Courting the Country Preacher Collection

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Every Preacher Needs a Wife, Right?
 
Being a preacher in the countryside is not for the faint of heart nor faith. Four inexperienced preachers face a myriad of challenges including those who figure a man of the cloth needs a wife. Can they meet the expectations of “helpful” congregants and be true to their hearts?
 
The Mountie’s Rival by Angela K Couch
Canada, 1907 — Tired of living in his twin’s shadow, Jonathan Burton is frustrated to find himself serving as a still wet-behind-the-ears preacher in the same community as his Mountie brother. How is he to find a wife when all the eligible women of the community seem enamored by his dashing brother in scarlet uniform?

Convincing the Circuit Preacher by Carolyn Miller
Australia, 1863 — As soon as Dorothea Maclean saw the country preacher, she knew Mr. Hammill was the man of her dreams. Now she just needs to convince her wealthy parents—and Mr. Hammill.
 
The Angel and the Sky Pilot by Naomi Musch
Minnesota, 1905 — A preacher with a checkered past sets off to win souls in the lumber camps like the “sky pilots” before him. But can he earn the respect of hard-living men—and still respect himself—after a local trader’s daughter joins the all-male congregation?

Mail Order Minister by Kari Trumbo
South Dakota, 1889 — Olive’s parents mail-ordered a preacher and prayed he’d be a husband for their daughter. The rest of the town—and Olive—have other ideas.

When the Mountain Crumbled by Angela Couch

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1903 – Canada

Discipline and rules are the foundation on which Samantha Ingles has built her life—the life of a spinster schoolteacher in a small mining town in the Canadian Rockies. All that crumbles from her grasp when part of a mountain crashes down on their community.

Constable David Harty has little patience for the strict schoolmarm but has no choice but to leave his three young nieces in her care while he tries to discover the fate of his brother. Already, the girls have lost their mother and a brother to the landslide and require comfort and love while they await the fate of their father, possibly buried in the coal mine.

With the mountain looming over their heads threatening more lives, and the town scrambling to save who they can from the rubble, can hearts find healing—both for their own sakes and the children in their care?

Henri’s Regret by Pegg Thomas

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1760s – Canada

Frenchman Henri Geroux can’t sign the oath of loyalty to the British after the end of the French and Indian War. He leaves his home behind and sets out on an adventure with his Ottawa friend, Dances Away. But heading west to trap beaver doesn’t mean he outruns his problems. Faced with a dangerous journey into an unknown land, he and Dances Away get caught up in more than they’d bargained for.

His Treasured Bride by Jody Hedlund and Patti Stockdale

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1863 – Canada

In twenty-four hours, marriage, mystery, and mayhem.

After recently arriving in Vancouver Island on a bride ship, aspiring seamstress Daisy Harper is determined not to rush into a hasty and quarrelsome marriage, a mistake her parents made. To avoid choosing the wrong man, she creates a rigorous list of ten requirements for a potential husband.

Mapmaker Seth Ryann moved to the colony to assist his partially blind brother, a local missionary. They’ll soon return to Ireland, but first, Seth is tasked by a friend to find a treasure of gold hidden in the mountains. Seth has the map to the treasure, but he’s missing the key.

When he discovers Daisy somehow has the key, the two agree to search for the treasure together. They’re left with little choice but to quickly enter a marriage of convenience. As they venture into the wilderness and work together to overcome danger, an undeniable attraction grows. But will they find the treasure only to lose what matters most?

Finally His Bride by Jody Hedlund

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1862 – Canada

A new world. A new hope. An unexpected love.
What life awaits these brides?

With the cotton mills closed and hunger rampant in Manchester, England, Willow Rhodes’s family encourages her to join the bride ship bound for the Pacific Northwest, where she is assured of employment. Willow agrees to go with the hope that eventually she can save enough money for her family to join her.

Rebellious knuckle-boxing champion Caleb Edwards loves Willow more than life itself. But Willow has been adamant that she sees him as a friend and nothing more. Unable to watch her sail away, Caleb uses his prize money to pay for passage to Vancouver Island to be with Willow.

