Inventions of the Heart by Mary Connealy

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1872 – California

Her heart seeks safety. But will trouble find her even here?

After her sister’s marriage, Michelle Stiles is left hiding at Two Harts Ranch with the handsome but stubborn Zane Hart. She’s managed to stay one step ahead of her stepfather and his devious plans, but if he finds her, she will no longer be safe.

Zane has problems of his own. Having discovered a gold mine on his property, he must figure out how to harvest it without kicking off a gold rush. Michelle, educated and trained to run her father’s business, wants to manage all aspects of the mine, but Zane thinks for a person so smart she can have some misguided ideas. Running the mining operation will be a dangerous job, and he can’t risk putting her in harm’s way.

But danger finds Michelle anyway when she’s suddenly attacked. If they go to the sheriff, they’ll reveal her location, but if they do nothing . . . their troubles have only just begun.

Finding Her Frontier Family by Louise M. Gouge

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1887 – New Mexico

Helping a little girl could give her the family she needs

Tasked with escorting her late cousin’s daughter to New Mexico Territory, spinster Viola Brinson intends to bring Lavinia to her father’s ranch and immediately return to the city. But after one look at the living conditions, she’s hesitant to leave the little girl with Robert Mattson. When Viola settles in to clean the place and make sure he can safely care for his daughter, Robert is determined to keep his distance. His heart was broken by a society woman once before—and he won’t make the same mistake twice. But Viola surprises him at every turn. Might she be exactly what his family needs?

Valley of Promise by Kari Trumbo

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1900s – South Dakota

Armstrong has never had a choice in his life.

Pa has decided everything from who his friends are to when he would take over their huge cattle spread. He’s made plenty of enemies in Belle Fourche, SD along the way, especially their neighbors, the sheep ranching Johlmans.

When a judge arrives in town to look into all the misdeeds of both families, Armstrong’s carefully planned world begins to crumble, particularly when he meets the judge’s daughter. A woman who could have his heart, unless her father finds out what his family has been doing.

Dosha Cattrel’s father has threatened every man who’s shown interest. She’s given up hope of ever finding someone perfect enough to suit him, much less love her.

Her father brings her and a secretive Pinkerton agent to investigate a land war. She fully expects to be bored silly until she meets Armstrong, one of the very men under her father’s spyglass. What Armstrong doesn’t know is that she is related to the Johlmans, his fiercest enemies.

Can a forbidden love survive the light of day, or will secrets kill the growing love between them?

To Tame a Cowboy by Jody Hedlund

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1867 – Colorado

They share a passion to heal what is broken, but it’s their own hearts that need to be made whole.

Brody McQuaid is a broken man, and he knows it. While his body survived the war, his soul did not. Besides loving his little niece, his only sense of purpose comes from saving the wild horses that roam South Park. Ranchers in the area have taken to killing the horses, which are competing with their cattle to feed on the open grass.

Savannah Marshall is a veterinarian on her family’s Colorado ranch. She longs to keep her father happy following the tragic death of her older brother, including marrying a man of his choosing. But days before her wedding, she gets cold feet and disappears to South Park. As she learns more about the destruction of the horses, she joins Brody in an attempt to save the wild creatures. But when Savannah’s family and the resentments of the area cattlemen catch up with them both, Brody and Savannah will have to tame their fears if they’ve any hope to let love run free.

Stranger in the Glade by Susan K. Marlow

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1887 – California

Andi and Riley are together at last–but the adventures don’t stop in their happily-ever-after

Everyone’s favorite frontier heroine, Andi Carter, is back! Only she’s Andrea Prescott now, and she and her husband, Riley, are starting their lives together. And a new addition to the family joins the couple in Stranger in the Glade. How will they fare as new parents when old friends and enemies reenter their lives–and bring chaos along for the ride?

Always high on action and danger, Susan Marlow’s beloved Circle C adventures continue to grow in these new short story collections that fans can’t wait to pick up.

