When their Paths Cross (Preview)

Prologue

Malinda Carter was just seventeen when her parents died. They’d both come down with influenza two years ago. Malinda and her younger sister, Casey, just ten at the time, were whisked away to a paternal aunt in Florida until it was deemed safe for the two girls to be around their parents. Unfortunately, that day did not come. While they were with their aunt, the Carters passed away within hours of each other. Malinda was told they were in their bed together when it happened, as Malinda’s father had left his sickbed and gone to his wife, apparently knowing the time had come.

Thinking about the last-minute love her father showed her mother still brought tears to the young woman’s eyes, two years later, as she hung laundry outside the home she and her sister had been left by their parents. It was a fairly large home, three stories, an attic, and a cellar. A total of seven bedrooms, three bathing rooms, a kitchen, dining room, living room, den, study, and library. 

Malinda couldn’t have asked for a nicer home. But it was much larger than anything they needed. Malinda worked hard to provide and care for her sister and wasn’t about to give up their childhood home, so she maintained the large building as well as she could, grateful she and her sister even had a home to live in.

She had dreams that someday she would find a husband, sell the house, or give it to Casey when she was old enough, and live happily ever after with the man of her dreams.

She was young enough—at nineteen—but felt the heavy responsibilities of a woman in her late twenties at least. Working as a laundress for the town of Ten Tree, Colorado, was profitable enough to keep the two sisters going without too much difficulty. Malinda was popular in the little town and got plenty of work, even from businesses, who trusted her with their uniforms. 

Malinda was good at her job but it wasn’t the most enjoyable way to support the both of them. 

She pulled a sheet out of the basket at her feet and tried not to grumble. Sheets were the worst thing she had to hang on the line. They were difficult to maneuver and all she could think about while hanging them was that there had to be a better way.

If there was one, she didn’t know what it was. So she continued hanging out the laundry, moving her eyes across the lawn to where her little sister was seated on a big black and white checkered blanket, her eyes down on the open book she held on her lap. 

While Malinda watched, Casey picked the book up in both hands and flopped back on the blanket, holding the book up in front of her face, blocking the sun with it.

Malinda had become more and more concerned as the days had been passing. As content as she was with her life, she was aware that she and Casey were basically living off her income as a laundress. It was a good thing she was well-liked. But the house was the only property left to the sisters by their parents. There was no money, no inheritance, other than a large building that required constant cleaning and regular maintenance the nineteen-year-old wasn’t capable of doing all by herself. 

At least they had shelter, she thought to herself. They could build a fire on a cold winter night and stay warm. They weren’t out on the street begging for food and coins.

Still, it was a stressful time for Malinda and it hadn’t been getting any easier. 

Casey was outgrowing her clothes at an alarming rate, too. Malinda was a fair seamstress but there was no way she could make Casey enough dresses. It would be time-consuming. Buying clothes put a strain on Malinda but she figured the cost of material to make one was probably just as bad. 

“Yoo hoo!” Both Malinda and Casey looked up when a young woman came trotting across the lawn, holding her skirt with one hand and waving frantically with the other. “Hey girls! Hello!” 

Casey jumped up and ran to the young woman, throwing her arms around her slender waist. “Nettie!” she cried out. “It’s so good to see you!”

“Hello, Casey, dear. Malinda. How are you?”

“Doing all right. What are you doing out here in our neck of the woods?” Malinda was happy to see her best friend. Nettie was one year younger than Malinda and a stout young woman, short and a little plump, with a bright smile and shining eyes. She’d been considering telling Nettie how she was planning to change her life, but she didn’t want to talk about it in front of Casey. Not until the time was right anyway. Like when the ball was rolling, instead of just an idea in her head.

“Come on over and help me hang the laundry,” Malinda said, gesturing to the sheets flapping in the breeze. 

“Oh, that sounds exciting!” Nettie laughed.

“You two go ahead. I’ll just be over here.” Casey poked her thumb over her shoulder at the blanket and the book she’d left behind. Malinda and Nettie laughed as she jogged back to the blanket and dropped down.

“She’s such a delight,” Nettie said as they headed back to the laundry lines. 

“I know. I’m glad I have her around.”

The two young ladies began to hang laundry and talk about what was going on in town. When they got around to the subject of men, Malinda decided it was a good time to tell Nettie about her plans. 