After arriving, Willow finds work as a maid and Caleb is a farmhand on the same property. As Caleb struggles to keep his feelings for Willow from growing, he’ll do anything for her, even take the blame for a theft to keep her safe. As the crime catches up to them, they’re forced to make choices that could finally rip them apart forever.

The Seamstress of Acadie by Laura Frantz

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1754 – Canada/Virginia

As 1754 is drawing to a close, tensions between the French and the British on Canada’s Acadian shore are reaching a fever pitch. Seamstress Sylvie Galant and her family–French-speaking Acadians wishing to remain neutral–are caught in the middle, their land positioned between two forts flying rival flags. Amid preparations for the celebration of Noël, the talk is of unrest, coming war, and William Blackburn, the British Army Ranger raising havoc across North America’s borderlands.

As summer takes hold in 1755 and British ships appear on the horizon, Sylvie encounters Blackburn, who warns her of the coming invasion. Rather than participate in the forced removal of the Acadians from their land, he resigns his commission. But that cannot save Sylvie or her kin. Relocated on a ramshackle ship to Virginia, Sylvie struggles to pick up the pieces of her life. When her path crosses once more with William’s, they must work through the complex tangle of their shared, shattered past to navigate the present and forge an enduring future.

April’s Promise by Terrie Todd

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1928 – Canada

Emmaleen Kimball is fourteen when she becomes convinced she was born to traveling acrobats and left on her parents’ doorstep. Why else would there be a thirteen-year age gap between her and her closest sibling? When her family won’t tell her the truth about her origins, she’s determined to solve the mystery herself.
 
Bernadette Kimball is twenty-seven and living back at home to help with a family crisis, but she can’t wait to get back to her career in the city. She doesn’t fit in with her family. Not that she cares. Who needs a family? Families are just one big mess of secrets and lies.
 
April Kimball-Madden carries the burden of a secret she promised never to reveal. She wishes she could tell Emmaleen the truth. But she’s convinced that if her husband Joey ever finds out who Emmaleen’s biological parents are, her marriage won’t survive.
 
As a world war wages across the globe, the Kimball family faces a different kind of conflict at home. Will their personal battles drag them down and tear their family apart? Or can the faith they’ve been taught, and the mercy they’re shown, lead them to victory?

Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke

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1905/1935 – Canada/Connecticut

After two young women’s deep bond is torn apart, what will it take to bring them together again?

When she is forced to leave her beloved Prince Edward Island to attend Lakeside Ladies Academy after the death of her parents, the last thing Adelaide Rose MacNeill expects to find is three kindred spirits. The “Ladies of the Lake,” as the four girls call themselves, quickly bond like sisters, vowing that wherever life takes them, they will always be there for each other. But that is before: Before love and jealousy come between Adelaide and Dorothy, the closest of the friends. Before the dawn of World War I upends their world and casts baseless suspicion onto the German American man they both love. Before a terrible explosion in Halifax Harbor rips the sisterhood irrevocably apart.

Seventeen years later, Rosaline Murray receives an unsuspecting telephone call from Dorothy, now headmistress of Lakeside, inviting her to attend the graduation of a new generation of girls, including Rosaline’s beloved daughter. With that call, Rosaline is drawn into a past she’d determined to put behind her. To memories of a man she once loved . . . of a sisterhood she abandoned . . . and of the day she stopped being Adelaide MacNeill.

The Prince’s Pier by Lisa Prysock

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1811/1911 – Canada

Will an inheritance and destiny ruin everything, or make room for love?

Miss Margaret Wright, fondly called Maggie, grew up on King’s Crossing near Prince Edward Island in a comfortable farmhouse near Raleigh Point Castle. The daughter of the master farmer tasked with managing the farmland for the royal family at the turn of the century, she and her sister have reaped the benefit of a good education, fine tutors, piano lessons, and ultimately, finishing school.

