As if being orphaned, broke and forced to answer an Ad for a mail order bride isn't bad enough. Lily finds out, much too late, that she must be a mother as well. Unfortunately for her, being a mother is the least of her problems compared to the very glaring problem of whose mother she has to be; a mother to six children. *Raymond doesn't exactly have a choice when he decides to put out an Ad for a mail order bride, excluding the very major detail of his six children. With the dire need of proper feeding, care and love that his children are in, he would much rather lie to a woman than lose his children to starvation. Leaving out his children's existence is not the only thing Raymond has done, he has also left out the fact that he has no intention of being intimate with his new wife. The plan was to acquire a housekeeper in the guise of a wife and live as friendly strangers. Raymond is not prepared for the feisty blond that answers to his Ad or the fact that it is becoming more and more difficult to ignore her presence.

CHAPTER ONE DECEIVED

Wichita Falls, 1873

Perhaps she could learn to love him.

A voice muscling its way past the many troubling ones in her head, fought for her attention; a thought that left her feeling hopeless, for she understood that her future was as uncertain as her marriage to the complete stranger who sat beside her, barely breathing.

Her attention shifted to the side; in yet another failed attempt at seeing the face of the man she was now legally married to.

Tan skin, a working muscle in his jaw, curly brown hair...

Mentally, she noted his features, the tension in his muscles as he gripped the reins. His gaze remains fixed on the dirt—road before them, his sealed lips a sign that he didn't wish to converse with her.

Her gaze shifted to the worn—out shirt that hung loosely on his thin form, holes littering every inch. It was apparent that the brown color of the fabric resulted from weeks—possibly months—of neglected laundry. His rolled—up sleeves, exposed hairy hands, and his br