The Bounty Hunter and the Bride: Oklahoma Brides Series #2 (Heartsong Presents #731) [Mass Market Paperback]

Vickie McDonough (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 10, 2007

Katie Hoffman lost her husband after only four months of marriage. Pregnant and close to losing the farm, she advertises to sell it. When a handsome buyer offers to marry her and let her keep the farm, she hastily agrees, wanting to give her child a father. But rushing into another marriage proves to be a mistake when a rugged bounty hunter crashes the wedding to capture the groom. Will Katie slow down enough to hear God's voice? Dusty McIntyre lost his wife to a heinous outlaw. After tracking the criminal for over a year, catching him doesn't bring Dusty the satisfaction that he'd hoped for. Dusty feels compelled to help Katie. Will he stay and find the peace and love he is looking for?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Vickie McDonough believes God is the ultimate designer of romance. She is a wife of thirty-six years, mother to four grown sons and a doting grandma. When not writing, she enjoys reading, watching movies, and traveling.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc (January 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597893889
• ISBN-13: 978-1597893886
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,364,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Vickie McDonough is an award-winning author of 24 books and novellas. Vickie's books have won the Inspirational Reader's Choice Contest, Texas Gold, and the ACFW Noble Theme contest, and she has been a multi-year finalist in ACFW's BOTY/Carol Awards contest. Vickie is the author of the Texas Boardinghouse Brides series, is a co-author of Texas Trails: A Morgan Family series, and next year, Whispers on the Prairie.

Vickie and her husband live in Oklahoma. She is a wife of thirty-six years, mother of four grown sons and grandma to a feisty five-year-old girl. When she's not writing, Vickie enjoys reading, gardening, watching movies, and traveling. To learn more about Vickie's books, visit her website: www.vickiemcdonough.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Trials of love and life in the 1900s, March 29, 2007

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bounty Hunter and the Bride: Oklahoma Brides Series #2 (Heartsong Presents #731) (Mass Market Paperback)

Vickie McDonough keeps the action flowing in this historical romance. From beginning to satisfying ending, this book was chock full of conflict, strong characters and snappy dialogue. The setting, Oklahoma in the early 1900s, was realistically depicted.

Katie Hoffman couldn't imagine a worse day. First, a man breaks into her house during her wedding, claiming that her fiance, Ed Sloane, is a murderer. A scuffle ensues and Katie's home is burned down. Now the only thing left for Katie is the baby that she carries--her only memory of her first husband.

Dusty McIntyre is a bounty hunter who has pursued only one goal for the last eighteen months: catch the man who killed his wife. After capturing Ed Sloane, Dusty doesn't know what to do with his life. He has no home to return to and no family waiting for him. Plus, he feels guilty about burning down the house of that pregnant woman.

Still upset, Katie allows Dusty to escort her to her aunt and uncle's home in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Though she hates being a burden to her family, at eight-and-a-half months pregnant, she has no other choice. To her surprise, Dusty helps her regain some of her independence by hiring her to sew him some new clothes.

As Katie and Dusty begin to grow closer, they fight an attraction that they can't seem to ignore. After almost making a huge mistake with Sloane, Katie doesn't want to get involved with anyone else. The loss of his first wife still weighs heavy on Dusty, as does his anger with God. Both characters wonder why a loving God could let things go so wrong in their lives.

When Katie is kidnapped by Sloane, Dusty realizes the full force of his feelings for her. But can he rescue her in time? And will she return his affections, or reject his love?

Although the inspirational message can be seen in almost every chapter, it was delivered simply and without being preachy.

Armchair Interviews says: McDonough has written a wonderful novel that is highly recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars Old time Favorite, August 4, 2008

By 

Diana Brandmeyer (O'Fallon, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Bounty Hunter and the Bride: Oklahoma Brides Series #2 (Heartsong Presents #731) (Mass Market Paperback)

LOVED IT! McDonough brings true emotion to her characters. Kate and Dusty both widowed and grief-stricken brought back my own feelings of being widowed at a young age. This is a fast-paced and well plotted book. If it were a movie I'd watch it over and over again.

5.0 out of 5 stars Old-fashioned romance at its best!, July 27, 2007

By 

Delia Latham "Inspirational Romance Author" (Okmulgee, OK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bounty Hunter and the Bride: Oklahoma Brides Series #2 (Heartsong Presents #731) (Mass Market Paperback)

Katie Hoffman just can't seem to get a break.

Her husband is killed in an accident only four months into their marriage, leaving her pregnant and unable to pay the mortgage on their farm. Unwilling to lose the property, she places an ad in hopes of selling it. But the stranger who shows up on her doorstep is more interested in Katie herself than in the farm, and she soon finds herself engaged again. Marrying Allan King seems like the perfect answer. She'll have a new husband, a father for her unborn child, and she can keep the farm.

But before she can say "I do," a pistol-packin' cowboy crashes the wedding, set on hauling her almost-husband off to jail. In the chaos, Katie winds up injured and her house burns to the ground. As if all that isn't enough, she finds herself stuck with the trouble-making cowboy as her escort on the lengthy wagon ride to her uncle's home and family.

Dusty McIntyre has been tracking the heinous outlaw responsible for his wife's death for over a year. But putting the slick character behind bars somehow fails to provide the satisfaction he expected - especially when another woman is very nearly killed in the process. Dusty determines to make it up to the young widow whose wedding he brought to a halt, and attaches himself to her in spite of her obvious wish to the contrary.

Before long, they're dealing with an unwelcome attraction. But God has lessons to teach - while He helps them tear down the walls of anger and resentment they've each built. Katie's Christian family - along with a series of sometimes thrilling, sometimes dramatic, sometimes heartbreaking moments - plays a major role in Katie and Dusty finding reconciliation with God and new hope in their individual hearts and lives.

The Bounty Hunter and the Bride is a fun ride through a past era, liberally sprinkled with humor and tastefully entwined with Christian values. Vickie McDonough's well-rounded characters - from feisty Katie to cuddly baby Joey ... from Nick and Nathan, the twin terrors, to wise Uncle Mason - are warm, real and and completely believable. Combined with realistic action and heart-tugging emotion, it makes for a well-written, enchanting and captivating tale.

This one will be a treasured addition to any library of romantic fiction.