While some part of Maggie has longed to find acceptance among the nobility who frequent the glamorous Prince’s Pier, she has largely remained content with her lot in life, taking in sewing for ladies of noble birth, destined to marry a farmer like her father. Will stunning news received on her twentieth birthday along with unexpected events change everything as she meets the man of her dreams and finds herself swept into a crisis of not only the heart, but turmoil and subterfuge surrounding her identity

Across the Shores Collection

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Sometimes love finds you where you are, and other times it meets you across distant shores as four women discover in these four historical stories linked by a shared gold pendant.
 
More Than Gold (New South Wales, 1851) by Carolyn Miller
Josephine Wilkins is headstrong and heartbroken—why else would she have left all she knew to follow her brother’s dreams of finding gold across the seas? Daniel Jardine is simply seeking adventure, in a land far away from family responsibilities and duty, two burdens he’s happy to disregard in his quest to be known for himself. When these two finally meet sparks are set to fly, as they discover that digging deeper than first impressions reveals the true value of one’s character, and real love and faith is worth far more than gold.
 
The Veil (Baltimore, 1877) by Kelly Goshorn
After Caroline Wilkins is burned during a suitor’s attack, she retreats behind a lace veil and vows only to remove it for a man who will profess his love without seeing what lies beneath. Franz Kohler is a mountain of a man with a gentle heart and a hidden dream of carving intricate Bavarian clocks. When a mutual attraction grows between them, neither is willing to reveal their secrets, jeopardizing any hope of a future together unless two hearts can find the courage to trust again.
 
Running from Love (Canada, 1905) by Angela K. Couch
Anna Kohler has left her home, and even her country, for the sake of her wayward brother. But when the local Mounted Police takes an interest in them, her hopes for the future collide. Constable Benjamin Cole has a duty to perform, no matter what his heart desires.
 
Lauren’s Song (Outer Banks, NC, 1942) by Cara Putman
Lauren Randolph’s world has fractured with the death of her father five years earlier in a boating accident. John Weary defied his father’s wishes when he followed his grandfather’s footsteps and joined the Coast Guard. When Lauren’s brother goes missing at sea, John is determined to do what he can for Lauren, while continuing his work scouring the shoreline for U-Boats. Lauren focuses on her duties with the Civil Defense as they seek to uncover the real reason her brother disappeared. To do so, they have to unravel the truth about the woman who claims to carry John’s child and whether fishermen are really seeing U-boats or something else entirely.

Lilly’s Promise by Terrie Todd

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1922/present – Canada

Orphaned and adopted as a toddler in 1922, Lilly Sampson pursues a nursing career in hopes that it will redeem the shameful crime of arson she committed as a child. When her self-sabotaging choices only build the ash heap higher, will she find the love she desperately seeks?

In 2019, while unraveling a mysterious link in her ancestry, thirty-six-year-old Diana DeWitt is at a crossroads as she tries to help a teenager in crisis. Will the truth she uncovers about her grandmother, Lilly, inspire her to let go of her fear and rise to the occasion?

A Daughter’s Courage by Misty M. Beller

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1817 – Canada

Her quest to repair what’s been broken leads to imminent danger–and soon it’s more than her own life on the line.

After accidentally destroying the intricately carved chalice her people have treasured for over a hundred years, Charlotte Durand sets out in search of a skilled artisan who can repair the damage. What she expected to be a two-day trek becomes much more daunting when a treacherous snowstorm sets in.

Searching for solitude and respite from his troubling past, the last thing Damien Levette needs in the middle of a mountain blizzard is to tend to another person, but he can’t leave behind the mysterious woman he finds half frozen at the edge of a mountain lake.

As they battle both the elements and their distrust of each other, Charlotte and Damien must work together to survive the peril of the mountains–or it could be the downfall of them both.

The Sugarplum Ladies by Carrie Fancett Pagels

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1867 – Canada and Michigan

When Canadian barrister Percy Gladstone finds his aristocratic British family unexpectedly descending upon him for Christmas, he turns to American social reformer Eugenie Mott and her fledgling catering crew, The Sugarplum Ladies, for help. Little does Percy, AKA Lord Kent, realize that this Christmas may start entirely new traditions. And little does Miss Eugenie Mott, to her chagrin, realize that the British idea of Christmastide extends through Epiphany! This Christmas is one to remember.

