title: The Barefoot Bride: A Novel
author:  Joan Johnston 
description: Johnston's ( Sweetwater Seduction ) 19th-century romance is light on originality and heavy on sentimentality. Widower Seth Kendrick, a doctor in rural Montana, needs a wife to civilize his rambunctious, tomboy daughter Patricia (known as Patch), so he advertises for one. Widow Molly Gallagher needs a home for her children Whit and little Nessie and decides to accept Seth sight unseen. The couple wants to make the best of things, but the children intend to sabotage the effort. Patch opens the hostilities by pushing Molly into the Missouri River as soon as her steamboat docks; Whit retaliates by shoving Seth in after her. The youngsters' hostility doesn't prevent the newlyweds from rapidly registering their mutual attraction, although Molly is occasionally uneasy about her secretive bridegroom.pk Seth is extremely reticent about his past, seems to be the only man around who refuses to wear a gun, would rather be called a coward than stand up and fight and sometimes stays out all night, offering up an excuse that wouldn't fool his horse, let alone Molly. <BR>Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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  ## Praise for  
    
  JOAN JOHNSTON
  
  
  “Johnston warms your heart and tickles your fancy.”
  
  
  —New York Daily News
  
  
  “Skillful storyteller Johnston makes what would in lesser hands be melodrama,
  compellingly realistic.”
  
  
  —Booklist
  
  
  “Romance devotees will find Johnston lively and well-written, and her
  characters perfectly enchanting.”
  
  
  —Publishers Weekly
  
  
  “Joan Johnston continually gives us everything we want…a story that you wish
  would never end, and lots of tension and sensuality.”
  
  
  —RT Book Reviews
  
  
  “Joan Johnston [creates] unforgettable subplots and characters who make every
  fine thread weave into a touching tapestry.”
  
  
  —Affaire de Coeur
  
  
  “Johnston’s characters struggle against seriously deranged foes and face
  seemingly insurmountable obstacles to true love.”
  
  
  —Booklist
  
  
  “A guaranteed good read.”
  
  
  —New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Also by  
  JOAN JOHNSTON
  
  
  Hawk’s Way titles
  
  
  The Substitute Groom
  
  
  The Unforgiving Bride
  
  
  The 