Shotgun Grooms

Shotgun Grooms by Susan Mallery and Maureen Child Harlequin Historical # 575 - September 2001 Simon MacIntyre raised his two nephews when they were orphaned as boys. When the boys returned from the civil war, Simon knew both were deeply scared emotionally. Fearing that his nephews would never marry and have their own families, he placed a stipulation in his will that in order for them to inherit the saloon, the gold mine, and the ranch, both would have to marry within three months of his death. Not an easy feat for these stubborn bachelor brothers! Lucas's Convenient Bride by Susan Mallery Lucas is determined that he and his brother Jackson, will not lose their inheritance. So he proposes mail-order brides, only his bride backs out and now Lucas is running out of time to find a bride. Emily's moved west to prove her independence to her family, knowing that she was not attractive marriage material as her sisters were. Emily's got a good sense for business, and she approaches Lucas with a proposition for him to rent the saloon's vacant upstairs so that she can run a hotel. Lucas immediately proposes another business arrangement, where Emily becomes his wife in name only and he agrees to Emily's hotel and after an appropriate time their marriage will be annulled. This suits Emily just fine and they marry. Only Emily starts to really like her new husband and she wants to learn about the mysteries of wedded bliss. Lucas soon finds she's getting under his skin and he has trouble keeping his hands off her. He feels huge remorse when they consummate their marriage. The guilt he carries from a past deed in the war makes him believe he is unworthy of a woman's love. But Emily is determined to have a her husband. This was delightful! Ms. Mallery wove her storytelling magic into this charming story of the confirmed bachelor and the virgin spinster. I love the way Ms. Mallery lets us into Lucas' head and shows us his depth. Emily is a perfect match for him; smart and passionate. Jackson's Mail-Order Bride by Maureen Child Jackson told his brother Lucas he had no intentions of getting married again. He lost his first wife during the war, and he'll never love again. But Lucas won't risk losing their inheritance so he orders Jackson a mail-order bride. When Molly shows up on the afternoon stage, Lucas greets her and tells her that his brother is ill and can't attend the wedding the next day, and that Lucas will stand in as his proxy. Molly's disappointed in not meeting her husband to be, but is eager to get her new life started. After the ceremony, Molly is determined to go up in the mountains to Jackson's cabin, so she hires a horse and wagon, loads up her truck and cases and sets out. When she arrives, she finds that Jackson is indeed ill with a fever and she nurses him. He has a nasty gash on his cheek but she can't really see it well because of Jackson's heavy beard. So off comes the beard, and a discovery of a horrible deep scar that is many ye

There are two stories in this book: one by Susan Mallery--Lucaas's Convenient Bride, and the second by Maureen Child--Jackson's Mail-Order Bride. The men are Lucas MacIntyre and his brother, Jackson MacIntyre. Their uncle died and left a will stating that they couldn't inherit the saloon/ranch/mine unless they married. The women in both stories are strong, caring, and focused. They are different in that one is plain and one isn't, but they are willing to take a risk on these two guys, and work at it. I was really surprised how much I liked this book. I started it, and didn't put it down till I read the whole thing. Try it.

This is the story of one of two brothers -- they must meet the terms of their uncle's will in order to secure their inheritance -- A Saloon - a ranch and a mine!Lucas MacIntyre runs a saloon in order to have an income to secure the ranch.He can't believe he would ask the uniquely enterprising schoolmarm to enter into a "merger" but what else was he to do. His mail-order bride did not come through and he was running out of time.Miss Emily Smythe knew that no man would ever want to marry her. She had too many shortcomings. No beauty, no voluptuous figure to entice a man - only a very good head for business.She held her breath as she negotiated with Lucas to be able to open an hotel on the second floor of his saloon.Lucas was a teasing, handsome gentleman who knew that no woman would ever marry him if they knew the truth about him.He would keep Emily at a distance and not get involved emotionally but one kiss had him dreaming of Emily in bed. Another kiss and he was wanting to introduce her to the pleasures of the marriage bed --- and get himself a little relief from his frustrations. Oh, Lordy!In the meantime he was importing a mail-order bride for his brother, who wanted no wife. [grin - boy did that backfire]In the meantime Emily gave Lucas two of his most precious gifts -- Do Not Miss the conclusion in Maureen Child's story of Jackson MacIntyre and his Mail-Order Bride.Highly recommended and not heavy to get through --- great addition to anyones library.

This is the second story of the MasIntyre brothers -- Lucas and Jackson.Lucas has sent for a mail-order bride for his brother Jackson, which he did not want and Lucas's wife Emily wanted to know how Lucas was going to convince Jackson to marry. [grin] Lucas married Miss Molly Malone by proxy for his brother, claiming that Jackson was too ill to attend the wedding.Molly goes storming [in a downpour] up the mountain to Jackson's cabin and mine to see if he really is ill.Oh, Boy -- Jackson is laid out with a fever and Molly must bring the fever down as Jackson floats in a semi-conscious void.In a dream like state Jackson consumates his marriage unknowingly.Jackson was in for the shock of his life when he woke up the next evening.OK, so she was his wife and he would treat her so but he would not have anything more to do with her.A nice added irritant was Captain Blood. And Molly was keeping his cabin too clean - he was feeling crowded out of his sanctuary.The trouble was he couldn't forget his dream of her in his bed.Molly was refusing to let Jackson hide away from the world and kept feeding any one who passed through -- and just about got into trouble because of it.When she learned of Jackson's secret, he almost lost her and had to convince her to not leave him.Molly brought him a love that he didn't want but she drove away the loneliness and proved him to be a worthy husband.Highly Recommended and you breath a sigh of relief for the MacIntyre brothers when you finish these stories that they have recognized their true loves at last -- the secondary characters are really neat also. Don't pass this one up - it is a great addition to one's library.