“I’ve been thinking about something for a couple months,” she began, glancing over at Nettie, “and I want to get your opinion.”

“I’m all ears, Molly, what’s up?” 

“I think I’m going to find a husband through the matrimonial ads, you know the magazine and the ads for brides.”

Nettie froze, staring at Malinda with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. “Really? Why would you want to do that?”

Malinda continued hanging the bedclothes, glad that she was down to pillowcases instead of sheets. “I think it’s the only way to find a good husband for me. I can’t think of anyone in town I’m interested in.”

“I think you should definitely try to keep it around here if you can. But if you don’t want to, make sure you don’t tell Ethel. Sure thing everyone will know right away if you tell Ethel.”

Malinda thought about the preacher’s wife with great affection. “I know. So don’t tell her, okay?”

Nettie grinned. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”

Chapter One

Lester Ford rested his tanned arms on the fence railing, surveying the pasture out in front of him. His land stretched out to the left and right, all the way back to Honey Loaf Mountain. He even owned a small portion of the mountain but not enough to claim the entire thing as his. 

He had his fingers laced together and pulled them apart to adjust the hat on his head. He could see two of his ranch hands off in the distance, surveying the general health and mood of the herd. One of them, Nick, raised his hand in greeting.

“Hello, old man!” Nick yelled out with a grin. 

Lester gave him a look of disgust and jutted his chin out at the other man but it was all in jest. Nick was a new hand and unaware of the reason Lester, at twenty-five, was not married. The other man he was with, Jeb, had been around longer and said something that, though he said it in a loud voice, Lester couldn’t hear. Lester had a feeling Jeb was about to inform Nick why it wasn’t actually funny to call him that.

Lester wasn’t easily offended. And truth be told, it didn’t bother him much to be reminded of his bachelorhood. As long as he didn’t think about how he ended up like that. 

Susan Bainfield was the love of his life for many years. At Lester’s young age, spending ten years with someone was practically a lifetime. They weren’t actually together that long, because for most of it, they were just children, doing the things friends do when they’re children. But when they grew into adulthood, things had changed. 

Fast friends when Susan’s family moved to Ten Trees at the age of thirteen, Lester and Susan had been inseparable. Everyone was sure they would get married. Even Lester thought they would get married. It seemed to be written in the stars. He had given his heart and soul to her and believed her when she said she returned that love.

But it had all been a farce.

Lester scolded himself quietly. Not all of it. Just the last year or two. He really had no idea how long Susan had been pretending to love him while she was out gallivanting in nearby towns while Lester was working. 

Two weeks before their wedding, a ceremony they’d been planning for months, Susan left Ten Trees with a man she met in one of the nearby towns. Never to return, she’d said at the time.

Lester would never understand why Susan didn’t just tell him she’d fallen out of love with him. How could she possibly have thought holding out on that and then practically leaving him at the altar would hurt him less than just telling him outright?

He gripped his hands together in frustration as the thoughts rolled through his mind. He could still see Susan, laughing, smiling, twirling in a circle as she showed him a new dress. They had so many memories. She was the only woman for him.

So he’d thought. 

He’d come to accept that Susan wasn’t coming back. It had been nearly three years. She wasn’t interested in seeing him or talking to him or corresponding with him. Lester didn’t even know where she was at this point.

Her betrayal had cost Lester deeply. For the last three years, he had built up a bitterness toward most women, finding it difficult to trust anything they had to say. He trusted his Aunt Louise, who lived across town, whose husband, Lester’s uncle Theodore, had left him the ranch in his will. And he trusted Martha Ballard, his housekeeper, cook, and laundress, who had been working at the ranch for almost thirty years.

Humiliation still swept over Lester when he thought about how everyone in town had prepared for their wedding. She’d left so close to the actual date that several people showed up from out of town, friends of Lester’s parents, uncle, and aunt. People Lester didn’t realize had even been invited. 

With a red face, it was Lester who had been tasked with telling these people they’d wasted their money and their time. As a result, Lester’s Aunt Louise had thrown a large party to entertain them, at least. They all told Lester they didn’t hold him responsible. But it didn’t make it any less embarrassing for him.

“Howdy, boss.”

Lester jumped a little when his foreman, Neb Hood, suddenly appeared next to him, stretching his arms out over the fence railing, mimicking Lester’s position. 

“Howdy.”

