title: The Battered Bride
author: Markson, Kenneth
description: A clean, western romance novelette.
  An abusive stepfather forces pretty young Val to leave Shreveport.  She decides upon a fresh start to become a mail order bride to a rancher in a small Texas town.  But all is not what it seems.  Mack, a handsome bounty hunter, passes through by chance.  Can the town's evil be stopped?  Will love triumph in Texas?
  If you enjoyed this story, you may also enjoy the other books in Kenneth's mail order brides Redeemed series, or Kenneth's mail order brides Rescued series.