 

Peace in the Valley by Linda Ford

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1910 – Canada

Ellen Longmore will do anything for her siblings…even marry a stranger.

Ellen and Jack strike an agreement. She’ll be a permanent housekeeper by marrying him. He’ll pay for her siblings to have food.

Jack Forbes doesn’t want a wife. But he wants his children to know security. All he asks of Ellen is that she follow his orders to a T.

It isn’t long before Ellen’s devotion and good nature tug at Jack’s reluctant heart. But when misunderstandings and separation threaten their budding relationship, will their stubborn hearts be opened to each other?

When It’s Springtime in the Rockies by Linda Ford

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1934 – Canada

Nancy was too young to marry, but not too young to fall in love. Three years have passed and she’s certain the man who promised to come back for her isn’t coming.

Boyd never forgot about Nancy or the promises he made. But when he returns to claim her hand, he finds her circumstances changed and her spirits broken.

Is it too late for the love they once shared? Or will God provide a way for them to be together?

A Feeling of Home by Susan Anne Mason

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1944 – Canada

Can she set aside the pain from the past to embrace a new love?

Isabelle Wardrop’s well-to-do life has completely unraveled. Within months, she’s lost both her parents, her fortune, and her home. With nowhere else to turn, she and her younger sister move in with a trusted former servant in an impoverished area of the city. Desperate for work but having no qualifications, Isabelle is forced to accept help from Dr. Mark Henshaw, the very man she blames for her mother’s death.

Mark Henshaw has admired Isabelle for several months, but after the tragic death of her mother, he vows to make amends for the past and help her find her way. But when Mark learns his younger brother has formed an undesirable friendship with Isabelle’s sister–one that brings a whole new set of problems into their lives–he doesn’t know if Isabelle will ever forgive him.

When startling developments begin to take place, both within Isabelle’s heart and their siblings’ relationship, her future looks very different than anything she could have imagined.

Western Brides by Linda Ford

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1898 – Canada

The Bride’s Song
Dora Grant knows what she wants…and what she doesn’t want. She isn’t cut out to be a pioneer and finds the homesteader’s existence unappealing. Her nursing job in a small Canadian town is the life for her. But when a cowboy with bold dreams of heading west becomes her patient, Dora is forced to re-evaluate her dependence on comfort and security. Is love worth the risks?

The Bride’s Joy
Orphaned children, lonely guardians, cautious hearts…can a family be forged from this?

All Harriet has left of the brother she adored is his two little children, his farm…and a neighbor who wants to buy the place. She could manage just fine if only the children weren’t constantly bringing the irritating, handsome man into her sphere.

Kade wants to do what is right for his deceased friend but his plans are derailed by the way Harriet laughs and her gentle way with the children. Can this couple see what’s right in front of their eyes—the chance for love and family?

Anchored at Mackinac by Carrie Fancett Pagels

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1895 – Canada

Two women, Sadie Duvall, a young maid, and Ada Fox, the mature housekeeping manager, at the Grand Hotel must make life-changing decisions involving their work and the men in their lives. As 1895 comes to a close, will hearts be broken when choices are made—or will all hoped-for wishes be fulfilled?

With her father missing and her mother dead, impoverished Sadie scrabbles to provide for her sisters. She has known wealthy bachelor Captain Robert Swaine most of her life–he’s her best friend’s young uncle. When he returns to the island, she doesn’t believe his interest in her is sincere, despite all the assistance he’s given her and her sisters because he’s frequently in the company of a beautiful actress staying at the hotel. Sadie wishes to pursue her own path–a position as a nursing student at a new asylum in the Eastern Upper Peninsula.

Having endured a traumatic early childhood, Ada Fox entered into marriages with very successful, wealthy, much older men after the mother of her first, and only true, love sends her away from the nearby Poor House and to a secretarial school. Secretly the wealthiest woman in the world, Ada Fox has taken on a Housekeeping Manager position so that she can be closer to her first love, widower and innkeeper Peter Welling.

