Cheryl Reavis - Harrigan's Bride

Cover Page

Praise Praise for Cheryl Reavis’ previous historical romances The Bartered Bride “Several hankies and a comfortable corner are a must.” — Rendezvous 1992 RITA Award Winner The Prisoner “A Civil War novel that manages to fill the reader with warmth and hope.” — Romantic Times “A thrilling page-turner…” — Rendezvous

Excerpt “Are you…married, Thomas?” Abby asked abruptly. “What?” he said, because the question caught him completely off guard. “Guire wrote us you were engaged. Did you marry her?” “No, I didn’t marry her,” he said, surprised that the letter he had written to Guire advising him of his matrimonial intent had actually reached him. “Good,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to die…coveting someone else’s husband.” He frowned, thinking that he had misunderstood, and she suddenly smiled. “Poor Thomas. I’ve scandalized you…haven’t I? I know you always thought…I was a child. Do you…mind very much?” “Mind?” “That I…love you?” “Abby—” “Don’t look so worried, Thomas. Nothing…is required of you. I’m only confessing because I’m dying…” “You’re not dying—so you’d better watch what you say.” She smiled slightly and whispered, “I don’t mind…dying so much…now…”

Dear Reader Dear Reader, This holiday season, we’ve selected books that are sure to warm your heart—all with heroes who redefine the phrase “the gift of giving.” We are absolutely thrilled about Harrigan’s Bride, the new Civil War romance from the immensely talented Cheryl Reavis. Cheryl has received the prestigious RITA Award, not once but three times, twice for her contemporary romances for Silhouette and once for her Harlequin Historical novel The Prisoner. In her latest, Thomas Harrigan returns from war and chivalrously marries the bedridden, abandoned daughter of his late godmother. Don’t miss this heart-wrenching story! Be sure to look for A Warrior’s Passion, book nine of Margaret Moore’s medieval WARRIOR SERIES. Here, a young woman is forced into an unwanted betrothal before the man she truly loves—and whose child she carries—can claim her as his wife. Territorial Bride by Linda Castle is the long-awaited sequel to Fearless Hearts in which a cowgirl and an Eastern rogue prove that opposites attract. Their love is tested when Missy is seriously injured… Rounding out the month is The Shielded Heart by rising star Sharon Schulze. Set in eighteenth-century Europe, this is a gripping tale about a warrior who learns to accept his special psychic gift as he teaches an enamel artisan about life and love. Whatever your tastes in reading, you’ll be sure to find a romantic journey back to the past between the covers of a Harlequin Historical® novel. Sincerely, Tracy Farrell, Senior Editor Please address questions and book requests to: Harlequin Reader Service U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269 Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

Title Page Harrigan’s Bride Cheryl Reavis www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author CHERYL REAVIS, award-winning short story author and romance novelist who also writes under the name of Cinda Richards, describes herself as a “late bloomer” who played in her first piano recital at the tender age of thirty. “We had to line up by height—I was the third smallest kid,” she says. “After that, there was no stopping me. I immediately gave myself permission to attempt my other heart’s desire—to write.” Her Silhouette Special Edition novel A Crime of the Heart reached millions of readers in Good Housekeeping magazine. Both A Crime of the Heart and Patrick Gallagher’s Widow won the Romance Writers of America’s coveted RITA Award for Best Contemporary Series Romance the year they were published. One of Our Own received the Career Achievement Award for Best Innovative Series Romance from Romantic Times Magazine. A former public health nurse, Cheryl makes her home in North Carolina with her husband.

Dedication To Kelly Jamison, Juliette Leigh and Cait London. Thank you, ladies. What would I do without you?

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

Chapter Seventeen

Epilogue

Copyright

The Bartered Bride

“Several hankies and a comfortable corner are a must.”

— Rendezvous

1992 RITA Award Winner

The Prisoner

“A Civil War novel that manages to fill the reader with warmth and hope.”

— Romantic Times

“A thrilling page-turner…”

— Rendezvous

“What?” he said, because the question caught him completely off guard.

“Guire wrote us you were engaged. Did you marry her?”

“No, I didn’t marry her,” he said, surprised that the letter he had written to Guire advising him of his matrimonial intent had actually reached him.

“Good,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to die…coveting someone else’s husband.”

He frowned, thinking that he had misunderstood, and she suddenly smiled. “Poor Thomas. I’ve scandalized you…haven’t I? I know you always thought…I was a child. Do you…mind very much?”

“Mind?”

“That I…love you?”

“Abby—”

“Don’t look so worried, Thomas. Nothing…is required of you. I’m only confessing because I’m dying…”

“You’re not dying—so you’d better watch what you say.”

She smiled slightly and whispered, “I don’t mind…dying so much…now…”

Dear Reader,

This holiday season, we’ve selected books that are sure to warm your heart—all with heroes who redefine the phrase “the gift of giving.” We are absolutely thrilled about Harrigan’s Bride, the new Civil War romance from the immensely talented Cheryl Reavis. Cheryl has received the prestigious RITA Award, not once but three times, twice for her contemporary romances for Silhouette and once for her Harlequin Historical novel The Prisoner. In her latest, Thomas Harrigan returns from war and chivalrously marries the bedridden, abandoned daughter of his late godmother. Don’t miss this heart-wrenching story!

Be sure to look for A Warrior’s Passion, book nine of Margaret Moore’s medieval WARRIOR SERIES. Here, a young woman is forced into an unwanted betrothal before the man she truly loves—and whose child she carries—can claim her as his wife. Territorial Bride by Linda Castle is the long-awaited sequel to Fearless Hearts in which a cowgirl and an Eastern rogue prove that opposites attract. Their love is tested when Missy is seriously injured…

Rounding out the month is The Shielded Heart by rising star Sharon Schulze. Set in eighteenth-century Europe, this is a gripping tale about a warrior who learns to accept his special psychic gift as he teaches an enamel artisan about life and love.

Whatever your tastes in reading, you’ll be sure to find a romantic journey back to the past between the covers of a Harlequin Historical® novel.

Sincerely,

Tracy Farrell, Senior Editor

Please address questions and book requests to:

Harlequin Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269