Love Comes Softly

A young woman's dream to forge a new life for herself on the great American plains becomes a test of her pioneering spirit, her inner strength, and her undying faith and courage. By covered wagon, Marty (and Aaron Calridge have come west in search of fortune and a new life. But an unexpected tragedy leaves Marty a widow facing bleak prospects for the future. With a bitter winter season approaching and no safe passage back home, she finds herself stranded yet befriended by settlers Ben Graham and his wife Sarah. They encourage her to take up the recently widowed Clark Davis on his unusual offer--join him in a temporary marriage of convenience. Marty will have a roof over her head until the spring thaw when she can return home. In the meantime, Clark's nine-year-old daughter Missie will have a teacher. As promised, the arrangement is strictly business. However, teaching Missie, who's still mourning for her mother, becomes as challenging as living with Clark, a young man cut off from his emotions. For three similar people, each grieving for a loved one who they've lost, comfort comes from sharing their pain and hardships. But is it enough to make two lonely spirits recognize what it is that they truly need and want? As the months and seasons pass, and Marty gets closer to the day of her departure, she finally discovers the meaning of courage, her inner faith, a love she never thought possible, and the bittersweet truth in her friend Sarah's sage advice: "Bloom where you're planted."