THE HUSBAND TREE by Mary Connealy

Mary Connealy does such a good job of writing lighthearted romantic and fun stories. I always come away feeling refreshed from reading one of her books.
This story is about Belle Tanner, a hard working woman, who has married and buried 3 lousy husbands and has no intention of marrying again! She has 4 daughters who can handle the ranch as good as any man and who are out to make sure their mother doesn't marry a no-good lazy husband again.
The problem; Belle has to take 1,000 head of cattle to market and she and her girls can't do it alone, so she needs to find some cowpokes. This is where Silas Harden comes into the picture. He has been twiced burned by women and has no desire whatsoever to get involved with them again. But he needs work so signs up for the cattle drive (not realizing the other workers on this drive are Belle and her daughters!) Belle soon learns she needs and can trust Silas and Silas soon learns he needs and wants to protect Belle and her daughters from danger.
The way these two argue, fight and solve their disputes is always fun to read. The trials on the trail and the adventures will make you want to keep reading until the book is done, and then wishing is wasn't.
There is another story going on in this book with a captured Shoshone woman, who is white, and the cowhand, Wade, who wants to rescue her if only she would let him. This story I believe will be the focus of book #3.