JAKE McPHERSON NEEDED A BRIDE... He was a Civil War veteran, wounded in body and soul. And when his wife died unexpectedly, he retreated from life, craving only solitude and his happy memories. But his young son needed a mother's love and guidance -- even if Jake wanted no woman himself. So who better to choose than the town's spinster schoolmarm? ALICIA MERRIWEATHER WANTED SO MUCH TO LOVE... She had come to warn Jake his son was running wild. But she stayed because beneath his gruff exterior she saw Jake's pain and loneliness. Having borne the brunt of ridicule all her life, tall, plain Alicia understood both all too well. But could Jake ever learn to share his home and his heart?