“You thinkin’ about expanding?”

Lester turned his head to look at his foreman and friend through narrowed brown eyes.

“Now what would make you think a thing like that?”

“I don’t know. Seems to me you’ve been brooding a lot lately. You got something on your mind?”

“I was just passing the time thinking about how blessed I am to have all this. Not thinking of expanding just yet.”

“Well, thank God for that,” Neb remarked humorously, taking his hat off and waving it in front of his face like a fan. “We’ve got enough work this year. Maybe next year. We’ve had a good haul this season, three new calves just in the last week. Can’t beat that. You’ll be making a ton of money off this herd.”

That was a bright spot for Lester and it made him smile. 

“That’s something to be happy about, without a doubt,” he said, nodding.

“So what’s been on your mind makin’ you act all sullen and moody lately?” Neb asked, turning sideways to put one leg up on the railing and lean against it. 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Lester replied bluntly. 

“Well, now that’s not a nice attitude to have, boss. I’m here for you, ya know that.”

Lester nodded. Neb was a good foreman; he’d been working at the ranch long before Lester had taken it over. He hadn’t been there as long as Martha but long enough for Lester to have great respect for him.

“I don’t want to dwell in the past, Neb. I’m still working through things, even after all this time. Losing my parents and then Uncle Teddy…” He let his words trail off, shaking his head. “I could use a drink right about now.”

“You sound pretty stressed, boss,” Neb said. “How about we go get that drink and talk about it?”

“I really don’t want to talk about it, Neb,” Lester said, a grin on his face because he knew his friend would be very persistent if he wasn’t straightforward with him. “But that drink sounds pretty good. The Horse N Saddle?”

“Yeah, there’s probably nobody else at all in the saloon right now.”

“You don’t mind coming with me? You just said you have a lot of work to do.”

Neb laughed. “What I said was that we have a lot of work to do. You and me. The crew. All of us. But as the boss and foreman, I think we can make decisions about what we want to do with our time.”

Lester pushed off the fence railing. “You’re right as always, Neb. Let’s go get a drink. Maybe I’ll feel like talking. We’ll see.”

“Sounds good, boss.” Neb clapped a hand on his shoulder and grinned wide as the two men left the pasture behind.

Chapter Two

Malinda gazed at herself in the mirror. The new dress she’d bought to wear to church was too pretty for words. The light yellow contrasted against her long light brown hair as it curled down over her shoulders from the bonnet. Typically, she wore her hair in a bun. But not today. 

She and Casey regularly attended the church services held by preacher Matthew Hatchet. It was his wife, Ethel, that Nettie had warned her about, not that she’d needed the warning. She knew full well that Ethel was an outspoken woman with little filter on her words when it came to her opinion. 

An hour later, Malinda was standing out front on the lawn of the church with several other people as they all chatted, waiting for the service to start. She’d been considering talking to Matthew and Ethel about her plan to scour the Matrimonial Times and the ads in the newspapers advertising for a wife. They might have some advice for how to go about choosing from the men who might write back to her. 

Casey was off somewhere with her friends. Malinda wasn’t worried about her making it to their seats before service started. Malinda was one of the few people in the congregation who chose to sit in the first two pews, whichever was more appealing. Casey knew that and would find her when the time came. 

It was the first time Malinda could ever remember coming to church with the sole purpose of looking at the single men available in Ten Trees. She had never considered church to be a social event and vowed this would be the one and only time she would be there for that purpose. It wouldn’t take long to assess the men she saw. One by one she would pick them off until there were none left. It was a horrible way to think about it but that’s what was running through her mind. 

There was Arnold Crabtree, who for all intents and purposes, was a gentleman and had a sparkling intellect. He had money in the bank and always dressed nicely. Unfortunately for him, he had two character traits that didn’t sit well with Malinda. He liked to smoke cigarettes, which made him rather smelly, and he was at least an inch shorter than her. 

Another man around her age that she might have considered was Leonard Trumpeter. He didn’t get far in Malinda’s mind. She didn’t find him attractive in the least. It wasn’t that he was ugly. Even if he had been, Malinda knew beauty was in the eye of the beholder. She just wasn’t attracted to him. She wanted to be very attracted to her husband, whoever he may be. 

She passed her eyes over several other men and just shook her head at each of them. 

