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Accidental Sweetheart
Lisa Bingham
Her Reluctant Lawman Match Suffragist Lydia Tomlinson won’t stand for the rule banning women from the Batchwell Bottoms mining camp…even if protesting it means “kidnapping” miners to use as leverage. And with Pinkerton Detective Gideon Gault guarding the mail-order brides, the women have chosen her to distract him. Now Lydia just has to pretend interest long enough to reach their goal…Gideon promised to uphold the camp’s code of conduct, but he’s met his match in feisty Lydia. When a gang of outlaws threatens the town, he and Lydia must put their differences aside. And as they join forces to stop the thieves, he can’t help but wish her protest will succeed…so she can stay by his side forever.The Bachelors of Aspen Valley: Love sweeps into town for these hardworking men
Her Reluctant Lawman Match
Suffragist Lydia Tomlinson won’t stand for the rule banning women from the Batchwell Bottoms mining camp...even if protesting it means “kidnapping” miners to use as leverage. And with Pinkerton detective Gideon Gault guarding the mail-order brides, the women have chosen her to distract him. Now Lydia just has to pretend interest long enough to reach their goal...
Gideon promised to uphold the camp’s code of conduct, but he’s met his match in feisty Lydia. When a gang of outlaws threatens the town, he and Lydia must put their differences aside. And as they join forces to stop the thieves, he can’t help but wish her protest will succeed...so she can stay by his side forever.
LISA BINGHAM is the bestselling author of more than thirty historical and contemporary romantic fiction novels. She’s been a teacher for more than thirty years, and has served as a costume designer for theatrical and historical reenactment enthusiasts. Currently she lives in rural northern Utah near her husband’s fourth-generation family farm with her sweetheart and three beautiful children. She loves to hear from her fans at lisabinghamauthor.com (http://www.lisabinghamauthor.com) or Facebook.com/lisabinghamauthor (https://Facebook.com/lisabinghamauthor).
Also By Lisa Bingham
Love Inspired Historical
The Bachelors of Aspen Valley
Accidental Courtship
Accidental Family
Accidental Sweetheart
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Accidental Sweetheart
Lisa Bingham
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08441-3
ACCIDENTAL SWEETHEART
© 2018 Lisa Bingham
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
“Will you be relieved to see us gone?”
When Lydia met his gaze, Gideon looked as if she’d handed him a time bomb set to explode.
Laughing, she said, “I suppose there’s no diplomatic way of answering that.”
His eyes creased in amusement. “I grew up with sisters. I’ve learned to recognize a loaded question.”
“Then let me rephrase. I know your duties will be simplified. But I wonder if you’ll miss us in some small way.”
He studied her for a moment, then nodded. “I dare say this valley will miss all of you. You’ve brought a measure of joy to what would have been a dreary winter.”
Lydia supposed she shouldn’t put too much import into his words, but she couldn’t ignore the warmth that settled in her heart.
“I’m glad we weren’t a complete chore.”
He shook his head. “Not a complete chore.”
When she would have glared at him, he laughed. “You mustn’t take yourself too seriously. After all, our time together is limited.”
Yes. But did it have to be?
The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
—Genesis 49:26
Dear Reader (#u49701fd4-80b5-5732-b77f-a261b285b1eb),
I hope that you enjoyed Lydia’s and Gideon’s story, Accidental Sweetheart. This is the third and final book in the Bachelors of Aspen Valley series, and I wanted to make sure that I finished everything with a bang! To my delight, much like the characters themselves, as soon as I started writing, Lydia and Gideon hijacked the plot and decided to have a rollicking good time. In addition, characters from the first two books, Accidental Courtship and Accidental Family, decided to help out. I had so much fun bringing everyone together for one last happy ending.
I love to hear from my readers, so if you’d like to get in touch, you can reach me at my website, www.lisabinghamauthor.com (http://www.lisabinghamauthor.com), or through my social media sites, www.Facebook.com/lisabinghamauthor (https://www.Facebook.com/lisabinghamauthor), and Twitter @lbinghamauthor (https://www.twitter.com/lbinghamauthor).
All my best to you,
Lisa
Dedicated to Joyce, my mother.
Thank you for always believing in me.
