Calico Bride by Jillian Hart - Review of the third book in the Button & Bobbins series

Calico Bride

Third book in the Button & Bobbins series

by Jillian Hart

Lila Lawson and most of her friends have graduated, Meredith is engaged to Shane and has left town for her first teaching job, while the rest of them are still in boring Angel Falls, Montana. As she is writing to Meredith and telling her how boring her life is, excitement practically falls at her feet in the doorway of the mercantile that her Dad owns, where she works. The new deputy is injured from a gunshot wound as the thieves are high tailing it out of town after robbing the bank. She's attempting to save his life when the Dobbs, the Sheriff, comes in and pretty much tells her to let him die, he's useless. When the deputy sees the sheriff coming in he slips her a Range Rider badge and asks her to hide it for him. Eunice, Lila's step-mother comes into the store and demands that she keep track of everything that is used to tend to Shane, the Sheriff says that he will not pay for any of it, with a sense of humor Shane asks Lila to put it on his account.

Things get worse when Lila's Father is attacked while making his deliveries. He is beat, they steal his horses, and the wagon full of supplies being delivered to his customers. When he is able to go to the Sheriff and file a report, the Sheriff and Shane both refuse to take him seriously and imply that he's mistaken about what happened. Then Lorenzo's Dad, a friend of Lila's that graduated with her, loses some cattle and gets the same response from Dobbs and Shane as her Father did. 

While everyone in town now despise the Sheriff and Deputy and feel that they are part of the problem, Lila falls more and more in love with him. Lila's Dad has ordered her not to talk or have anything to do with Shane and to add up the bill for the supplies she used to tend to his wounds. She eventually quits working for her Dad and step-mother in the mercantile and takes another job which includes a room for her to live in.

When Shane takes her on a picnic, they are captured by the Cheever gang. The leader is a childhood friend of Shane's and Shane used to belong to the gang. Olly Cheever tells how many men Shane has shot and/or killed in his past.

What will she do now, she's left home, is in love with Shane but he has claimed he's a "lone wolf" and will never marry? He has left town now, and what about him being an outlaw and shooting men, how will she process that information?

I have really enjoyed this series and started the last book, Snowflake Bride, already. Jillian really did a good job of keeping me interested in this series. This book had more action than the other ones, so it moved along a little faster. 

I would recommend this book to anyone that likes Inspirational Historical Fiction, you won't be disappointed.