Series: Fairfax Brides (Book 2)
Bidding on his convenient bride!
There's no room in James Fast Elk Blackburn's dangerous life for a wife, but the gentle beauty on offer in the town's bridal auction would make the perfect caregiver for his orphaned niece.
Miranda Fairfax is trying to reach her sister in Arizona. Being arrested then forcibly wed to a bounty hunter is not part of her plan! Yet Jamie's rough exterior conceals a compassionate, sensual man, and Miranda soon wishes their marriage could be for real…
Good book. In this book, it is Miranda's turn to flee Boston in an attempt to escape her cousin's unwanted attentions. She plans to join Charlotte in Arizona. She naively thinks that she can get away with traveling without a ticket, which turns out to be much more difficult than she expects. Things take an unexpected turn when she narrowly avoids her cousin's pursuit in Chicago and ends up on the wrong train. Her attempt to sell a piece of jewelry to another passenger gets her arrested instead and jailed in a small town in Wyoming, then raffled off as a wife to pay her fines.
Miranda may be a bit naïve, but she is also adventurous and a quick thinker. When most of the entrants for the bride lottery prove to be less than appealing, Miranda finds a way to turn it to her advantage. I loved the method she came up with as it was quite clever. However, she did not expect the winner to be dangerous looking bounty hunter!
Jamie has been a bounty hunter since he was thirteen years old. It was the only way that the part-Cheyenne was able to earn money to help care for his mother and sister. Now they are gone, and he is left with his gravely ill ten-year-old niece. Jamie doesn't want a wife, but he desperately needs someone to help him care for Nora.
I really enjoyed the development of Jamie and Miranda's relationship. There were sparks between them from the beginning. I loved the back and forth as they prepared for their journey. Jamie is silent and intense, while Miranda seems to revel in trying to get a rise out of him. The scene with the horses and saddles was especially amusing. During their journey, Jamie fights his attraction to Miranda, knowing that the gulf between them is too wide. When they reach their destination, Miranda is stunned to discover that Jamie intends to leave her to care for his dying niece, while he continues his bounty hunter activities. I loved Miranda's adaptability as she makes a spot for herself. I also ached for her as she grew more attached to little Nora, knowing what the end result would be. Even though Jamie and Miranda were apart, they were never out of mind, and their fascination with each other continued to grow. Upon Jamie's return, they were forced to spend time together as they cared for Nora. Though he is a private man who doesn't talk about himself or his feelings, I loved seeing him open up a little with Miranda as they dealt with their grief. He was also much more sensitive than he appeared on the surface, and is fantastic with both Nora and Miranda during this time. One of the things I loved about Miranda was her acceptance of Jamie's heritage. She doesn't look down on his Cheyenne blood, instead simply seeing him for the man he is. After Nora's death, Miranda insists on Jamie escorting her to her sister by the longer, overland route, rather than going by train, as she doesn't want to be parted from him. Their trip south gives them more opportunity to really get to know each other. Their attraction continues to grow, but their self-perceived obstacles are still there. Jamie is especially sensitive to the prejudices he encounters and resents that people look down on Miranda because of him. He feels that she will be better off without him. Miranda, on the other hand, wants to be with Jamie and looks on their potential life together as an adventure. Trouble comes when she comes up with a way to jump-start their future together that puts them in danger instead. Horrified at the realization she nearly got him killed, Miranda believes that she is the wrong person for him and pulls away. I ached for them both as they give up on their love. I loved the ending, as part of Jamie's past provides an unexpected answer to his dreams. His reunion with Miranda was funny, sweet and romantic as the extent of the changes are revealed.
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