“Good Sunday morning, darling!” She spun around to see Nettie coming toward her, arms outstretched and ready for a hug.

“Good morning, dear,” she responded, hugging her best friend. 

“Where’s Casey?”

Malinda turned her upper half to look around them. “Oh, she’s around here somewhere, I’m sure. I don’t know what she’s got going on. She’ll be fine. Listen, I was thinking about going ahead and talking to Ethel and Matthew about my dilemma. What do you think?”

Nettie laughed and rolled her eyes. “If you want to tell Ethel, you might as well wait for all the matchmaking to begin. It’s going to go around Ten Trees like wildfire once you tell her. She’ll be on a quest.”

“Maybe I need that kind of help,” Malinda laughed. “So far, I’m not doing very well on my own. Just dismissing them as if they aren’t worthy of me.”

“I don’t think that’s what’s going through your mind at all, Molly,” Nettie responded, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t believe it for a moment.”

When Casey started to talk, she had trouble forming her sister’s full name. So she started calling Malinda “Molly” and the name had stuck. Malinda was fond of it and never corrected anyone who called her by it. She was so used to it, in fact, she would react when the name was called.

“I wouldn’t have said it if I wasn’t thinking it, Nettie,” Malinda replied gently. “I mean, who am I to judge these men and choose between them?”

“That’s the way it is here and you know it,” Nettie remarked. “There are eight men to every woman here in Ten Trees, did you know that? It’s our job to weed through the bad ones and choose the ones that will make the best husbands and fathers. Just because they are single doesn’t mean there isn’t a reason they are single. Right?”

Malinda shrugged, a thoughtful look on her face.

“Well, look, honey, if you want to tell Ethel, I’ll support you on that. But maybe you should see if you have any success with the newspaper ads first.”

“That might take a little while.”

Nettie raised her eyebrows and gave Malinda a skeptical look. “Might take a while? Are you in a terrible hurry? You have an emergency situation that means you need to find a husband in the next two weeks? Answer an ad and see what kind of response you get before going and telling our dear lady, Ethel, and then everyone in the whole town knows.”

Malinda thought about her friend’s words for a moment. It was true that she was still just nineteen years old and while many chose to marry earlier than that, she thought it was a good age to start looking. She did have plenty of time. And there would be more men coming to Colorado eventually, too. Maybe God just hadn’t sent her the right man, yet.

“We better go inside and get seated,” Malinda said. “Do you want to sit with us? We’d love to have you.”

“I’d like that. My mom didn’t come today. She’s feeling under the weather.”

Malinda gave her friend a sympathetic look. “Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll say a special prayer for her inside.”

“Thank you. I’m planning to tell Preacher so he can make an announcement and ask for prayers.”

“Nothing serious I hope?”

“No, I don’t think so. Nothing like influenza.” 

Nettie had said the last sentence with a gentleness Malinda was not only used to but fond of. Nettie didn’t mind talking about Malinda’s parents and remembering them and that meant a great deal to Malinda.

“That’s good,” Malinda said, nodding. 

The two women joined the throng of people heading into the church just as the bell began to ring out. A man was holding the door open, greeting everyone with a smile. 

“Good morning, Lester,” Nettie said, grinning at the man.

He tipped his hat to her. “Good morning, Miss Nettie. How has your day been going?”

“It’s always a good day on a Sunday,” Nettie responded.

Malinda gave the man a smile as she passed him by. She could see Casey sitting in the second row from the front and she and Nettie went to the young girl.

“Thank you for being here on time, Casey,” Malinda said, dropping down next to her sister and giving her a side hug. Casey giggled.

“I’m always here on time, Molly. You’re the one who stops and talks to everyone under the sun. My friends have parents who will scold them if they aren’t in their seats anyway. And nobody wants that, do they?”

Casey leaned around her sister to look at Nettie. “Happy Sunday morning, Nettie.”

“And to you, too, Casey dear. I hope you are well today?”

“Fit as a fiddle as always,” Casey replied with a grin.

“I’m very glad to hear that.”

“And after church, we’re going to see the preacher and his wife, aren’t we, Molly?”

Malinda glanced over at her sister with a curious look. “Is that the plan?”

“It is now. The preacher and Mrs. Hatchet stopped me when I came in and invited us to visit with them. I told them I’m sure you would be real happy to do that.”

