Once a Bride

A collection of 4 previously published novellas now in one book. THE GINGERBREAD BRIDE Maddie Sinclair loves Harlan Calhoun and would do almost anything to secure his attention for her own, including trading her second best dress for a bag of herbs guaranteed to make him fall in love with her. But after baking them into a batch of gingerbread cookies, Maddie has an attack of conscience. Too late, Harlan eats the cookies and immediately proposes. Now, Maddie has to confess the truth and hope that Harlan understands. Harlan swears he loved Maddie before he ate the cookies, but how can she accept his proposal knowing what she does?THE WILDFLOWER BRIDE Grace Sinclair's life is all planned. As the eldest daughter to a widowed father, it's her responsibility to help him care for his church and congregation in Calico Falls. It's all part of God's plan. Just as it is part of God's plan for her younger sister to marry her long-time love. But when Grace catches sight of Harlan's best man, she starts to wonder if working with her father is exactly what God wants from her. Ian McGruer is taking a new job as soon as he returns to New York. It's the job he's dreamed of since he became the assistant pastor at one of the largest churches in the area. But one look at Grace Sinclair and he falls hard and fast. Can he convince Grace that her place is at his side, or will she remain forever in Calico Falls?NOT SO PRETTY PENNY Penelope Pinehurst didn't reach the ripe old age of twenty-five without knowing what the townspeople call her behind her back: Not So Pretty Penny. So when her neighbor declares his eternal love-citing her beauty among her many attributes-she knows he can only be after her family's land. With her father and brothers still not home from the war, Penny needs a husband to help her save the farm. But in a country still in recovery, marriageable men are in short supply, leaving her only one choice. George Washington Brannock is slated to hang for murder, never mind that he was framed. Only the pouch of gold delivered to the sheriff allows him to walk free. Well, almost free. He still has to marry the homely woman who paid for his life. She may have saved him from the gallows, but he's not staying with her forever. He'll help her plant her crops, then he's off to find the man who killed his sister. Penny knows that Wash is looking for revenge, but she only needs him until her family comes home. Yet with each passing day the hope that her father and brothers will return safely dwindles. Despite her optimism and faith, she begins to believe that she's all alone in the world. All alone except for her husband. The more time she spends with Wash, the more she starts to care for him. She might not be pretty, but she's smart enough to know that when he leaves she'll end up heartbroken. Wash soon learns that God has given him a second chance. He finds himself not only wanting to stay and farm the harsh Kansas prairie, but falling in love with his wife. Then the killer shows up at the farm and Wash has to choose between the wife he never wanted and the justice he deserves.NO GREATER TREASURE After five years in the California mountains, Birdie Banks longs to return to civilization. Her father is gone and mining camps are no place for a lady alone. With the help of her Asian manservant, Lin Sing, Birdie hires Jedidiah Evans to escort them down the mountain and back to her fiancé. Making sure a tiny woman and Chinese man get off the mountain safely will be too easy. Jed is almost embarrassed to take her money, but when they are set upon by would-be thieves the truth comes out: Birdie is transporting a fortune in gold. Jed hates everything about gold. He lost his brother on the mountain looking for a way to save the family ranch. But like gold, love is strange and treasure is in the eye of the beholder. Soon Birdie will have to choose between the treasure she has always known and the one God sent especially for her.