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Excerpt from “Faith” Book 1 in the Goldwater Creek Mail Order Bride Sweet Romance Series:

If anyone had told Faith Bailey three years ago that she’d be traveling across the country to marry a complete stranger she would have laughed.

But that was before Charles. Before the cheating and the deception. When she’d been a starry-eyed eighteen-year-old who still harbored the illusion of true love.

The mere thought of her dead husband, Charles Preston, cast a cloud over Faith’s heart. She couldn’t believe she’d been so stupid. But she had been and she’d fallen head over heels. Love at first sight, she’d told herself, and she thought Charles had felt the same.

She couldn’t believe she’d been naive enough to actually believe in true love … A mistake she vowed to never make again.

Looking back now, she could see that his boyish charm and handsome good looks were only skin-deep. But back then, she’d thought he was her Prince Charming, come to save her after the death of her father. She’d even had hopes that he would help support her mother and sisters while they lived out their ‘happily ever after’.

“Some happily ever after,” she muttered under her breath, twisting the string of her purse so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Things had turned out the opposite of what she’d thought. Charles had soon shown his true colors as a brute, a liar and a cheat who gambled away everything they’d had and then some.

Faith cracked open the train window and sucked in a deep breath, letting it whoosh out in a sigh. Colorado Territory was nothing like Boston. She missed the busy streets, hotels and stores already. Though the air did have a nice smell to it here, clean and earthy with a slight scent of dried grass that tickled her nose, it didn’t make up for the depressing, dreary countryside.

Given a choice, Faith would still be in Boston. But she didn’t have a choice, thanks to Charles. His untimely death had not only left her a penniless widow, it had left her with a huge debt to repay.

Anger bubbled up inside her at the thought. It wasn’t fair that she should have to repay Charles’ debt, but she been left with no choice. Charles had owed one of the most notorious gangsters in Boston, Lefty Brewster. And apparently Lefty did not let debts die with the debtor.

Shortly after Charles’ death, Lefty and his henchman, Larry O’Toole, had paid her a visit, letting her know, in no uncertain terms, that he expected her to repay the debt her husband owed … and if she did not, he would make life miserable for her sisters—something a man of his power could easily do.

Faith had no financial means to repay any debt, but she would risk life and limb to keep her sisters safe. Her willingness to face risk was a good thing because Lefty had demanded a different type of payment in lieu of money—he wanted information and Faith provided a means for him to acquire it—which was how she came to be on this train, hurtling toward Colorado as a mail order bride.

Faith shifted in her seat. The red velvet cushion on top of the bench was flimsy and her bones hurt from the jarring contact with the hard wood underneath. She didn’t know whether to be glad her uncomfortable journey was over, or afraid of what lay at the end of it.

She craned her neck and pressed her face against the smooth glass of the window to look toward the front of the train where she could see the dotted buildings of a town looming in the distance. Her new town.

The few sips of orange juice she’d managed for breakfast soured in her stomach. Up there, in the new town, was her new husband-to-be.

She allowed herself a minute to wonder about him. She didn’t know much about him except that his name was Jackson ‘Jax’ Blackburn, he was eight years her senior and he had a reputation as a ruffian. According to Lefty, that was why he needed a bride—to legitimize himself and show that he was an upstanding member of society. Apparently, he wanted to enter into some business dealings where that was required. Even the marriage was strictly a business deal—at least that’s what Lefty had told her.

Faith hoped that was the case. Jax’s reputation had her a little worried that he might want more than just a ‘business arrangement’ from her, but she had no choice and even if he did, whatever he did to her couldn’t be any worse than what she’d suffered at the hands of Charles.

Faith settled back in her seat and listened to the squeaking of the train wheels as it slowly reduced speed. Her belly fluttered nervously at the thought about the task ahead of her. At least she thought that was why it was fluttering—it certainly couldn’t be nervous excitement at the thought of meeting her future husband. Maybe it was indigestion because she had no intention of having any feelings for Jax Blackburn, or any other man, for that matter.

She’d do what was required of her until she was able to repay the debt. Then, hopefully, she’d get the heck out before Jax discovered what she was up to. If she waited too long … well, she shuddered to think about what her fate would be.

Dark clouds settled over the hazy Rocky Mountains in the distance as if to serve as a warning about her future. She didn’t relish the task before her. Deceit was not her strong suit, but she would have to pull this off if she wanted to save her sisters from suffering at the hands of Lefty Brewster.

Jax Blackburn thought he was getting a quiet, unassuming bride, but what he was really getting was a spy. Because Jax had a secret that Lefty wanted and Faith was his only way of uncovering it.

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