Montana Cowboy Family Read online

  Temporary Family

  After discovering one of her young students has been abandoned along with his sisters, schoolteacher Sadie Young whisks them away to the safest place she knows—her own home. And when handsome cowboy Logan Marshal vows to assist her in caring for the children, she isn’t sure she wants his help…but she needs it. If she lets Logan get too close, though, he may discover the secret she’s convinced will be her ruin.

  Logan Marshall isn’t looking for a family. But with the parentless children and their unflappable teacher tugging at his heart, it appears he has one—at least temporarily. The kids would like nothing better than to have a real mother and father, and with Logan slowly falling for Sadie, their deepest wishes just might come true…

  “These children have been through so much. I wish I could track down the father and get things sorted out for them. They deserve to know where they belong.”

  “And feel safe,” Sadie added.

  “Agreed.” Logan’s gaze caught hers and held it so firmly she couldn’t look away. At the way he regarded her, the strength and goodness she saw in him and knew existed, her heart lifted. He lifted a hand to her cheek and brushed his fingers along the side of her face. “We will work together to make sure these children are safe.”

  She leaned into his hand. Beth’s words reverberated inside her head. Too soon. Slowly she turned her head, forcing him to pull his hand back even though it was the hardest thing she had done in some time.

  Not only was it too soon to think about opening up her heart to him.

  It would always be too soon.

  Linda Ford lives on a ranch in Alberta, Canada, near enough to the Rocky Mountains that she can enjoy them on a daily basis. She and her husband raised fourteen children—four homemade, ten adopted. She currently shares her home and life with her husband, a grown son, a live-in paraplegic client and a continual (and welcome) stream of kids, kids-in-law, grandkids, and assorted friends and relatives.

  Books by Linda Ford

  Love Inspired Historical

  Big Sky Country

  Montana Cowboy Daddy

  Montana Cowboy Family

  Montana Cowboys

  The Cowboy’s Ready-Made Family

  The Cowboy’s Baby Bond

  The Cowboy’s City Girl

  Christmas in Eden Valley

  A Daddy for Christmas

  A Baby for Christmas

  A Home for Christmas

  Journey West

  Wagon Train Reunion

  Montana Marriages

  Big Sky Cowboy

  Big Sky Daddy

  Big Sky Homecoming

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

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  LINDA FORD

  Montana Cowboy Family

  For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

  —Proverbs 2:6 (NIV)

  I dedicate this book to my dear friend Brenda, who daily faces difficult things but does so with unfailing dignity and grace. She’d be the first one to say it’s because of God’s sufficiency and her dependence on Him.

  Contents

  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

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader

  Excerpt from His Substitute Wife by Dorothy Clark

  Chapter One

  Bella Creek, Montana, 1890

  Logan Marshall stared at the place where he’d left his lunch. The sack was gone. The second day in a row. Stolen. The muscles in his jaw bunched. Nothing bothered him worse than any form of dishonesty. His stomach rumbled. How could he work without food to fuel his strength? And Grandfather would expect Logan to be working. The school wasn’t finished. As a Marshall and grandson of the founder of Bella Creek, Logan had to do his share and had been assigned the task of rebuilding the schoolhouse. It, along with all the buildings in that block, had burned to the ground during the winter.

  Following the fire, the doctor and teacher had left, requiring the town and the Marshalls to find replacements. The doctor’s residence and office had been rebuilt already and Logan glanced at the new building next door where Dr. Baker and his daughter, Kate, lived and worked. Kate had brought her friend, Isabelle Redfield, with her, and Isabelle had since married Logan’s brother, Dawson.

  He shifted his attention across the street to his uncle’s mercantile store. The new teacher, Sadie Young, presently held classes in the back room of the store, but every day she crossed to her living quarters in the rear of the schoolhouse. Grandfather had decided her rooms should be finished before completing the classroom, saying it wasn’t suitable for her to continue living in the hotel.

  Daily, as she made her way from the store, she stopped to see how much progress had been made on the rebuilding. He understood she was in a hurry to have her students moved into the school, but he couldn’t rush the work if he wanted it done right.

  Besides those daily visits, he’d met her several times since she had come to Bella Creek with the others. Sadie Young was about his age with brown hair, a perfect oval face, hazel eyes like late-summer leaves, and healthy-looking skin. Not a bad-looking woman, but she was so shy he wondered how she managed to teach. Something about her shyness triggered a protective note in him, which he managed to quell.

