Cottonwood, Iowa 1875 Lydia Walcott is on the run. With a broken arm and a wounded spirit she is escaping the hands of her cruel brother and the marriage he has arranged. She's running to the unknown, praying that God will lead her steps. Seeking shelter from an ice storm in a livery stall, Lydia goes to sleep hoping that in this small town of Cottonwood she'll find a job, a place to live and friends. Dr. Sterling Graham, having just delivered a baby, rides back to town over the ice covered roads. He's confident and secure in the knowledge that he is loved and respected by the people of the Cottonwood. Exhausted from the long night, he decides to sleep on the cot in the livery. Sterling's reputation and career, along with Lydia's hope for a new life, are put in jeopardy when gossips spread the news that, "Doc spent the night in the stable with a woman." The story grows as 'facts' are added. Without money to travel on west, Lydia feels trapped by her sense of responsibility for the doctor's good name. Even with his practice at risk, Sterling's compassion for the young woman whose physical wounds he treated stirs his heart. Something needs to be decided that will repair the damage to Sterling's career and give Lydia the home and safety she needs. The unwelcome solution is that they marry. How do they learn about each other and mesh two lives into a successful marriage which honors God, while coping with issues of trust, pride, epidemic and injury, and the fear that Lydia's brother will find her?

LARGE PRINT 'The Lord giveth and Lord taketh away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.' The verse has special meaning to Drew Richards and Katie Reed. Both are reeling from the worst loss they have ever known. Drew lost his wife, Rachel, in childbirth. Katie, both her husband and infant son in a fire. Now, to save Drew's newborn daughter, he has to ask Katie to do the unthinkable; nurse his daughter knowing each time will be like an arrow to her soul. Katie knows the pain of losing both spouse and child at the same time. She will do anything to keep Drew from experiencing that same pain. What starts as an arrangement to care for Drew's children becomes a marriage of convenience. Both are sure they will never love again, but for the sake of Drew's children they decide to marry. Can love grow from the giving of themselves for each other? Will a rash of petty thefts and an interfering know-it-all cause more problems than they can overcome? Will they live their lives in a loveless marriage?