title: Misfit
author: Kerr, Mary
description: Raised by Bill, her widowed father, Hester Garrison doesn't fit in or belong. Women find her too odd. She dresses like a man. Men want her but for the wrong reasons. Hester knows what she wants-Carson Douglas, the rancher next door. Bill wants to ship her off to University but she's not about to leave Carson unprotected from the ladies who think him a good catch. She corners Carson, insisting she is old enough to satisfy his 'baser instincts', and gets him to promise not to marry while she is away at school but he won't promise to wait for her. Bill is a dying man trying to arrange Hester's future and keep her safe from greedy relatives. He pulls Carson into his plans, swears him to secrecy but promises he's left a letter to Hess explaining everything. Her world comes comes to pieces when Hester realizes she has been lied to and manipulated. She finds the letter, too late. She sent Carson packing. She is on her own, alone, pregnant, and full of stubborn pride. She's a Misfit.