Matt Haskins proved to be the most difficult of all the orphans in The Cowboys to write about. It's not easy to make a hero out of a man who has been sexually molested, especially when the abuse has given him a mental block against physical contact. I had to find a way to make the reader see that Matt's strength was of a different kind from most cowboys. It was almost as difficult to make Ellen Donovan see it.

Ellen's experience with men has been all bad. When she's forced to marry Matt so they can each keep the children they're trying to adopt, she's certain he has ulterior motives. She sets up stringent conditions before agreeing to the marriage of convenience. She expected Matt to accept them -- she wouldn't have married him otherwise -- but she was a little surprised, and disappointed, when he stuck to them after they were married. Ellen didn't want a quiet, unassuming husband. She wanted one who would take on the world in her defense. Matt had the size and the strength, but she didn't see much else to recommend him.

Taking on the responsibility of the two boys Matt wanted to adopt was one more thing she didn't need. She planned to stay married just long enough so the crusading Revered Wilbur Sears couldn't take her kids or Matt's boys. Then she was headed for San Antonio to open her own hat shop.
But while Ellen was making plans to leave Matt and his two troublesome boys behind, she discovered there was a lot more to this good-looking cowboy than met the eye.