Men of Valor: The Sheriff & His Mail Order Bride

By LeeAnn Mackenzie

A sheriff, a mail order bride and their terrier set in late 1880's.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lovely Romance Publications
• Release date: Jun 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781513001777

Book preview

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Chapter 1

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Alex Bishop would have never taken the job had it not been for a promise he made to a dying man. He thought his days as a lawman were over when he departed Raineer. But no one ever said life was predictable. His best friend was Sheriff Jesse McNamara. When consumption began to whittle away at the formerly implacable, formidable sheriff of Gold Hill, California, he summoned his close friend and former lawman, Alex Bishop, to his home.

Jesse McNamara lay in bed, suspenders and a thin shirt exposed, his appearance gaunt, too weak to move. He'd been given two weeks to live and that diagnosis seemed generous. Sallie, his wife hovered until the sheriff insisted on speaking to Alex Bishop alone. His grey eyes transmitted frustration and fatigue in this moment. Alex removed his Stetson and took a wooden chair near Jesse's bedside.

I've been thinking on this and there's no other man better suited to take over as sheriff, than you. It would do me good if I didn't have to worry about what happens when I push on. Wade Dalton and cohorts have been causing quite a stir lately. I won't have this city resort to being a haven for outlaws, ner- do- wells and grifters. I've worked too hard for that. Jesse McNamara's face grew grave. He wasn't afraid of dying as much as the inconvenience of it. A faithful man who was known for pulling no punches, he was past fifty years old, though before his illness, he didn't look a day over forty.

Alex Bishop was concerned too. Though he hadn't been employed in the peacekeeping vocation since he returned to town ten years before, he recognized the importance of keeping the city from descending into chaos. None of the current deputies seemed well suited or particularly interested in assuming all of the responsibility afforded sheriff.

So at thirty five, Alex Bishop became sheriff of Gold Hill after a hastily called election. Soon after,  Jesse McNanara