Today's snippet is taken from
Joshua's Bride
Land Run Mail Order Brides, Book 1
by Zina Abbott
“Ma’am! What are you doing with that pole?”
Joshua twisted his neck to face the direction from which he heard the barked demand. Since Rose was one of the few women in the crowd—and possibly the only person, male or female, carrying a survey post—he suspected the query was intended for her.
Another suited man who looked like he could be a government clerk, a determined and disapproving expression on his face, approached at a fast walk. As he came within six feet of them, he pointed at the pole in Rose’s hand. “That looks like a surveyors’ cornerstone marker.”
“It is. It came from one of the corners of my homestead.” Rose smiled as she clutched the pole to her side.”
“From your...You removed a surveyors’ cornerstone marker? You can’t do that.” The man’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
“I did do that. I have to protect my property. After I reached my claim, some scoundrel tried to burn me out. I had to hold him off by gunpoint. Another hoped to claim it, too. And then I have this corner that is hidden from the rest of my land by a thick line of trees. I refuse to allow someone to sneak up on it and try to stake his claim to the whole of it. So, I removed the post. No one will know the coordinates. Well, except my neighbors, who already wrote them down.”
“That’s illegal!”
“Oh. I didn’t know.” Rose shrugged. “Just as soon as I get my claim registered, I intend to return it. I hoped I could get it done today so I could return home and put it back in the ground. It is rather heavy and a nuisance to carry everywhere I go. Unfortunately, according to my lottery ticket, I can’t register my land for three months.”
“You need to put it back, right away. In fact, give it me. I’ll find a surveyor and have him reset it.” The clerk reached for the pole.
“No!” Rose twisted to keep the post away from his reach. “It’s my pole that goes to my property. Well, mine and three of my neighbors.”
“Sir, you won’t need to go to all that trouble.” Joshua pulled Rose behind him and stepped to squarely face the clerk. This woman needs a keeper. “She’s with me, and I’ll help her return it where it goes.”
“She your wife?”
“No, sir, she’s my fiancé. We have one more matter of business to see to while we’re here, and then I’ll return her home and help her reset it.” The word fiancé was out of Joshua’s mouth before he even thought about it. He did not know how she felt about it, but, he reasoned, it was better for her reputation to be traveling in the company of a fiancé than a man with whom she had a casual acquaintance. He held the clerk’s gaze.
My latest release is, Eleanor, Book 15 in The Switchboard Sisterhood series. It is available for purchase as an ebook or at no additional cost with your Kindle Unlimited subscription. You may find the book description and purchase link 
My next book will be A Watchman for Willow, the fourth book in the Mail Order Papa series. It is scheduled for release on September 18, 2023. For the book description and pre-order link, please CLICK HERE
Sweet/Christian (Rated PG) Historical Romance
Includes my own JOSHUA’S BRIDE and LIGHTHOUSE ESCAPE
Audible Romance Books - Listening to LOVE
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