Glory’s Groom by Kathleen Ball

Glory’s life is being turned upside down. Her comfortable daily life as a teacher at The Wigg School and Foundling Home has ended. She’d lived there all her life. How will she survive without her friends? Her future now is to travel to Texas as a Mail Order Bride and be a teacher. Glory wonders if she is good enough for Kent Sandler. Glory has never spent time with a man before and as soon as she says “I do,” Kent’s mother-in-law shows up and hands him a two year old boy he had no knowledge of and rides off.

Kent never wanted to get married again. Once was one time too many. But Parker Eastman offers a bet to his three best friends. Whoever gets married first will have a house built for them and Kent wins.

Trouble comes to the town of Sweet Water in the guise of hooded men who terrorize the freed slaves. Parker Eastman decides to hire the freedmen and pay them the same wage as the other cowboys. It was a time of violence and suspicion in the South. Glory pushes on to teach and finds plenty of children on the ranch who did not have any education. Too many hopes and dreams are wrapped up in the school to allow it to fail.

Through it all, both Kent and Glory admire each other’s courage and commitment but was that enough for a happy marriage?