The Marriage Barter Interview

How exciting to have with us today Wyatt Reed, the hero from THE MARRIAGE BARTER written by Christine Johnson, a May 2013 release from Love Inspired Historical Romance.

1.  Mr. Reed, tell me the most interesting thing about you.

I can shoot a hole through a birch leaf at a hundred yards. All right. I guess that might not be interesting to the ladies. Let’s see. I’ve got a bullet lodged in my knee. Got it in the war. Fought for the Union, mind you. Part of General Sherman’s troops that blazed through the South to end that terrible war.

2.  What do you do for fun?

Fun isn’t a word I use much. I’m a tracker. That means I hunt for people who are missing. Mostly fugitives. That’s not fun, folks. It’s dangerous work. One mistake and you’re dead. I relax by riding hard. Dusty—that’s my horse—and I like a good gallop in open country.

3.  What do you put off doing because you dread it?

Anything, and I mean anything, that involves women. I gotta stay tough and alert to keep alive. A man tends to get distracted around the ladies, if you know what I mean.

4.  What are you afraid of most in life?

That the nightmares won’t end.

5.  What do you want out of life?

I don’t expect anything from life. If you don’t expect things, you won’t be disappointed.

6.  What is the most important thing to you?

It used to be faith and family, but the war took that away from me. A man sees things and does things in war that he’s none too proud of afterwards. I wish I’d done things differently, mind you. Every day. Sometimes when I see a family with young’uns, I get to dreamin’ about what might’ve been. If this here job works out, I’m heading west. Going clear to San Francisco. Maybe there I can start over.

7.  If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would never have lost my temper. I keep it under control now. Have to. But in the war, I let that anger loose, and others paid the price. Regret it every day, and that ain’t no way to live.

8.  Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?

I’m a tracker. I’m always on the move. There’s no place in that kinda life for a pet. Closest thing I got is Dusty. He’s the best mount I ever had. Smart as tacks. Bit of a temper. Guess that’s fair enough considering I got a bit of one myself.

9. Can you tell us a little interesting tidbit about the time period you live in?

Ten years after the Civil War, and the railroad’s finally laid tracks across the whole country—coast to coast. Part of it passes right by Evans Grove, Nebraska, where I got this simple job to do. Seems a bunch of orphans got stranded here when their train got robbed. All I got to do is bring ‘em twelve miles to Greenville. The town’s offered a bundle of money for it too. I figure it’ll take me only a day or two, and then I’ll be on my way to a new life.