA in English literature and currently writes for Harlequin’s Love Inspired, Western Romance and Heartwarming lines. You can find her at patriciajohnsromance.com.

Also By Patricia Johns

Comfort Creek Lawmen

Deputy Daddy

The Lawman’s Runaway Bride

His Unexpected Family

The Rancher’s City Girl

A Firefighter’s Promise

The Lawman’s Surprise Family

The Cowboy’s Christmas Bride

The Cowboy’s Valentine Bride

The Triplets’ Cowboy Daddy

Her Cowboy Boss

A Baxter’s Redemption

The Runaway Bride

A Boy’s Christmas Wish

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

The Lawman’s Runaway Bride

Patricia Johns

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08032-3

THE LAWMAN’S RUNAWAY BRIDE

© 2018 Patty Froese Ntihemuka

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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“It was a crush, I thought—”

“Maybe a bit more than that.” Chance shook his head. “You two fell in love, and I sorted out my feelings privately. That’s how I do things, if you hadn’t noticed.”

And she’d spent years cozying up to her future brother-in-law, never realizing how difficult she was probably making it for him.

They were silent for a few seconds, and Sadie’s heart welled with regret. He met her gaze once more, and she saw a flicker of a smile on his face.

“And now?” she asked hesitantly.

“Sadie, that’s all in the past,” he said. “Just a little nostalgia. It’s under control.” Those blue eyes met hers once more, then he heaved a long sigh. “Trust me on that.”

“Okay.” She nodded.

“So back to business.”

She had questions, but she wasn’t even sure what they were right now, or if she should ask them. She sucked in a wavering breath and looked at her notes.

“Yes, back to business.”

Dear Reader,

I hope you enjoy this story about fresh starts, true love and God’s guidance. If you like my Love Inspired novels, you may also enjoy my previous releases from the Harlequin Western Romance and Harlequin Heartwarming lines. All of my books are sweet romance, which means that it never goes beyond a kiss and the focus is on the emotional experiences of the characters instead of the physical. While the other lines don’t include my faith overtly, they are still written by the same Christian author.

If you’d like to connect with me online, you can find me on Facebook or on my website ( http://PatriciaJohnsRomance.com), where you’ll find all my releases listed.

I’d love to hear from you!

Patricia Johns

Every wise woman buildeth her house:

but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

—Proverbs 14:1

To my husband and our son.

Life is so much sweeter together!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

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

Epilogue

Extract

Chapter One

Chance Morgan tucked his chief-of-police hat under his arm as he jogged up the worn wooden staircase to the second floor of Comfort Creek’s town hall. He rubbed a hand over his short-cropped sandy-blond hair. There were times he thought it was working with the mayor that had caused the premature gray at his temples. He was five minutes early for his meeting with Mayor Scott, and he was dreading it already.

Mayor Eugene Scott was planning a remembrance ceremony for the four men from Comfort Creek, Colorado, killed in the military over the last five years. The mayor’s son was one of them, as was Chance’s fraternal twin brother, and since both Chance and Mayor Scott had someone close to them die overseas, the mayor figured they wanted the same thing.

He was wrong, of course. Chance was a private man, and while he grieved his brother deeply, he didn’t like having to do that in front of the entire town. Regardless, when the mayor summoned, the chief of police showed up—he glanced at his watch—four minutes early.

“Good morning, Chief.” Brenda, the middle-aged secretary, shot him a smile from her desk. Her hair was tucked behind her ears, along with a pen, and she was clicking through something on her computer screen that seemed to be absorbing most of her attention.