A Convenient Wife

Carolyn Davidson is the master of tender romances that make me fall in love with the hero. This book is no exception to this. The doctor is a good guy who sees a young pregnant woman who's been thrown out of her father's house. He offers her a place to work and stay and keeps his distance. The father of the baby returns and to protect her, the doctor marries her. What is great is that the hero was a virgin. They aren't that easy to find. What's even better is that the message of forgiveness and grace shone throughout this book. It was a touching romance, showing that love can overcome a nasty father who actually abducts her for his own gain and other obstacles this couple finds in the first year of their marriage.

1897, Whitehorn, MontanaAlmost nineteen-year-old Ellie Mitchum has a terrifying fear and a shocking secret. Ellie is the only daughter of crotchety, unloving but successful widower rancher, George Mitchm. George feels every woman's place is in the home and their sole purpose is to cater to the men in their life, whether that's a husband or a father. Attractive, good-natured, hard-working and extremely naive Ellie dreams of a future with a lovingly devoted husband with a home of their own. When smooth-talking Tommy Jamison started courting Ellie, she was quickly filled with his golden promise of her lifelong dream. Tommy's controlling and domineering parents hastily moved him back East to attend college and away from a possible problem their son may have caused with the unrefined and common Miss Mitchum.Remembering that her mother died some years before due to a growth in her belly, Ellie was frantic with fear when her belly mysteriously started getting big, so she made an appointment with Whitehorn's only doctor, the handsome bachelor, Winton Gray. He assured Ellie she was not dying from a growth, but only having a baby-a perfectly natural occurrence. Understanding Ellie's predicament as a girl of "a certain reputation," Doc decided Ellie was the answer to his prayers as his life unquestionably needed the special touch of an organized down-to-earth woman and Ellie definitely needed a father for her baby. The perfect all around solution is a marriage of convenience. They surprisingly discovered many blessings, but when Tommy returned to Whitehorn, Doc and Ellie would learn that marriage, no matter how convenient, was never simple and is sometimes filled with heartache. A very easy read and a bonus to the wonderful Montana Mavericks Series.