Malinda felt a tingle of excitement in her chest. Was it the opportunity she needed to talk to them about her problem? Was it God telling her not to rely on the newspaper ads and to stick with those she knew to help her out?

“I’m glad you agreed to it, Casey. I’m sure it will be a lot of fun.”

Chapter Three

Lester went into the church when an older gentleman took the door from him and told him to skedaddle. His exact words were that youngsters shouldn’t be deprived of even a moment of God. 

He thought it was funny and laughed as he went in. He knew Mr. Donahue. The older man had quite a wit and was greatly entertained by poking silly fun at his fellow residents. No one minded him a bit and considered him to be quite eccentric, yet harmless.

Lester sat and listened to the sermon with great interest. He’d noticed that it wasn’t hard to pick out specific points Matthew had to say that spoke directly to his life. Lester’s top two problems were being able to trust and learning to have patience. He worked on his patience every day but had found he had a very low tolerance for stupidity or dishonesty. He wasn’t a small twenty-five-year-old. He stood six foot two and had a muscular build. His uncle had said it was like he was born just to do the hard work on the ranch. 

“Not much of a blessing,” he had told his uncle but they’d both laughed about it.

When service was over, Lester went out to the shelter behind the church and just down the hill a bit. There was a regular after-church meal held there where anyone could stay and enjoy some food brought by the ladies in the church.

Typically, Lester wasn’t one to stay. At first, after Susan ran off on him, he’d felt like a raw wound, walking around, knowing people knew what had happened to him. Wondering if they were thinking about him, what they were thinking about him. 

He’d let himself wallow in self-pity for three months. Then he pulled himself up by his bootstraps and bottled up his pain. He wasn’t willing to uncork that bottle. As far as he was concerned, it would stay buried deep within him, hopefully never to be thought of or felt again.

Because of this deep pain he was still holding on to, it was impossible for him to find a new woman. How could he trust her? Did he really want to go through that kind of pain again?

He could honestly say he didn’t.

He saw the preacher and his wife, Ethel, standing by the drink table. As always, Matthew was talking to someone across the table from him. Ethel wasn’t talking as much but Lester knew why that probably was. 

She was listening. That was one thing Ethel was very good at. It didn’t mean that she wouldn’t go and tell others what you’ve said, especially if it was helpful. Ethel never kept from giving out good advice, whether it was her advice or someone else’s. 

He approached them and made a drink for himself, pouring a glass of lemonade in a cup filled with small ice cubes.

“Thank you for today’s service, Preacher,” Lester said when the other man walked away. 

Matthew smiled at him. “Well, thank you, Lester. I’m glad to see you here today. Did you need to talk about something?”

Lester didn’t know if he should feel bad that the preacher thought the only reason he came to church was that he needed something. He passed the comment off and said, “I would like to talk to you, if that’s okay. With both of you. No need to leave, Ethel. Please stay.”

“Certainly, Les, if that’s what you want.”

“Do you want to go somewhere private?” Matthew asked. Lester could tell his curiosity was piqued. For a moment, Lester wondered if he wanted to go somewhere with fewer people around or not. Then he nodded.

“I think I would like that, if you don’t mind, Matthew.”

“Certainly. Come let’s go for a walk down by the stream. There might be children there and a few adults but I think we should be safe from prying ears and eyes.”

Lester nodded and followed them out of the shelter. Nearly ten minutes later, they were walking along the bank of the stream, the water bubbling and rippling beside them, easing Lester’s soul a bit. He was feeling restless, frustrated, and bored with life.

And that’s just what he told the preacher and Ethel. 

“I feel like there’s no hope for me to ever be happy,” Lester said, forlornly. “I hate to blame Susan but if she hadn’t—”

“It’s all right to lay blame at her feet, Les,” Ethel said, sharply. “She is to blame for making you feel this way. But you can’t dwell on it. That’s where you’re going about it wrong. You can’t heal from something you keep pulling the scab off of.”

“Actually eventually the wound will heal,” Lester corrected her, “but a terrible scar will be left. I think that’s what’s wrong with me. The scar she left after I healed is too deep.”

“You haven’t healed,” Ethel said bluntly. “You’ve put a blanket over the pain and you sit on top of it.”