Yosemite at Last by Susan K. Marlow

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1886 – California

Andi and Riley are together at last-but the adventures don’t stop in their happily-ever-after

Everyone’s favorite frontier heroine, Andi Carter, is back! Only she’s Andrea Prescott now, and she and her husband, Riley, are starting their lives together.

From their honeymoon in Yosemite–and the holdup that happens on their way–to the corners of their new home on Memory Creek ranch, just down the road from Circle C, Andi and Riley’s first year of marriage is full of excitement in Yosemite at Last.

Always high on action and danger, Susan Marlow’s beloved Circle C adventures continue to grow in these new short story collections that fans can’t wait to pick up.

To A Brighter Tomorrow by Kari Trumbo

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1900s – South Dakota

What’s a woman to do when she isn’t accepted?
Anywhere . . .

By the age of sixteen, Josephine Littlebear determined she was better off on her own. Her father’s hatred of her heritage sent her, alone and independent, to the cow town of Belle Fourche, SD. For years she worked hard and kept to herself, but that changed when she saved a man, and his sheep, from a chance encounter with a bear. Now she’s faced with having something she’s never had before: a friend.

Gideon has always done what his father asked of him.
Until now . . .

Being the second brother, Gideon’s life has always been planned out for him. He was destined to marry someone who could help their sheep ranch and build a family legacy. But when he’s trapped by a hungry bear and a woman he’s never seen before rescues him, sparks fly. Trouble is, his father will never accept a half-Indian bride.

The Johlman ranch is under attack, and no one seems to know by whom. Their faith is tested when proven friends turn to enemies. When Gideon’s older sister makes a surprising choice that could cost the family everything, he must choose which is more important—the family that’s given him everything, or the love of his life.

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?

Tomorrow’s Constant Hope by Naomi Rawlings

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1885 – Texas

The last thing a woman on the run needs is to find herself married to the richest rancher in Texas…

Keely O’Brien has spent the past five months on the run, but no matter what she does, she can’t seem to evade the ring of dangerous criminals that killed her brother in Chicago. When she spots an ad for a wife from the owner of a small ranch on a remote stretch of Texan desert, she knows she’s found the perfect hiding spot. The Wolf Point Ring might be searching far and wide for her, but they wouldn’t think to look in tiny, sun-scorched town of Twin Rivers, Texas. Now if she can just keep her new husband from finding out why she really married him…

Agamemnon “Wes” Westin’s feet might be firmly planted in West Texas soil, but his heart is running… Running from the loss of his first wife and stillborn daughter, and running from the fear of suffering loss again. Unfortunately, he has little choice about needing to marry, but he does have a choice about who he marries. If he has to share his roof with someone, he wants a woman who works hard and doesn’t complain. That’s why he decides to run an ad for a bride, claiming that he owns a small ranch, rather than the sprawling cattle empire he inherited from his father. After all, what woman is going to be upset when she finds out her husband is one of the richest men in Texas?

When Wes discovers Keely is hiding from criminals who want her dead, he can’t help but protect her—even if she’s irate with him for lying about the size of his ranch. When danger arrives in Twin Rivers, both Wes and Keely find themselves facing their deepest fears. Will they let their pain and past losses ruin their dreams? Or will Wes and Keely find a way to forge a new life together?

Songs in the Storm by Kathy Geary Anderson

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1900 – New Jersey/Wyoming

The blood on the handkerchief changed everything.

The year 1900 promises to be a good one for Rob and Maddie Skivington. Recently married, they look forward to building a home near family and friends in the busy industrial city of Newark where Rob owns a fledgling jewelry business. Then, an irritating cough that has plagued Rob for months turns out to be something far more insidious: tuberculosis.

When Rob’s doctor suggests a change in environment and climate, they sell their business and head to Wyoming in a desperate quest for health. They soon find themselves pitted not only against the harsh environment and natural predators, but also against a group of ranchers who seem determined to send them back to Newark.

