A Bride in the Bargain by Deeane Gist

Anna Ivey works as a cook to a man who tries to force himself on her. She applies to Asa Mercer to become a cook in Seattle to a lumberjack. What she doesnt know is that she is to wed the man who employs her. Haunted by the deaths of her father, brother, and mother, for which she blames herself, she is unwilling to marry Joe Denton or let him close. When she finds out that he either marrys or loses his land she feels sympathetic towards him, but not enough to help him out. Feeling she must stand on her own she leaves his land and becomes a nurse. Joe wont let her go that easy so he starts to court her and notices how sick she is becoming. The doctor diagnosed her with tiburculosis after they marry, so he puts his land up for sale and plans on moving down south. While on thier honeymoon in San Fransico they get a second opinion, they find that she is only allergic to clorophorm.

This book had me laughing several times throughout its pages. it was a great read and ties into her previous book The Meassure of a Lady. I enjoyed reading about lumberjacks and why they always were cutoff pants. Also about how they chop down trees. This book only strengthened my conviction to read all books by this author.