“That’s very metaphorical, my dear,” Matthew said, giving his wife an admiring look. He turned his kind eyes to Lester. “And she is correct. But you are both entitled to feel how you want about it and personally, I’ll let you feel whatever it is you’re feeling, Lester. If you feel like you’ve healed and were left with a terrible scar, I understand. And that’s what we have to overcome. There’s no need to go back to a point of assistance to help you heal if you think you already have. Does that make sense?”

“It does,” Lester said, nodding. He was aware that Matthew sometimes stumbled over his words, fitting words in and mixing metaphors. The man was often apologizing for it and correcting himself. The one thing that Lester thought was so peculiar about that was that during his sermons, he never made a mistake. He figured Matthew must rehearse a lot.

His thoughts were interrupted by a child who dashed in front of him, nearly making him fall. He halted and lifted both arms in the air to regain his balance and not fall on his face. 

“Be careful, children!” Ethel called out sharply. 

Lester shook his head. “Reminds me of my cat. Can’t leave a room without that precious thing darting out in front of me, even crisscrossing. You think they do that on purpose?”

Ethel laughed as her husband replied, “I doubt we will ever truly understand the nature of the feline, Les. It is a shame. I’d love to hear their sarcastic thoughts sometimes.”

Lester couldn’t help throwing his head back and letting out a loud laugh. “And then there’s other times those thoughts might make you blush.”

The preacher and his wife joined Lester in laughter. 

“I regret that I agree with you,” Matthew said.

When they had settled down, Lester knew the time had come for him to speak up. Suddenly, he didn’t want to. But it was too late and he knew it.

“So what is it you want to talk about, Lester?” Matthew asked. “I am very curious as to how I can help you.”

Lester sighed. “I’m not sure there’s much you can do for me, either, Matthew, Ethel. I’m…lonely. I want to find a wife, settle down and have a family like I originally planned. But after Susan…I just don’t know if I can trust any woman ever again. I’m stuck in a dilemma because I want a wife but the thought of giving my heart away again really terrifies me.”

The preacher and his wife were quiet for a moment before Ethel spoke up. “If you were to be introduced to a potential wife would it make it easier?” she asked.

Lester thought about it for a moment. “Yes, I’m sure it would. I was also thinking of advertising for a woman. Maybe it would be easier if I was with a woman who didn’t know about Susan.”

“I strongly recommend you don’t hide the past from your new woman,” Ethel said.

“You shouldn’t hide your past from any woman you court,” Matthew said at exactly the same time.

“Don’t start things off with dishonesty and hidden secrets,” Ethel said. “Let’s talk about this. I’m sure there is a woman out there for you. I’ll be honored to help you find her.”

“I’ll be honored if you can help me trust again. That’s what I need. Trust. I have none.”

Ethel lifted her eyebrows. “Do you trust me?”

Lester’s replying grin was small and soft. “I do.”

“Then let me lead and let’s see what we can come up with.”

---

“When their Paths Cross” is an Amazon Best-Selling novel, check it out here!

After her parents’ death, Malinda Carter decides she will not fall victim to the hardships of her new reality. She lives with her much younger sister, Casey, feeling weighed down with the responsibility of raising her on her own, seeing no other option but to become a mail-order bride. Not long after answering a sheriff’s ad, a different local candidate, Lester, appears out of nowhere, puzzling her over her decision. Malinda’s first glimpse of him takes her breath away and she can’t ignore her interest in getting to know him better. To her disappointment though, Lester won’t open up his heart and let her in, shattering her dreams and hopes. Will she find the courage to claim the happiness she deserves, next to the man she has chosen?

Having already experienced abandonment by his parents and by the woman he thought he would spend his life with, Lester finds himself lonely, losing his zest for life. For four years, he has been isolating himself, working on his farm, as he nurses his old wounds. Although he is too afraid to admit it, Lester’s hidden desire is to create a loving family. When his friend encourages him to meet Malinda, Lester finds it hard to take his eyes off her but he is hesitant to give her the key to his heart and let her become his salvation. Will he allow Malinda to restore his faith and trust in love, leaving behind the hurtful memories?

When Malinda and Lester’s paths cross, they begin to navigate the treacherous waters of doubt and hope. As soon as they realize that everything they’ve been looking for has been placed right in front of them, the sheriff’s unexpected arrival causes more trouble for them. With their own concerns shadowing their actions, can they truly overcome their fears in order to save a newfound love?

“When their Paths Cross” is a historical western romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Get your copy from Amazon!