RNWMP: Bride for Colton (Mail Order Mounties Book 15)

by Cassie Hayes

  That wasn’t the problem. “What if I turn out like my own mother?”

  Annie snorted in a most unladylike fashion. “I think being the wife of a Mountie will preclude you from falling into a life of petty crime, Gemma.”

  Gemma shook her head and tried to find a way to express her apprehension. If anyone could understand, it was Annie. She’d spent just as much time and effort to hide her own shameful past, though at least she had the excuse of not knowing what her father had been up to. Gemma on the other hand…

  “I want to think I’d die to protect my children, but I was raised by a woman who didn’t protect me in the slightest. I have to wonder if I might follow in her path one day.”

  Annie watched the children play as she pondered Gemma’s words. Finally, she bowed her head and sniffled.

  “I think you’re wrong, Gemma,” she said so quietly Gemma had to strain to hear her words. “I know what it means to have a parent that doesn’t protect you, and from where I’m standing, I think Bronwen did protect you.”

  Gemma’s jaw dropped and she stared at Annie in disbelief. Bronwen had only ever used Gemma for her own benefit. Even at the end, she’d threatened to turn Gemma in to the authorities.

  “Hear me out,” Annie continued. “First of all, Bronwen left you with your grandmother, and I have to believe that was because she thought you’d have a better life. And you did, for a while. After your grandmother died, she could have let you be sent off to an orphanage, but she didn’t. She took you to Ottawa and did the best she could.”

  “Annie,” Gemma hissed, looking around to make sure no one else could hear, “you know what Kirk told me she was, what she did.”

  Annie nodded somberly. “I know, and I know he said she did those things out of desperation. I also know she refused to let you become a victim. Kirk’s victim.”

  “But—“

  “I’m not condoning her actions, Gemma. Not at all. She had choices, and she made poor ones. Dragging you into a life like that is truly abhorrent, but most of what she did was to keep you fed and safe. As much as we may disapprove of her methods, you can’t deny that she loved you, in her own way.”

  Gemma stood in wonder of her friend. Her insight astounded Gemma, who’d always prided herself on being able to read people. But when it came to her mother, she’d been blind. Seeing Bronwen through Annie’s eyes cleared away the haze of resentment and showed Gemma the truth. Bronwen had lived a life Gemma never wanted, but she had protected her daughter. So many of Gemma’s little friends growing up had become victims themselves at very young ages, but she never had. And now she knew that was all thanks to her mother.

  “Honestly, I’m a little jealous,” Annie said, a rueful smile on her lips. “I’d give anything to know my father loved me half as much as your mother loved you.”

  Gemma wrapped Annie in a tight hug, and they clung to each other as they cried. Snow crunched as someone approached.

  “I hate to break this up, ladies, but it’s time to go in.”

  Colton had a worried look on his face when Gemma and Annie finally broke apart. She smiled and laid a gloved hand against his cheek.

  My hero, she thought as she tucked her hand into the crook of his arm. He’d inquired with the authorities in Ottawa to find out if Gemma was wanted along with Bronwen. It turned out Bronwen had already been arrested and claimed sole responsibility for all her crimes, including the ones Gemma had aided with. Besides, no one had any interest in trying to prosecute her for crimes committed when she was a child.

  Malcolm collected Annie and they disappeared inside the church, the last people to filter inside. Colton escorted Gemma to the bottom of the steps and paused.

  “I know it’s Lizzy and Shamus getting married today, but I’m almost as nervous as if it was us. And we’re already married!”

  “Legally, we are,” Gemma said, thinking hard. “But spiritually, maybe not. No one could call our first wedding a sham, but we didn’t know each other at all, and my motives were less than pure.”

  Colton started to object. “I told you, none of that ma—“

  “I know,” she interrupted. “But maybe we need to restate our vows to each other, and this time we should really mean them. What do you think?”

  “When?”

  “Right now. Right here.” She stepped up onto the first stair.

  “On the steps?”

  He looked around as if the idea was crazy. Maybe it was. But it felt right and that was all that mattered.

  “Why not? We don’t need anyone else to preside over it because we’re already married. And we certainly don’t need witnesses because this is just for us. So we can move forward confident in our love.”

  A slow smile lit his features. “You’re brilliant, my beautiful wife. Let’s do it! But we have to move fast, the ceremony’s about to start.”

  “Okay, since this was my idea, I’ll go first.” Gemma cleared her throat and thought for a moment before speaking. “Colton, Shakespeare said the course of love never did run smooth. I think he got it right for us, but from this day forward I will try in every way to be worthy of your love. I promise to love and care for you. I will always be honest with you, kind, patient and forgiving. I promise to become a better cook. But most of all, I promise to be a true and loyal wife to you. I love you with everything in my heart and beyond, and I always will.”

  Colton’s lips pressed into a thin line as he tried to control himself as Gemma couldn’t. She didn’t even try brushing away her tears because they were proof of her feelings. With a deep, stuttering breath, Colton spoke.

  “Gemma, on this day, I give you my heart, my promise that I will walk with you hand in hand, wherever our journey leads us. Living, learning, loving. Together. Forever.”

  Gemma grinned through her tears as she wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck. His hands skimmed her back, and even through her thick winter coat, tingles rippled out from wherever he touched her. Locking her eyes onto his, she leaned forward until their lips pressed together and her eyes fell closed in bliss.

