The Rancher’s Marriage of Convenience Read online

  THE RANCHER'S MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE

  Brides of Inspiration Book 2

  By

  MAYA STIRLING

  A Reawakening Faith and A Test of True Love

  1875

  Determined mail order bride, Rosalind Grover makes a near fatal mistake but escapes before her life is ruined.

  She takes refuge in the small Montana town of Inspiration. But now she can't leave.

  And it looks like she must agree to marry a rancher who probably won't find her suitable as a wife.

  Devout rancher, Gideon Buchanan knows it is his turn to find a wife if he is to prevent his family losing everything.

  Time is running out.

  But, he can't accept just any woman as his wife.

  He needs someone devout. Just like him.

  One barrier stands in the way.

  Why is it that the beautiful woman who has walked into his life has almost lost her faith?

  As forces descend upon the town, Gideon must act to claim his wife. And Rosalind must choose between her past and a future with the handsome rancher of the Circle Cross.

  Can Gideon lead Rosalind back to the faith she once abandoned? And can they both find true love?

  This is the second in a new series of FULL LENGTH inspirational Christian historical western romance novels about the Buchanan family of ranchers.

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  © 2018 Maya Stirling

  Dear Reader

  I hope you enjoy reading this novel. I wanted to write a novel which tells an inspirational story of one man guiding the woman he loves back to a real faith in God. I also wanted to show how a true love for God, and following His will, can bring hope back into life.

  If you would like to know when the next novels in the Brides of Inspiration series become available please sign up for my new release email announcements.

  The next novel will be The Rancher's Second Chance Bride.

  Thank you for reading

  Maya

  Just click here to sign up

  CHAPTER ONE

  1875

  Rosalind Grover knew she had to leave. And fast. If she was to survive.

  She huddled on her single bed in the tiny room of the boarding house, feeling the chill of the night begin to fade from her bones. Darkness. It would be light soon. Early morning. She hadn't slept well. The only consolation was that this would be her last night in this place. Her nightmare would soon be over.

  Rosalind sat up, shivered and gazed out through the small window at Helena, Montana. Rosalind told herself she didn't belong here. She should never have come to this town so far away from her home back East.

  She heard soft movements from within the boarding house. People were waking up. Soon there would be activity. That would make what she had to do very difficult. Almost impossible.

  This wasn't what she had expected when she had taken the train from out East to Montana. From what she'd been told in the letters prior to her departure, she'd expected something much more comfortable.

  A nice home. A respectable man she would soon come to call her husband. A man who, one day, she could come to love. And then there would be children. Hopefully, lots of them.

  But, there was no hope of any of that here. No hope at all.

  Jesse Brown, the man Rosalind was due to marry in a few hours time in the middle of the morning was anything but respectable. And the home where his new mail order bride would live was in one of the worst parts of town.

  No. This wasn't what she'd come out here to do. She had to leave. Before it was too late.

  Jesse had lied to her. It was that simple. When she'd stepped off the train seventy-two hours ago, he had been there, on the platform, smiling warmly at her. Welcoming her. And, at first he had been really quite pleasant. He was a decade older than Rosalind's twenty-two years. He had a mature manner about him which made him seem older than his years.

  His physical appearance had also taken her aback. From his letters, she'd expected him to be mature, even dashing, perhaps elegant. Jesse was none of those things. If anything he had the appearance of having lived a hard, rough life. Rosalind had hidden her disappointment as best she could.

  But, then he had taken her to his part of town. Here. Where the boarding house was situated within walking distance of Jesse's residence. He'd settled her in this rundown boarding house as a temporary convenience. She figured it was his attempt to maintain at least some respectability before the wedding. His own tiny apartment in a grubby apartment block had nothing elegant about it. It was rough and dirty. Everything she despised.

  Visiting the apartment had been Rosalind's first inkling that she had made the biggest mistake in her life. After allowing her some time to settle in, Jesse had taken her for dinner. But not in one of the finest restaurants in Helena. Their first meal together had taken place in an eatery that could barely be described as a restaurant.

  It had been a hurried meal, during which he'd stated his expectations of the marriage and of Rosalind herself. He'd told her she would be expected to look after him and his home. That she would be expected to work. And that, if children came along, she would look after them unaided by him.

