[Lockets & Lace 01] • Oregon Dreams

Tired of being a secondhand daughter to her aunt and uncle, Hope Castleberry sets her heart on going west to Oregon to find her father. She desperately wants to truly belong to someone. Unfortunately, the wagon train won't take single women. When a handsome young man bound for Oregon stops at her uncle's blacksmith shop, she believes her prayers have been answered.

Darren Thorsten watched his family get on the boat to return to Norway. He's going to Oregon to homestead a farm in the rich land, but before he arrives, he must have a wife to get enough acreage to make it work. He promised his mother he'd marry a Scandinavian girl with blond hair and blue eyes to keep his heritage pure. He has to stop to get his horse shod and meets Hope.

She's determined to get him to take her west. He only sees her as trouble. He finally agrees after she tells him she'll help him find a wife. But then, well, the idea just doesn't seem as pleasing as Hope.