Unfailing Love by Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan

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1900s – Canada

Lillian Walsh and Grace Bennett have learned so much already about caring for children in distress. It hasn’t been easy, but it becomes even more difficult when they suddenly discover that three children have run away. Concerned for the trio’s safety, the sisters will do all they can to find the children.

But the runaways are not the only thing putting the future of the children’s home in question. Lillian is faced with choosing between her dreams with fiancé Walter and her commitment to her sister. Steady Ben Waldin is keen to find where his family settled in Canada and to give little Janie a place to permanently call home. And the sisters receive a pair of surprise visitors that leaves them and their family uncertain.

As all of the people invested in the children’s home seek to determine their paths forward, they begin to realize that sometimes loving well means making difficult choices.

A Healer’s Promise by Misty Beller

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1815 – Canada

She was called to be a healer, but her skills–and heart–have never been so challenged.

Levi Masters’s time as a British spy hasn’t ended, though his country’s war with America has. After overhearing a scout reveal a discovery that could give America the upper hand in future conflicts, Levi is sent on one last mission. While trekking through the Canadian Rockies in pursuit of his former enemy, he is taken captive by warriors from a hidden mountain village.

Village healer Audrey Moreau is more curious than afraid of the outsider, and she’s drawn to his commitment to honesty even at his own expense. Despite her arguments for his release, the council remains at an impasse. Compelled to help him escape, she sneaks him out of the village. But when Levi faces a life-threatening injury and the fierce mountain winter closes in, Levi and Audrey are forced to discover just how far they’ll go to ensure the safety of the other and the love growing between them.

The Sun Still Shines by Linda Ford

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Late 1800s – Canada

Duty is cold comfort for Bessie.

She wants to live in Toronto, but it’s her duty to accompany her ailing husband to live on the Alberta prairie, where it was hoped the clear air and sunshine would make him well. She’s horrified at the primitive living conditions, but it’s her duty to make the best of it. If she carries a heavy burden of guilt and despair, it’s her duty to hide her feelings and behave like the well brought up lady she was taught to be.

But where can she find a reason to carry on when her husband dies? How can she rid herself of crushing feelings of guilt? Is it possible that her big, kindly neighbor Joe Robertson has the answers? Is it possible that God cares about her? Could it be that He will grant her her heart’s desire?

 

 

Where Wild Roses Bloom by Angela Couch

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1910 – Canada

When Lenora Perry’s dream of becoming an acclaimed singer dies a painful death, she attempts to escape her mistakes by fleeing north—directly into the path of an all-too-dashing Mountie. Though the man in scarlet appears eager to be rid of her, his home provides security, and his sister offers friendship—two things Lenora is desperate for after discovering her pregnancy. With the past dogging her footsteps and her future uncertain, dare she consider new dreams?

Upholding the law makes up the fabric of Constable Edmond Bryce’s existence. As his five years of service draw to an end, he must decide whether or not to continue in his father’s footsteps—an increasingly difficult decision now that Miss Perry has infiltrated his life. Though she’s the daughter of a parson and a close friend to his sister, Edmond can’t push aside the feeling that Lenora hides more than she tells. But duty calls, leaving little time for matters of the heart.

Wilderness Wife by Delores Topliff

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1810 – Canada

How do you continue living when life collapses around you in a single day?

Marguerite Wadin MacKay believes her 17-year marriage to explorer Alex MacKay is strong—until his sudden fame destroys it. When he returns from a cross-Canada expedition, he announces their frontier marriage is void in Montréal where he plans to find a society wife—not one with native blood. Taking their son, MacKay sends Marguerite and their three daughters to a trading post where she lived as a child. Deeply shamed, she arrives in time to assist young Doctor John McLoughlin with a medical emergency.

Marguerite now lives only for her girls. When Fort William on Lake Superior opens a school, Marguerite moves there for her daughters’ sake and rekindles her friendship with Doctor McLoughlin. When he declares his love, she dissuades him from a match harmful to his career. She’s mixed blood and nine years older. But he will have no one else.

