A Christmas Carol for Catherine by Cat Cahill

When Catherine Lee finds herself widowed and on the verge of losing her home, she quickly agrees to become a mail-order bride. She can withstand another loveless marriage so long as she has a place to live and food to eat. However, just before she arrives in Grover’s Gulch, Colorado to be married, she discovers that she is expecting a baby–a child her intended knows nothing about.

Jonathan Clark needs a wife to help him run the new boarding house he’s opened in town. It’ll be hard work, cooking and cleaning after any number of boarders. When he learns Catherine is expecting, he worries she won’t be up to the task. Not to mention, of course, that he never saw himself raising another man’s child. But Catherine wins over both Jonathan and their guests with her quiet friendliness, lovely singing voice, and thoughtful touches throughout the boarding house. As Christmas nears, their feelings for each other grow even as Jonathan must chase away a dangerous guest.

But Catherine fears she’ll lose this baby as she lost the others before it and Jonathan worries he’ll be the same as his own father, a cold and cruel man. Will they come to terms with their pasts? Or will they celebrate Christmas alone?

A Christmas Carol for Catherine is part of the multi-author sweet and clean Mail-Order Brides’ First Christmas series. It can be read as a standalone, or enjoyed as part of the series.