  He wasn’t interested in her for any reason. He might be only twenty-two, but he had learned enough lessons about women to last a lifetime and to make him completely wary of them. He rocked his head back and forth. Once he’d been enamored of a woman he considered to be ideal. She’d seemed so sweet and innocent. He’d been shocked to learn she had questionable morals. She’d teased him into following her to the nearby rough town of Wolf Hollow, where he’d thought he could protect her, but he ended up trapped by his shame and her continued deceit. Learning that his ma lay on her deathbed had brought him home, and he’d promised Ma he’d never fall into such a trap again. Later, after Ma’s death, when Logan was what he considered to be a mature eighteen-year-old, he met a woman and her daughter when they moved into the boardinghouse. The girl seemed like a gentle young lady. She went to church with him and attended the family dinners. But it turned out she was part of a gang and was setting up a robbery. Worse, even, she was married to one of the robbers.

  He figured it would take a lot for him to ever again trust a woman. Even more for him to trust his own judgment.

  His experience was enough to make him look at Miss Young with a certain guardedness. But never mind Miss Young. Logan had to find his lunch before the thief ate it all. He eased around the schoolhouse, eyes sweeping the area for clues. A flash of material behind the stack of lumber at the back of the lot caught his attention. He eased forward. What kind of robber stopped so close to the scene of his crime?

  He edged around the corner of the lumber pile, his muscles tensed to spring forward, but at the sight of a little boy opening up Logan’s lunch sack, he ground to a halt, his anger completely gone. This was one of Miss Young’s students. What was the child doing over here when he should be in the classroom with the other children?

  The b
oy looked up, saw that he was discovered and stuffed the sack behind his back. He considered Logan with wide brown eyes, doing his best to look innocent.

  Logan took a moment studying the boy. He had on overalls so thin you could spit through them. There was a button missing on his shirt. His dark blond hair was in sore need of a cut. Logan didn’t recognize the child. There must be a new family in the area he hadn’t heard of.

  “I think you have my lunch,” he said in a slow, lazy drawl.

  The boy’s thin shoulders came forward. He twisted his hands palms upward as if to prove he had nothing.

  Was there anything sadder than a hungry boy? His own hunger gnawed at his stomach. He lowered himself to the ground, his back to the lumber. The boy drew his legs closer to his body and watched Logan.

  Logan saw how tense the boy was. “What’s your name?”

  “Sammy.”

  “Got a last name?”

  “Sammy Weiss.”

  “Howdy. I’m Logan Marshall.” He stretched his legs out. “Guess you’re as hungry as me. Think we could share the lunch?”

  Sammy waited, and when he realized Logan wasn’t giving up, he pulled the sack from behind him and handed it to Logan, his eyes never leaving the promise of food.

  Logan carefully divided the lunch into two portions. The boy’s eyes followed every move of Logan’s fingers. He passed one half of the food to Sammy.

  “I like to thank God for my food before I eat.”

  Sammy bowed his head, loudly swallowing saliva.

  “Thanks for food and sunshine and fresh air and good work. Amen.”

  Before Logan could lift his sandwich to his mouth, young Sammy had taken a large bite. He ate like a boy who wondered where he’d find his next meal. “You’re new around here, aren’t you?” Logan knew everyone within a forty-mile radius.

  Sammy nodded. He pushed his mouthful of food to one cheek. “Been here more’n a week.”

  “Where’d you come from afore that?”

  “Wolf Hollow.”

  That explained his grubby clothes and hunger. The rough mining town to the west had its share of men and women whose dreams of making it rich had been shattered by reality.

  “Where are you living?”

  Sammy jerked his thumb over his shoulder as if that provided all the information needed.

  They ate in silence, Sammy’s full attention on his food while Logan contemplated what to do about the boy.

  Sammy finished before Logan, so Logan stuffed what was left back in the sack to eat later and pushed to his feet. “I expect the teacher will have noticed your absence by now.”

  They could hear someone approaching. A woman called, “Sammy? Where are you?” The schoolmarm must have realized she was missing one of her students.

  Sammy jerked to his feet and flung about, seeking escape.

  Logan caught him by the collar, a little disconcerted when the boy shrank back, his eyes blinking at a galloping rate. “I’m not going to hurt you, but you need to face up to your sins like a man.”

  Sammy straightened but his jaw quivered.

  Miss Young held up her skirts as she ran around the school building in search of Sammy. She wore a dark gray skirt as plain as unbuttered bread and a white shirtwaist fitted so tightly around her neck it must surely choke her.

  At the sight of Sammy in Logan’s grasp, she dropped her skirt and ran her hands over her head to make sure every hair was in place. Logan was pretty sure not one single strand would dare escape.

  She spared Logan the briefest of glances and turned her attention to Sammy. “I was concerned about you.”

  “I’s okay.”

  “Except you’re supposed to be at school with the others.”

  “I don’t like school.” Sammy sighed mightily. “But I promised my ma I would go.”

  She held a hand out to him. “Then let’s return.”

  Sammy ducked away from her offered hand and sauntered across the yard in the general direction of the store.

  Miss Young paused to speak to Logan. “Thank you for taking care of him.” She was too shy to even meet his gaze.