After abandonment, can a woman love again and fulfill a key role in North American History?

Song for the Hunter by Naomi Musch

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1808 – Canada

Tragedy brought them together. Now truth might tear them apart.

Wed to a trading company partner to escape life in Montreal under her harsh father’s thumb, Camilla Bonnet finds herself widowed and pregnant in the Upper Country frontier. When her brother fails to return for her from Fort William, she is cast on the mercy of the trading post owner’s family. She also draws comfort from Bemidii Marchal, a Métis hunter who soothes away her misgivings as he finds his own refuge on Lake Superior’s Madeline Island.

Bemidii’s thoughts of courting a maiden are cut short when he raises his knife against a company man at Fort William’s Great Rendezvous. No one will believe he killed to protect his sister—least of all the beautiful Frenchwoman on Madeline Island who stirs his affections—not when she learns that her brother is dead and Bemidii stands accused of his murder. As the sharp blade of truth divides them, will Bemidii survive the justice of powerful men who are a law unto themselves?

Austin by Linda Ford

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1887 – Canada

Austin Wagoner is a gunman on the right side of the law. As a deputy, he tracked down some bank robbers and in the following shoot out, his bullet killed Colin Martyn, the brother of Mae Martyn, the girl Austin was in love with. Knowing she would never be able to forgive him, he rides out of her life.

Five years later, Mae and her niece and nephew are headed to the new teaching position at the Circle A Ranch. Mae has had custody of the children since her brother’s death. His widow gave up on life and died shortly afterwards. Mae has had a number of teaching jobs but they never lasted. Too many parents and board members felt she couldn’t be impartial with children of her own in the classroom. She hopes all this will change at the Circle A. She didn’t know it was Austin who shot her brother and has nursed a broken heart at the way he rode out of her life.

Austin is headed back to his mountain cabin when he discovers a stagecoach being robbed and, to his shock, learns Mae and the children are on it. He is shot by one of the robbers and stays at the Circle A Ranch to recover. His attraction to Mae has never wavered but he doesn’t expect her to forgive him for killing her brother.

When Mae learns the truth about her brother’s death, everything she felt about Austin is challenged. Can she love the man who shot her guardian? Can Austin forgive himself?

The Last Piece by Terrie Todd

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1937/1953/1975/1999/2017 – Canada

When his father dies during the Great Depression, Ray Matthews is forced to drop out of art school to support his mother and sister as a jigsaw puzzle artist. Ray has only one painting he vows never to sell: the portrait of his beloved sweetheart. When pressured to break his oath, Ray sends the painting off with a promise and a prophecy. Through eight decades, the puzzle of the beautiful girl at the wishing well passes through four households, deeply affecting each without ever being fully completed.

When Leesha Pennington’s weekly treasure hunt at her local thrift shop produces an old jigsaw puzzle that might be worth something, she adds it to her shopping cart despite the old man’s mysterious warning: “Be careful with that one. Some puzzles don’t like to be solved.” Her decision sets in motion a chain of events that causes all five stories to converge.

With powerful themes of family relationships and self-sacrifice, this story is part allegory/part metaphor, rooted in real life.

Behind Love’s Wall by Carrie Fancett Pagels

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1895/Present – Canada

The Grand Hotel Slowly Reveals Her Secrets

Two successful women, a hundred-and-twenty-years apart, build walls to protect their hearts. Modern-day Willa, a successful interior decorator, is chosen to go to Mackinac Island and consult for the Grand Hotel’s possible redesign. During work on a room, she discovers a journal detailing the struggles of a young woman, Lily—which reveals dark secrets. The renowned singer wasn’t who she pretended to be.
 
As Willa reaches out to Lily’s descendant, a charismatic and prominent landscape artist, she lets down her guard. Should she share the journal with him—revealing hidden history—or once again erect a wall as she struggles to redesign both the Grand and her life?

