Montana Bride

Montana Bride by Joan Johnston

A DESPERATE DECEPTION
THE PROMISE OF FOREVER

When Karl Norwood’s mail-order bride meets an untimely demise on the way to the Montana Territory, Hetty Wentworth steps in to take her place. Hetty has no idea how she’s going to pretend to be all the things she isn’t—including the mother of two kids. She only knows her deception is necessary if she’s going to save two orphans from the awful fate she suffered as a child.

Karl smells a rat when a much younger woman than he was expecting arrives with two children who look nothing like her. But his mail-order bride is so beautiful, he doesn’t object—until he realizes that his charming new wife has been lying . . . about everything. Can a woman forced to keep secrets and a man hindered by distrust ever hope to find happily ever after in each other’s arms?**

After the Indian attack, Hetty was left by her sister to try and find help. Her sister never returned, but Hetty was found by a woman, her two children and a china-man. The man is taking the others to her betrothed. She's a mail order bride. When the woman starts to beat her son again, Hetty has enough. She stops her won't let her abuse the children anymore. While Hetty was trying to get away from the woman, that was intent on beating her with a branch, the woman falls off the cliff. Now what will the children do? Their mother is dead and now they will surely have nowhere to go. The man won't take them without a woman. They'll be orphans like Hetty and her sisters and brothers. 

So Hetty decides she's going to take the woman's' place. She'll be Karl Norwood's mail-order bride. She's experienced heartache before so marrying someone she doesn't love will be the answer to all the problems she's facing. What she didn't expect was for him to be so nice to her.

Karl is happy to be married and a stepfather. He want a helpmate and more children. What he also wants is for his wife to tell him the truth. Karl can tell she's hiding something. There's no way she's is as old as she claimed and the children she has look nothing like her. How can he trust her or even love her if she's hiding things from him.

I really enjoyed watching this relationship work through all the kinks that happen in a new marriage. Throw in children that have a bit of their own trust issues and it's chaos at its best.  I loved Hetty's fierce protection of her husband and the children she's come to think of her own.  It was a great book and I can't wait until the next book. 

**Goodreads summary