  “I know you have students to look after at the moment, but when classes are over, you and I need to talk about this.” Like he’d said to Sammy, the boy must take responsibility for his actions. If left unchecked, stealing lunches might escalate into stealing bigger things. Things that would get him jailed or hanged. Best to nip the tendency in the bud.

  Miss Young’s gaze jolted to his at those words. “I’ll deal with the boy in school.”

  “He stole from me. That makes it my business.”

  Her demanding look had likely been perfected with her wayward students, but he’d lived with Pa and Grandfather long enough to endure the most challenging of looks without flinching. Not to mention two older brothers, Dawson and Conner. They were only four and two years older respectively, but not above bossing Logan around. Even his little sister, Annie, who at nineteen ran the house ever since Ma died four years ago, felt she had the right to expect Logan to do as she asked.

  Nope. No mousy little schoolmarm had a hope of making him quake in his shoes. He touched the brim of his hat. “Until school is out,” he said, and sauntered away.

  *

  Sadie would have welcomed more time crossing the street and rejoining the classroom. Something about Logan Marshall left her heart fluttering and her breathing so rapid she might have run around the block three times. But she’d left one of the older girls in charge long enough. She’d have to deal with her turmoil of emotions later. She rang the bell and called the children in from their play behind the store. The area was little more than the back alley, but until they moved into the schoolhouse, it sufficed. Lunch time had precipitated Sammy running away. For the fourth day in a row he had forgotten his lunch. She began to think no one prepared one for him. The children made the same conclusion and teased Sammy. Before she could intervene, the boy had gone outside saying he wasn’t hungry. When she’d checked on him, he was gone. The same thing had happened yesterday but, before she could search for him, he had returned, swaggering a little, looking slightly smug. Her warning bells had sounded. This little boy of seven brought out all the protective instincts she possessed, but she wasn’t lulled into believing he wasn’t capable of mischief.

  And she was right. He’d stolen from Logan Marshall! What had he taken? And why had he stolen from a Marshall? They ruled the town with unwavering firmness. Sammy’s family had recently moved to Bella Creek, so Sammy might not know that yet. She spared a tight smile, wondering if knowing would make any difference to the boy. He had a certain brashness to him that made her think he often did things he shouldn’t.

  The children filed in. She read to them. She assigned lessons and checked answers. She replied when spoken to though, from the questioning looks on several faces, she guessed they had asked their questions more than once. Finally the afternoon classes ended and she dismissed the children with a wave and a wooden smile. Only then did she sink to her chair, plant her elbows on the desktop and bury her face in her hands. She made certain to have a book open in front of her, should anyone step in unannounced. Hopefully, they would think she pored over lesson preparation.

  Shudder after shudder raced up and down her spine. She was no longer a naive sixteen-year-old but a wiser, stronger, more careful woman. Still, the thought of facing one of the Marshall men with their broad shoulders and piercing blue eyes filled her with dread.

  Big or little, powerful or weak, she simply did not trust men. Not after her father’s business partner had cornered her in her bedroom, tossed her on her bed and done unspeakable things to her.

  After he was done, he smiled at her. “That was fun, wasn’t it?”

  To this day she didn’t know if he’d meant the words seriously or simply mocked her pain. After he’d left she’d curled into a little ball, her pillow clutched to her chest and cried. Her tears were spent, her insides hollow, when her mother came in some time lat
er. She’d confessed it all, hoping for, longing for, comfort. But she’d been instructed to wash her face and come down to dinner even though that man—Walter—would be at the same table.

  She’d been told to never mention what had happened. It would ruin her father, would put the family out of business and lastly, as if it mattered least, it would ruin Sadie.

  Every time she had to face the man brought a repeat of her pain and fear. After a few weeks she had persuaded Mother to let her go stay with Aunt Sarah, her mother’s younger sister. Sadie had found a degree of comfort there, but her insides remained raw that her family—the very people who should protect her—had turned their backs on her pain and fear.

  Time was supposed to heal all wounds and she tried to believe it. She had even allowed herself to be courted by shy, gentle Ronald Wilson. She’d gone so far as to agree to marry him, but as the time for the wedding approached she couldn’t go through with it. She had never told Ronald her reason for breaking it off. Could hardly explain it to herself. Yes, she was afraid of the intimacy of marriage, but it was more than that.

  She was soiled. Ruined. Unworthy.

  She drew in a long breath and lifted her head. That was in the past. Time healed all wounds, she repeated to herself. Or perhaps time simply allowed a scab to form.

  All that mattered now was being a good teacher, showing the children how to succeed in life and protecting them from dangers.

  She rose. Her knees shook and she sat down again. She needed some inner strength and knew where to go for it. Since her own Bible was in her new living quarters—two little rooms on the end of the schoolhouse—she reached for the bigger Bible that she kept in the classroom.

  She pulled it to her and opened to a verse that had become her strength in the four years since that fateful day. 1 Samuel 30:6 “David was greatly distressed…but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.”

 
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