Pete by Linda Ford

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1887 – Canada

Pete has been rejected many times because of his swarthy skin. So when she sees red-headed, freckle-faced Eva rejected because of her looks, he offers to marry her and take her back to the Circle A Ranch. With nothing left but the trunk containing her few belongings Eva doesn’t feel she has much choice. They both understand this is a marriage in name only. But as they spend time together, an unexpected attraction grows. Both realize they want more from the marriage than what they have but the words don’t quite come. They can only hint at the dream buried deep in each heart. Out-spoken Eva is about to confess her feelings when she discovers a letter Pete has written to a mail-order bride and realizes he has given his heart to another. Can this pair confront their fears in order to embrace a future full of love?

Sam by Linda Ford

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1887 – Canada

Sam Thomas, orphaned at age 10, has taken the job at the Circle A Ranch in order to allow his younger sister, Grace, to be adopted. He knows he’s nothing but a poor, uneducated cowboy but none of that matters on the ranch. It’s the one place he feels accepted.

Yvette Bellamy is Grace’s best friend. She comes from a rich family. But riches make people look at her differently. She is determined to find someone who values her for herself.

Yvette is kidnapped. When Sam tries to rescue her he is taken with her. They reach a cabin in the mountains where they learn the kidnapper has two young nephews that he also keeps imprisoned.

Their kidnapper say he is taking them with him to the Fort to collect the ransom money. An accident frees them of the kidnapper but also leaves them stranded in the wilderness. They must become allies in order to survive and reach safety.

But when they reach safety, her father has arranged for her to go back east and the safety of her home. Is she prepared to leave the comforts of her life? Sam has nothing to offer her but his heart. Is it enough for a rich girl?

Will they discover the value of true love and learn to trust?

A Warrior’s Heart by Misty Beller

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1814 – Rocky Mountains

Her heart longs for peace, but peace won’t keep them safe.

Brielle Durand is still haunted by the massacre that killed her mother a dozen years before. Vowing to never let it happen again, she’s risen to be the key defender for her people’s peace-loving French settlement living in hidden caves in the Canadian Rockies. When a foreigner wanders too near to their secret home, she has no choice but to disarm and capture him. But now, what to do with this man who insists he can be trusted?

Hoping to escape past regrets, Evan MacManus ventured into the unknown, assigned to discover if the northern mountains contain an explosive mineral that might help America win the War of 1812. Despite being taken prisoner, Evan is determined to complete his mission. But when that assignment becomes at odds with his growing appreciation of the villagers and Brielle, does he follow through on his promise to his government or take a risk on where his heart is leading him? Either choice will cause harm to someone.

Brielle and Evan must reconcile the warring in their hearts to have any hope of finding peace for their peoples.

Adam by Linda Ford

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1887 – Canada

Grace knows her brother Sam, left her in the orphanage for noble reasons—so she would be adopted. And she was. Her adoptive family is kind and loving. But she’s never forgotten her brother. He has written to her regularly, his letters full of wonderful descriptions of the ranch and the people there. She heads to the Circle A and her first reunion with her brother in seven years.

Sam is away getting a horse when news comes that his sister is arriving. Adam’s heart thumps hard. The letters Grace has received all these years were written by Adam. What is he going to do? He knows he can’t reveal the truth until he can talk to Sam. In the meantime, he means to show Grace the country he has told her so much about and enjoy the company of the young woman he has grown very fond of through their correspondence.

Sam returns and Adam insists on Sam telling the truth. But when Grace learns the truth she is hurt and angry. Everything she thought was true is not. Can’t she trust anyone? She flees to her childhood home. When Adam discovers her whereabouts and comes after her, is she ready to hear the truth that he has fallen in love with her while he was writing to her? Is she willing to trust the feelings that have been growing in her heart?

Noah by Linda Ford

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1887 – Canada

Two wounded and wary hearts. Both wanting what the other can help them attain if only they can get past the pain of their pasts.

Twenty-three year old Noah Murray, is not interested in his boss’s plan to see all the cowboys of Circle A happily married. But the boss sweetens the plan by offering him the piece of land he has always admired. A home almost like the one he lost when his widowed mother remarried and his step-father kicked him and Adam off the place. His dream of following in his father’s footsteps still lives at least as far as owning a bit of land but not the part about sharing it with a woman he loves. He will never trust a woman again. Not after what his mother did and what he has seen of other women.

