The Messenger’s Mischief by Julia David

The Messenger's Mischief, a winning combination of humor, hope, her-oics, history, and heart-hugging romance.

The plucky Miss Elaine Balderhoff’s life is hanging by a thread as the Wells Fargo stage races across the Nevada desert. Bandits have attacked the stage, and the shotgun messenger sworn to protect the passengers is now the one in desperate need of help. In all the ruckus, the unthinkable has happened. He's lost the new Virginia City schoolmarm's cat. Finding her beloved Moses will certainly trump Mr. Roth's need to stay alive.

Overly responsible, Miss Balderhoff realizes when the Wells Fargo man isn’t snarling from pain, he’s quite handsome. More than Christian duty sparks her steps to his aid.

Serious and determined, Sawyer Roth could care less about a silly cat. Without a working shoulder, he's no good as a Wells Fargo shotgun messenger. Gutsy and kind, he'll give Miss Balderhoff that. But her sweet smile and warm touch will not persuade him into affections with a gal so odd and peculiar as her. And a shotgun messenger’s not allowed to marry, so there is no future to entertain.

Or is there?