  And, to make matters even worse, it had quickly become obvious that she had been lied to about one important matter. In his letters, Jesse Brown had claimed to be devoutly religious. And, even though Rosalind's own faith had been weakened by the recent tragedies in her life, she had taken heart from the fact that her husband-to-be would treat her kindly and with love.

  But, after only a short time in his company, Jesse had declared that he had no time for God. No time for faith. He'd known too many hypocrites in that regard. That revelation had shocked Rosalind to the core.

  It had quickly become clear to Rosalind that the man she had agreed to marry as a mail order bride, the man she had travelled hundreds of miles to meet, was nothing but a tyrant in waiting.

  It had taken a mere forty-eight hours for her to come to the conclusion that marriage to Jesse Brown was impossible.

  So now, huddling alone, in the dark and the cold, she knew she had to run.

  Rosalind gazed at her suitcase, already packed and set next to the door. From downstairs she could hear voices. Other residents of this grubby, filthy house. Even the smell of her room made Rosalind feel ill. There was a damp, musty odor in the air. It clung to her skin and made her feel as if there was no hope.

  But Rosalind had been brought up to be a fighter. In everything in life, her deceased father and mother had taught her that the most important thing in life was to never give up.

  Rosalind put on her coat and took hold of her suitcase. Luckily it wasn't too heavy. She had planned to send for more of her things after she had married. But there would be no need of that now, she told herself.

  Rosalind opened the door and listened. From the foot of the rickety staircase she could hear the voice of the owner of the boarding house. Lily was almost as much a tyrant as Jesse Brown. Lily ran the place with ruthless efficiency. At night there were strange noises. Perhaps this place housed secret nighttime activities, about which Rosalind preferred to remain ignorant.

  She walked slowly along the lamplit corridor and paused at the head of the st
airs, clutching the banister with a hand which shook nervously.

  Rosalind peered down toward the bottom of the staircase. She saw movement as Lily and one other woman walked from the dining room and into the sitting room. If you could dignify those dirty, untidy rooms with such a description.

  A sudden quiet descended upon the house. Rosalind placed one foot on the top step. As she did so, she heard the sound of the front door opening. Then a male voice called out and Rosalind froze, fear sliding up the length of her spine.

  Jesse!

  "Hello there, Lily," she heard him cry out.

  Rosalind moved quickly back into the shadow of the landing, pressing her back against the wall. From downstairs she could hear Jesse and Lily talking. Rosalind heard Lily asking Jesse why he'd come this early. Jesse replied, with slightly slurred words, that he'd come to see his bride to be. That he couldn't wait any longer.

  Jesse was drunk, Rosalind told herself. Why did that not even surprise her? But, worse than that, any moment now he would be walking up those stairs. And then what? If he saw her trying to escape what would he do? Fear gripped Rosalind, tightening a fist around her heart.

  She thought quickly about what she could do. She had to make it to the train station before seven o'clock. That was when her train was scheduled to leave.

  Rosalind knew only one other way out of the building. There was a wooden staircase at the back of the building. It led down to an alleyway at the back. She'd discarded that solution earlier, worrying that it might be too dangerous. But now she knew she had no other option.

  She followed the corridor until she came to a window. Lifting it, she felt the chill morning air rush in. She peered down into the darkness. It was only one flight down, but the stairs looked perilous.

  From behind her, she heard footsteps on the staircase. Jesse was making his way up. It was now or never, Rosalind told herself.

  Grasping her case, Rosalind maneuvered her way out onto the narrow flat wooden platform. Carefully, and as fast as she could without falling, she stepped gingerly down the staircase, holding tightly onto the wobbly railing. She had to lean in against the wall to make sure she didn't fall. Once, the weight of her case, pulled her to one side and she was sure she would fall. But, she managed to hold on.

  Finally, she was in the dark alleyway. She rushed to the end of the alley and paused, peering out. All she could see were a few horse-drawn carriages and some passers-by.

  From upstairs, inside the boarding house, Rosalind heard a loud roar. Jesse's angry voice spilled out into the alleyway. He'd found her room empty!

  Rosalind raced out into the street. She knew her way to the train station. It was a mere ten minute walk from the boarding house. But only if she walked fast. And that was exactly what she intended to do.