Lainie Ellis has the responsibility of her two young siblings and the task of fulfilling her father’s wishes to buy land in the west. To her shock, she discovers the land she bought is not for sale and does not have the promised house on it. She is a squatter. She has learned the folly of trusting a man to say or do the right thing. She is determined to make it on her own.

Can two disillusioned, heart-weary people find the love they secretly yearn for or will their past experiences continue to drive them apart?

Dillon by Linda Ford

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1887 – Canada

Maude’s husband, John, had been injured and she desperately needed some cowboys to work the ranch. She found Dillon down on his luck and gave him, and five other young men, a home and trains them. Seven years later she is set on finding brides for all of the young men. Dillon’s not interested. He was robbed of everything by Slick McCall—someone he trusted. A girl he loved has also treated him poorly. He doesn’t intend to open his heart to anyone. His plan is to stay right there on the ranch and take care of Maude and John.

Abigail has been duped by a slick-talking charmer and is now expecting a baby with no ring on her finger. Posing as a widow, she flees west, intending to start over and create a new life for herself and her unborn baby. However she arrives at Logan Crossing and discovers her money is missing—stolen. She has nothing. Maude offers her a job on the ranch, thinking this pretty young widow will be suitable for one of the boys.

Abigail eagerly helps at the ranch house, determined to make a temporary home for herself and the baby. Dillon is always ready to take her for a walk or otherwise entertain her. The baby’s birth creates a new level of attraction and intimacy between them. He tells her of how a certain Slick McCall has stolen everything and a former girlfriend hurt him, teaching Dillon to guard his heart.

Slick McCall was the man who sweet talked her into making Abby’s baby. She was prepared to tell Dillon the truth about being an unwed mother but hearing his words makes her realize she must guard her secret.

But how long can she hide the truth when she and Dillon are falling in love? Will Dillon still love her when the truth comes out? Most of all, will her newborn son ever be accepted?

Rocky Mountain Restoration by Lisa Flickinger

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1899 – Canadian Rocky Mountains/At Sea

Josephine Thorebourne doesn’t deserve happiness. Not after the mess she’s made.

Mid-voyage, on the steamship Jameson, she learns of the tragic loss of her family’s money. Money she stole with the hopes of turning a profit. What should be a delightful voyage up the Canadian coast turns into a journey of regret. Josephine seeks the solace of the man she loves, only to find out he’s an imposter. Left with no other choice, she must return to her home town of Stony Creek and face the anger of those she’s betrayed.  

Owen Kelly was given the opportunity of a lifetime to steward on the SS Jameson. The work meant he could escape his difficult upbringing along the wharves of Chicago. When his heart falls for the woman in cabin eight, Owen must decide if he will continue his work on the ship or follow the love of his life to her Rocky Mountain home.

As Josephine faces the repercussions of her decisions, the future becomes uncertain. Owen is the one person who knows everything and yet still sees the good in her. Will their love survive the challenges the Rocky Mountain town throws in their path?

Mike by Linda Ford

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1887 – Canada

Mike Hutchings has memories he’d like to erase of being left at an orphanage by his older sister, Ilsa. But now Ilsa is homeless and the child she chose to raise instead of him is appealing for his help. Of course, the child is now grown up just as he is.

Bethany Fieldberg has grown up with a controlling father. But now he is dead and Ilsa’s brother is taking them to the Circle A Ranch. Seeing that a woman runs the ranch, Bethany holds out hope she’ll be allowed to live the life she’s always wanted—free to work with animals, ride horses and enjoy the outdoors.

A visit to the orphanage where he was left, an orphan boy who begs Mike to take him, and life on the ranch put Mike and Bethany in close contact. But can Mike forgive his sister, get over his past and embrace the future? Can Bethany find the freedom she wants? What does the future hold for them? Will love overcome the challenges? Or not?