Linda Ford - Montana Cowboy Family

Temporary Family

After discovering one of her young students has been abandoned along with his sisters, schoolteacher Sadie Young whisks them away to the safest place she knows—her own home. And when handsome cowboy Logan Marshal vows to assist her in caring for the children, she isn’t sure she wants his help...but she needs it. If she lets Logan get too close, though, he may discover the secret she’s convinced will be her ruin.

Logan Marshall isn’t looking for a family. But with the parentless children and their unflappable teacher tugging at his heart, it appears he has one—at least temporarily. The kids would like nothing better than to have a real mother and father, and with Logan slowly falling for Sadie, their deepest wishes just might come true...

“These children have been through so much. I wish I could track down the father and get things sorted out for them. They deserve to know where they belong.”

“And feel safe,” Sadie added.

“Agreed.” Logan’s gaze caught hers and held it so firmly she couldn’t look away. At the way he regarded her, the strength and goodness she saw in him and knew existed, her heart lifted. He lifted a hand to her cheek and brushed his fingers along the side of her face. “We will work together to make sure these children are safe.”

She leaned into his hand. Beth’s words reverberated inside her head. Too soon. Slowly she turned her head, forcing him to pull his hand back even though it was the hardest thing she had done in some time.

Not only was it too soon to think about opening up her heart to him.

It would always be too soon.

Dear Reader,

I once had someone look about at all the happy people surrounding him and comment that they must surely not have the same degree of sadness, problems and disappointments that his life had. But it isn’t so. Everyone has their share of problems and pain. It might be the death of a loved one or a crippling injury. In Sadie and Logan’s story, there are a number of hurtful, damaging events to deal with. I like to think they faced these things with honor, courage and dignity. I like to think they found God’s grace to be sufficient. I pray the same for those of you who have dreadful things to deal with.

You can learn more about my upcoming books and how to contact me at www.lindaford.org. I love to hear from my readers.

Blessings,

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 Cowboy Family

Linda Ford

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

—Proverbs 2:6 (NIV)

I dedicate this book to my dear friend Brenda, who daily faces difficult things but does so with unfailing dignity and grace. She’d be the first one to say it’s because of God’s sufficiency and her dependence on Him.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

About the Author

Title Page

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

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Bella Creek, Montana, 1890

Logan Marshall stared at the place where he’d left his lunch. The sack was gone. The second day in a row. Stolen. The muscles in his jaw bunched. Nothing bothered him worse than any form of dishonesty. His stomach rumbled. How could he work without food to fuel his strength? And Grandfather would expect Logan to be working. The school wasn’t finished. As a Marshall and grandson of the founder of Bella Creek, Logan had to do his share and had been assigned the task of rebuilding the schoolhouse. It, along with all the buildings in that block, had burned to the ground during the winter.

Following the fire, the doctor and teacher had left, requiring the town and the Marshalls to find replacements. The doctor’s residence and office had been rebuilt already and Logan glanced at the new building next door where Dr. Baker and his daughter, Kate, lived and worked. Kate had brought her friend, Isabelle Redfield, with her, and Isabelle had since married Logan’s brother, Dawson.

He shifted his attention across the street to his uncle’s mercantile store. The new teacher, Sadie Young, presently held classes in the back room of the store, but every day she crossed to her living quarters in the rear of the schoolhouse. Grandfather had decided her rooms should be finished before completing the classroom, saying it wasn’t suitable for her to continue living in the hotel.

Daily, as she made her way from the store, she stopped to see how much progress had been made on the rebuilding. He understood she was in a hurry to have her students moved into the school, but he couldn’t rush the work if he wanted it done right.

Besides those daily visits, he’d met her several times since she had come to Bella Creek with the others. Sadie Young was about his age with brown hair, a perfect oval face, hazel eyes like late-summer leaves, and healthy-looking skin. Not a bad-looking woman, but she was so shy he wondered how she managed to teach. Something about her shyness triggered a protective note in him, which he managed to quell.

He wasn’t interested in her for any reason. He might be only twenty-two, but he had learned enough lessons about women to last a lifetime and to make him completely wary of them. He rocked his head back and forth. Once he’d been enamored of a woman he considered to be ideal. She’d seemed so sweet and innocent. He’d been shocked to learn she had questionable morals. She’d teased him into following her to the nearby rough town of Wolf Hollow, where he’d thought he could protect her, but he ended up trapped by his shame and her continued deceit. Learning that his ma lay on her deathbed had brought him home, and he’d promised Ma he’d never fall into such a trap again. Later, after Ma’s death, when Logan was what he considered to be a mature eighteen-year-old, he met a woman and her daughter when they moved into the boardinghouse. The girl seemed like a gentle young lady. She went to church with him and attended the family dinners. But it turned out she was part of a gang and was setting up a robbery. Worse, even, she was married to one of the robbers.

He figured it would take a lot for him to ever again trust a woman. Even more for him to trust his own judgment.