Montana Bride By Christmas. Linda Ford

take advantage of an old man.” He studied her a moment. “Or of a young woman.”

      Before she could challenge his assumption that he was taking advantage of her, he stepped outside and closed the door, a cold blast sweeping across the floor. She reached for the knob, about to call out a protest but pulled her hand back and turned away.

      She’d given up on love and meant to keep her heart safe from emotional involvement but she had not given up on this arrangement. She had four weeks to prove to him that it should be made permanent. Surely four weeks would be long enough.

       Chapter Four

      Hugh walked four blocks down Silver Street and turned right. He passed three houses and reached the home Mr. Barret shared with his elderly sister, neither of whom seemed to have a cheerful bone between them. He paused outside the door to pray for strength, wisdom and a large dose of Christian kindness. The elderly pair had followed Mr. Barret’s married son to Montana to look for gold but his son had been killed in an accident several years back and his wife, the younger Mrs. Barret, had returned east to her kinfolk. Neither of the elderly Barrets could see any reason to leave their home in Bella Creek although they had no family here. According to Mr. Barret, they had no relatives anywhere. Surely that was enough to make the pair morose.