Man on a Mission…
Nate Bohannan won’t let anything stand in the way of his grand plans in California. Even if it means traveling there with unreliable huckster Robert Salali. But after a destructive bender in Simpson Creek, Texas, the unscrupulous Salali runs out, leaving Nate to carry the blame—and the debt. He can fix broken furniture…but can anything fix the despair in café owner Ella Justiss’s eyes?
When her café was destroyed, Ella felt sure she’d lost her dreams along with it. Yet somehow Nate’s cheerful care and optimism fill her with hope again. Painful secrets from her childhood make Ella wary of men. When danger threatens, will Nate be the hero Ella can finally trust—and love?
Brides of Simpson Creek: Small-town Texas spinsters find love with mail-order grooms!
“I caught a fish! My very first!” Ella cried.
Nate couldn’t help but grin at her excitement. “Your papa never took you fishing?” he asked.
“No.” Nate knew by the way her lips tightened that he’d strayed onto dangerous ground.
“Well, now I have to catch up to you,” he said, keeping his tone light. “My honor as an experienced fisherman is at stake.”
By the time they left, they had a stringerful of fish. Ella had laughed and enjoyed herself more than he’d imagined her capable of. Had no one ever shown her how to have fun?
“Thanks for taking me.” She reached for the stringer. “I guess I’ll see you later…”
“Tsk-tsk, Miss Ella, did you think I was going to leave you with the nasty job of cleaning the fish after I had the fun of catching them with you?” Nate told himself it was mere chivalry, and not the fact that he wanted to earn more of her brilliant smiles.
She gazed up at him. “You’d do that for me?” she breathed, eyes wide and luminous.
“Sure,” he said, feeling as if there wasn’t much he couldn’t do under the effect of her grateful smile.
LAURIE KINGERY
makes her home in central Ohio, where she is a “Texan in exile.” Formerly writing as Laurie Grant for the Mills & Boon Historical line and other publishers, she is the author of eighteen previous books and the 1994 winner of a Readers’ Choice Award in the Short Historical category. She has also been nominated for Best First Medieval and Career Achievement in Western Historical Romance by RT Book Reviews. When not writing her historicals, she loves to travel, read, participate on Facebook and Shoutlife and write her blog at www.lauriekingery.com.
A Hero in the Making
Laurie Kingery
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
—Hebrews 13:2
To Tom, my own “jack of all trades” and master of many. I’m so lucky to spend my life with you!
And to Ella Lorene (Hill) Schroeder, my mother, for whom my heroine is named.
Contents
Chapter One
Simpson Creek, Texas
September 1869
“Could I interest you in a sandwich, cowboy? Maybe a bowl of chili?”
Ella Justiss didn’t like the look of the man who leaned on the counter, studying her instead