  A sharp bark startled them, and looking toward the door of the church, Finnegan sat staring at them. Colton laughed as Gemma hid her face in his shoulder, embarrassed they were caught by a fox!

  “I think he’s telling us everyone’s waiting for us,” Colton said, guiding her up the steps.

  Gemma paused before entering the church and watching their new friends join together in holy matrimony. She gazed up at Colton, any hint of a smile gone, so serious were her thoughts.

  “Not for as long as I’ve been waiting for you.”

  Did you enjoy Bride for Colton? I’d love it if you would spare a moment to leave a review on Amazon!

  Don’t miss the rest of my books in the

  Mail Order Mounties series:

  The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach…

  At least that’s what Miss Hazel Hughes thinks. As a self-appointed Mountie matchmaker, she knows she’s found the right woman for one very hungry man when she meets professional chef Tilly Conway. Suffering from the fallout of a scandal that wasn’t her fault, Tilly finds herself jobless, homeless and…hopeless. When Miss Hazel offers her a chance to start a new life in British Columbia as a mail-order bride, Tilly lets fate decide her future.

  Nolan Wheeler has never met a meal he didn’t like. Well, didn’t eat anyway. Naturally, he hopes his bride can do more than boil water, but he wants so much more in a wife than the ability to cook. He wants a partner to join him on adventures, laugh at his dumb jokes and, most importantly, want lots and lots of babies.

  As Nolan and Tilly grow closer, she can’t help thinking her noble Mountie deserves so much better than a wife with a scandalous past. When she finally musters the courage to share her painful story, his reaction leaves her more uncertain than ever. Will Nolan be able to see beyond her history or is Tilly doomed to start her life over…again?

  READ CHAPTERS 1-3

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AZON

  BRIDE FOR DERMOT

  Sometimes the best thing to happen is for best laid plans to fall apart…

  Socialite Isabelle Rochester’s life has been planned out for her since she was a child: marry well and live a life of luxury as one of Ottawa’s elite. Her fiancé has other plans. Humiliated after being jilted, Isabelle turns to Miss Hazel Hughes to find her a husband who will make everyone back home jealous — especially her unfaithful ex.

  Dermot Strickland only intends to be a Mountie for five years, then he’s hightailing back to Vancouver to take over his father’s booming lumber empire. But life in the Yukon can be cold and lonely, and he still has more than three years to go, so on a whim he agrees to marry a woman he’s never met.

  When Isabelle’s train pulls into the town of Moose Lick, she wonders if she’s made a mistake. When she sees the tiny cabin she’s expected to live in — and clean — she knows she has. She just has to survive for a week until the train to Ottawa passes through again. Not even Dermot’s rugged good looks or charming personality could make her change her mind, but that doesn’t stop him from trying. After all, when a man finds the the perfect woman, he’ll do anything to keep her.

  READ CHAPTERS 1-3

  or

  BUY ON AMAZON

  BRIDE FOR EASTON

  Even if love isn’t part of the plan, it might be exactly what's needed!

  Molly Hennessy’s future was planned long before she was even born. Too bad no one ever bothered to ask her opinion on the matter. If they had, they would have learned her deepest desire was not to become a nun, but to have a large, loud, loving family of her very own. When she finally decides to live the life she wants, she seeks the help of matchmaker Miss Hazel Hughes.

  Law and order are the two most important things to Easton Cooper — especially order. As Commander of the Cougar Springs Mountie station in Alberta, Easton has worked hard to earn the respect of his men. When they start making noises about finding wives, they naturally turn to their commander to lead the way, even though getting married was never part of Easton’s plan.

  He’s determined not to let his mail-order bride mess up his meticulous life. Of course, he doesn’t count on a spunky ex-nun with a fiery temper and a generous spirit. When Molly manages to turn his life upside down, inside out, and every which way but normal, Easton wonders if he’s made a mistake. But how can someone with such a good heart and such a sweet smile be a mistake? He fears he's falling for his whirlwind of a wife, which definitely wasn't part of the plan. But Easton is learning that some of the best things in life can't be put in their place.

  READ CHAPTERS 1-3

  or

  BUY ON AMAZON

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  Also by Cassie Hayes

  MAIL ORDER MOUNTIES

  Bride for Nolan

  Bride for Dermot

  Bride for Easton

  Bride for Colton

  THE DALTON BRIDES

  The Drifter’s Mail Order Bride

  Hank’s Rescued Bride

  The Marshal’s Rebellious Bride

  GOLD RUSH BRIDES

  The Beginning

  Emmy

  SILVER SPRINGS

  Rocky Mountain Hero

  Rocky Mountain Home

  STANDALONES

  Poppy: Bride of Alaska (American Mail Order Brides)

  Hope on the Horizon (Debra Holland’s Montana Sky Kindle World)

  Back Home Again (Yosemite Flats)

  About the Author

  Cassie Hayes grew up pretending she was Laura Ingalls (before that pesky Almonzo arrived on the scene) in the middle of Oregon farm country. She lives with her husband and cat on the Pacific Ocean, and loves to hear from her readers.

  Connect with her at:

  www.CassieHayes.com

  cassie@cassiehayes.com

  © 2017 Cassie Hayes

  All rights reserved.

  www.CassieHayes.com

  Cover design by EDH Graphics

  http://edhgraphics.blogspot.com/

  Edited by Jessica Valliere

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are a work of fiction or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

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