  She moved quickly. More than once, she tumbled, almost falling over her case. But she hurried on, desperate not to miss the train which would take her back East.

  Back to safety.

  She'd already bought her ticket, using all the money she had left hidden in a secret compartment in her suitcase. Rosalind's father had taught her that this was a dangerous world. One that could ruin someone in an instant. Especially a pretty, young woman.

  So, before he had died, her father had counseled her to always make sure she had the resources to take care of herself. Just in case her choices didn't turn out the way she expected. Well, that was most certainly the case now, she told herself. She was glad of his wise advice.

  The few people who passed her, gave Rosalind curious looks. She was starting to feel light-headed with her exertions, when she saw the train station. She rushed into the station and saw the train standing on the platform, steam gushing out from beneath its wheels.

  She halted on the platform and dug into her purse, searching for her ticket. But it wasn't there. Her breath stuck in her chest, she peered at the guard who had his hand outstretched.

  "Ticket?" he asked.

  "I haven't got it," she gasped. "I bought it yesterday, but I can't find it.'

  The guard frowned. Rosalind figured he must hear that story every day of the week. But it was true. Where had her ticket gone? She was sure she had put it in the purse. She opened her suitcase and hurriedly searched for it. But there was no sign of it.

  "The train's leaving soon, ma'am," the guard announced.

  Rosalind dug into her purse and found a small amount of money. She looked at the money and gasped. Not enough to get home to the East. She'd used her last dollars to buy that ticket, and now she couldn't find it!

  In the corner of her purse was a small sheet of paper, tightly folded. She frowned as she lifted the paper out and opened it up. It was a copy of a small letter she'd received from another agency, after agreeing to come and be Jesse Brown's mail order bride. That had been arranged by another agency, one that Rosalind now knew couldn't be trusted.

  This letter was from someone called Sophie Cameron in a town called Inspiration. Rosalind recalled reading the letter. It had detailed how brides were wanted in an upcoming little town, a good distance from Helena. Rosalind had received that letter on the very day of her departure and had hurriedly stuffed it into her purse.

  Rosalind read the letter again, quickly, aware that the guard was watching her impatiently.

  An idea started to form in her mind. She looked at the guard, holding up her remaining money for him to look at.

  "Will this get me to Inspiration?" she asked.

  He examined the money and nodded. "Sure. But it won't get you any further than that."

  "Right," Rosalind exclaimed and rushed over to the ticket booth. She slammed the money down on the counter and peered through the metal bars at the man inside. "One ticket to Inspiration, please," she said firmly.

  CHAPTER TWO

  "There's a new gal in town," Gideon Buchanan heard his brother Zane announce. Zane drew his horse to a halt and Gideon did the same with his mount. "I was talking with Sheriff Nathan, and he said the newcomer is already shacked up at the Cameron house," Zane continued. "Seems she came in on the train yesterday. And she had a letter from Sophie. Said she was looking to make a new start."

  Gideon lifted a brow. "That's nice," he said, trying to sound disinterested.

  "You should go and meet her," Johanna Buchanan said brightly as she circled the two men on her own horse. Gideon wasn't surprised at that. Johanna wasn't the kind to mince her words. "The way Nathan described her, she sounded real nice. Pretty, too," Johanna added, giving Gideon a sly grin.

  Gideon cleared his throat and drew in a deep breath. He knew this had been a mistake, he told himself. Coming out to this part of the spread with Zane and Johanna was supposed to have been about finding a place where they could build their new home. Now that they were married, it was time to fix the claim to the first of the four parts of the ranch which were threatened with loss.

  Now, it seemed his eldest brother and Johanna were more determined than ever to coax Gideon into being the next of the four brothers to claim a wife. He felt heat rise to his cheeks.

  Zane laughed. "Look, Johanna, you've made Gideon blush," he teased.

  Gideon turned away and gazed out across the flatland. Off in the distance he could see the herd. He heard the quiet lowing sound, and felt the familiar sense of pride he always felt when he looked at the family's herd. They were keeping the ranch hands busy.

  "Have you two made your mind up?" Gideon asked sharply, needing to change the subject. He turned back and faced them. They were still smiling at him. He bit his tongue, not wanting to encourage their teasing any more.