Chapter One

      Little Horn, Texas, August 1896

      “And which of our fine gentlemen have you chosen to be your husband?”

      Elizabeth Dumont tried not to cringe at Mrs. Arundel’s question. Instead, she picked up one of her three precious charges and handed a triplet to the lady. One look at little Theo, and Mrs. Arundel’s stern face melted like snow in the sun.

      “I’ve actually advertised for a position,” Elizabeth said, bending to pick up the second baby as another woman—Mrs. Tyson, if she remembered correctly—pressed closer, the scent of her lavender cologne like a cloud surrounding them.

      The snug boardinghouse room felt even more cramped with her three visitors this morning. How much nicer it would have been to receive the ladies in her own home, as her aunt had done as Cambridge’s most famous hostess. Elizabeth could picture the babies playing on a rug at her feet, tea and cakes waiting on a side table. But right now, this room, with its flowered wallpaper, chintz-covered iron bedstead, porcelain washstand and sturdy walnut dresser, was the best she could do. She was just thankful David and Caroline McKay had given her the three high chairs and large crib they had used when caring for the boys.

      “You don’t need a position,” insisted blond-haired Stella Fuller, wife of the local sheriff, as she came forward to take the last baby. “There are plenty of men in this town worth marrying. You just have to pick one. I did.”

      Elizabeth had heard Stella had been a mail-order bride, just as Elizabeth had planned to be.

      As Stella laughed, little Jasper grinned in her arms. Eli was looking up at Mrs. Tyson, brown eyes wide, as if trying to memorize her kind face. Theo wasn’t nearly so sure about Mrs. Arundel, for his lower lip trembled. He glanced at Elizabeth as if afraid the woman was about to make off with him.

      Elizabeth knew the feeling. Ever since she’d been given charge of the boys three days ago, she’d wanted to gather them close, smooth their dark hair, whisper comfort in their ears. Maybe it was because they were so little and helpless, maybe it was because they were orphans like her, but Jasper, Theo and Eli touched her heart more than any of her other charges in her four years of being a governess.

      “I hear Clyde Parker is looking for a wife,” Mrs. Arundel offered. “He has a fine ranch not too far from town. He might not object to red hair.” She bounced Theo on her hip, and he frowned at her.

      Elizabeth tried not to frown as well. She’d never had anyone complain about her long red hair, now carefully bound up in a bun at the top of her head. Until the time her uncle had been sent to prison for swindling others, she’d received nothing but compliments on her looks. After that, people tended not to want to look at her at all, as if she’d somehow been tainted by the scandal.

      “James Forrester needs a wife too,” Mrs. Tyson put in. “His two boys have settled down nicely since they joined the Young Ranchers program.”

      “His boys are nearly grown,” Stella pointed out. “I’d think you’d want someone younger to be father to the triplets.” She bent and rubbed her nose against Jasper’s, and he squealed in delight, winning a smile from all the ladies.

      Mrs. Tyson looked to Eli and sighed. “I simply cannot understand a mother giving away a child. Has no relative come forward since Bo Stillwater found the boys abandoned at the fair?”

      “Not one,” Elizabeth told her, feeling a little guilty for the relief that statement brought. “The Lone Star Cowboy League advertised in newspapers all over the state, even offered a reward for information about the mother, but the one couple who had asked about the situation later sent word they weren’t related after all.”

      Theo started fussing then, and Mrs. Arundel hurriedly handed him back to Elizabeth. He leaned his head against her shoulder, thumb going to his mouth. Elizabeth drank in the soft weight in her arms, the scent of fresh soap.

      Please, Lord, couldn’t I be their mother?

      She stifled a sigh. She’d just asked for the impossible. While she believed God could do anything, He had never moved mountains in her life. He didn’t heal her aunt of the stroke that had left her bedridden or send Elizabeth a new position or husband to support her when her last position ended. Instead, she found herself in Little Horn, a governess-turned-mail-order-bride, whose groom had changed his mind and married another. Any day she’d receive an answer to the advertisements she’d posted seeking a position, and then she would have to give Jasper, Theo and Eli to someone else to raise.

      She hugged Theo closer.

      “What about Pastor Stillwater?” Stella asked, perking up and causing Jasper to raise his head in expectation. “He’s young enough to be a father.”

      Elizabeth’s stomach dipped, and she started shaking her head.

      Mrs. Tyson must not have noticed, for she nodded eagerly. “He’s such a nice man. Everyone respects him.” She tickled Eli under his chin, and he squirmed with a bright giggle that made Elizabeth want to hug him close as well.

      “We are very fortunate to have a gentleman of Mr. Stillwater’s character as our minister,” Mrs. Arundel agreed, her face becoming all prim and proper. “He comes from near Boston, you know. He is very well connected.”

      Oh, but Elizabeth could tell them stories about Brandon Stillwater’s supposedly excellent character. She clamped her mouth shut. Watching her, Theo did the same.

      “Compassionate to the less fortunate,” Mrs. Arundel continued.

      Focused on himself.

      “Kind.”

      Selfish.

      “Humble.”

      Arrogant!

      The other ladies were smiling their agreement. Elizabeth dropped her gaze to Theo, whose brows were once more furrowed, as if he was concerned about what he saw in her blue-green eyes. She was concerned about her feelings as well. She’d thought she’d put aside the disappointment and hurt she’d felt when Brandon had abandoned her four years ago.

      Then three days ago she’d arrived in Little Horn and encountered the minister as he was marrying her groom to someone else. She still wasn’t sure which had shocked her more: finding David McKay about to wed or seeing Brandon