Montana Rose (27 page)

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MARY CONNEALY
is a Christie Award Finalist. She is the author of the Lassoed in Texas series which includes
Petticoat Ranch, Calico Canyon,
and
Gingham Mountain.
She has also written a romantic cozy mystery trilogy,
Nosy in Nebraska,
and her novel
Golden Days
is part of the
Alaska Brides
anthology. You can find out more about Mary’s upcoming books at www.maryconnealy.com and www.mconnealy.blogspot.com.

Mary lives on a Nebraska ranch with her husband, Ivan, and has four grown daughters: Joslyn (married to Matt), Wendy, Shelly (married to Aaron), and Katy. And she is the grandmother of one beautiful granddaughter, Elle. And even though she
begged,
Barbour Publishing would
not
put Elle on the cover of
Montana Rose.

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Cassie Griffin has always dressed in silks. Her free-spending husband expects nothing less. But now he has died, leaving her unprotected, heavily in debt, and pregnant. As any single woman doesn’t remain so for long in Divide, Montana, Cassie wonders if marrying one of the local cowboys might be her only choice. After seeing her choices, she then wonders if joining her husband might be even better.

Red Dawson has always had a soft spot in his heart for Cassie, even though most of the townspeople see her only as a silk-clad china doll. When she’s left a widow, only one thing keeps him from immediately sweeping her off her feet—she’s a nonbeliever.

As the other cowboys lay claim to Cassie, the most powerful rancher in the area steps forward to demand what he thinks rightly belongs to him ... and the property that goes with her. Red struggles with figuring out what to do but decides he can’t allow Cassie to suffer a fate worse than death and marries her himself.

Will Red win over this seemingly fragile and spoiled china doll’ heart ... and survive her unique brand of ranch help in the meantime? Will Cassie find true love with her cowboy—and his God—when she exchanges smooth silk for coarse calico?

Mary Connealy is an author, journalist, and teacher. She lives on a Nebraska farm with her husband, Ivan, and has four mostly grown daughters.