Contents
Cover (#u149b24ad-9c0e-5637-ad05-4a672bde5543)
Back Cover Text (#u48a7b117-2b90-5f86-8871-0f72c874be48)
About the Author (#u574bb599-15fb-5e2c-ad60-f72afb68618c)
Booklist (#ucf2969a3-ebf5-536b-99f6-0fc3f9ca3f46)
Title Page (#u286c8353-f132-5fd2-af51-01bc47b28930)
Copyright (#u4c906ec2-86b2-5d1c-a93c-f0f9f4bad052)
Introduction (#uf165db42-0195-5864-b328-d049131949c3)
Bible Verse (#u87810e20-3f82-5c17-a625-06155c3e7773)
Dear Reader (#u28ebcc7b-e013-5d80-935f-c51f06aecbcb)
Dedication (#u21397183-b200-5b60-aa76-f52a2a99a042)
Chapter One (#ua5d0ff86-fd56-5756-8de5-530dcc908cf4)
Chapter Two (#ub3d22b09-a229-581d-a5b6-f949f5c4deb9)
Chapter Three (#ud3b46344-8a16-52d3-a20f-8d886d89c620)
Chapter Four (#u16371b5e-8055-5c27-a764-7c055b9164ed)
Chapter Five (#uce77e3fd-bf0d-5d33-9d0f-2e7294129792)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#u49701fd4-80b5-5732-b77f-a261b285b1eb)
February 21, 1874 Utah Territory
Gideon Gault sensed trouble. Something strange was happening in Aspen Valley, something...unsettling. A thread of agitation ran through the community surrounding the Batchwell Bottoms Silver Mine. It bubbled beneath the surface, filling him with anxiety—even though, for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why.
Pausing at the entrance to the mine, he planted his hands on his hips and squinted against the sun. For the hundredth time that day, he allowed his gaze to sweep over the street beyond.
“Problems?”
Glancing over his shoulder, Gideon acknowledged Charles Wanlass, the mine’s blasting foreman, and recent newlywed.
“I don’t know. Do things feel...odd...to you?”
Charles smiled. “Odd? In what way?”
“I don’t know. I just...”
Charles’s grin grew even broader, and Gideon grimaced. The man grinned a whole lot these days. Ever since Charles had married and adopted twin babes, Gideon’s friend existed in a perpetual bubble of happiness that was beginning to grate on Gideon’s nerves. Especially since Gideon seemed to be surrounded by miners who were afflicted with the same brand of besottedness.
“There’s something going on,” Gideon groused, trying again to explain the fact that, each day, he grew a little more skittish, a little more suspicious. He woke up with the sensation that something was off-kilter with Aspen Valley and went to bed sure that he’d missed something important.
But what?
“Maybe it’s the good weather that has you out of sorts,” Charles offered. His tone was a little too tongue-in-cheek for Gideon’s liking.
No, it wasn’t the weather. After months of snow, bitter cold and whipping winds, the valley had begun to enjoy a temporary thaw. For weeks, they’d basked in unseasonably bright sunshine. Seemingly overnight, the man-high drifts of ice that had once been pushed up against the buildings had melted to dirty mounds, while the thoroughfares grew thick with mud. Deep puddles made it hazardous to stand too close to the street since the passing wagons threw dirt and grime in every direction. And crossing the road...well, if a man didn’t want to lose his boots, he needed to use the wooden boards that had been laid down to provide a temporary bridge from the Miners’ Hall to the cook shack.
But all that was normal for Aspen Valley in the spring.
So, what had him feeling so antsy?
Gideon knew why the other men were restless. They lived in dread of the moment when the pass cleared and the fifty mail-order brides who’d been stranded at Bachelor Bottoms for the winter were forced to leave the valley.
Gideon couldn’t wait for that day. He’d finally have the women out of his hair, his unit of Pinkertons guarding the silver rather than the ladies’ dormitory, and his life back to normal.
“Maybe you’re just grumpy,” Charles said.
The man had the all-out gall to laugh and Gideon scowled. “Very funny.”
“You could drop by the house for something to eat. Willow was planning to bake today. She’d love to fatten you up.”
Tempting as that thought might be, Gideon shook his head. The last thing he needed was to follow Charles home right after the man’s shift. Although Charles and Willow tended to be reserved in public, Gideon knew they’d be goo-goo-eyed in their own row house. In his present mood, that was more than Gideon could handle.
“Maybe later. Right now, I need to get to the bottom of this.”