But sometimes the strongest storms of all are those that rage within. When despair and loneliness and tragedy strike, the couple must turn to God to help them weather those onslaughts or risk being torn apart.

The Wrangler’s Woman by Davalynn Spencer

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1881 – Colorado

A widowed rancher, a rebellious child, and the woman who comes to help. Falling in love wasn’t part of the deal.

Corra Jameson doesn’t think of herself as a spinster and is content to spend quiet evenings with her books. Paper beaus, her sister calls them, teasing her about the stories Corra reads. But when a rugged widower asks her to come to his ranch for the summer to help him with his tomboy daughter, she sees opportunity to earn a side of beef for her sister’s family. Besides, she has nothing to lose in the arrangement. Except perhaps her heart.

Widowed rancher Josiah Hanacker’s sister-in-law threatens to take his daughter away from him if he can’t raise her like a lady. Since he can’t, he needs a woman to do the job for him. Corra Jameson, the spinster who works at the Ford Junction boarding house may have just what his ranch-raised girl needs, and he hires her as a lady-trainer. Trouble is, he hadn’t figured she’d have what his lonely heart needed as well.

Love on the Range by Mary Connealy

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1870 – Wyoming

Falling for someone who doesn’t want to get married is soon be the least of his concerns.

While his brothers and their new wives search for who shot him, Wyatt Hunt is temporarily bedridden and completely miserable. Somehow Molly Garner’s limited skills have made her the most qualified in their circle to care for Wyatt. But by the time he’s healed, she’s fed up with him and the whole ungrateful family. For even worse than his grumpiness were the few unguarded moments when he pulled at her heartstrings, and she has been long determined to never repeat her mother’s mistakes.

When alternate plans of finding her own independent life fall through, Molly volunteers to work for the Pinkertons and help investigate nearby ranch owner Oliver Hawkins. She signs on to be his housekeeper, hoping to find clues to prove his nefarious, and possibly murderous, past. Wyatt refuses to let her risk it alone and offers to act as Hawkins’s new foreman.

But when another Pinkerton agent gets shot, they realize Hawkins isn’t the only danger. The Hunt brothers will have to band together to face all the troubles of life and love that suddenly surround them.

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 Lost Heart by Heather Blanton

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1800s – Wyoming

She has no idea who she is.

He knows exactly who she is.

Will the truth bring them together…or keep them apart for good?

When wealthy heiress Sierra Caldwell loses her memory and shows up confused and uninvited at Burning Dress Ranch, Miss Sally has a mystery on her hands. She suspects her handsome assistant foreman Nick Bannister knows more about the girl than he’s letting on. He’s acting so out of character toward Sierra, and the two clash like lightning and thunder. What’s the cause of the fireworks between the mysterious guest and the cowboy?

To get the answer, Miss Sally will give these two just enough rope to hang themselves. Then what they do with a bitter revelation will be up to them…

A Most Reluctant Bride by Cynthia Hickey

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1880 – Arkansas

Maggie Spoonmore marries her father’s former foreman, Zach Colton, in order to salvage her reputation, yet struggles to believe he married her for love and not her inheritance. It’s difficult for Maggie to relinquish control and allow Zach to lead the ranch to prosperity.

Danger dogs their steps as they try to figure out how to live a life together when they hadn’t had time to court each other and Maggie is thrust out of the role she’d always thought she’d have with full management of her father’s ranch.

Can these two work together to bring a dream to fulfillment and learn to love each other along the way?

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?

The Wrangler’s Ready-Made Family by Lacy Williams

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1909 – Wyoming

Susie Crowell née White is a desperate young mother with another baby on the way. Her late husband left her nothing but his bad reputation. She has no money and is too ashamed to return home to her family. When she is trapped alone during a snowstorm with a stranger and the baby coming, her only choice is to rely on him.

Gil Hart came west to find healing for his consumption. He never expected to find himself trapped with a lost young widow. Or how fast he could fall for her and her two little ones. But it doesn’t take long for his secrets to come to light.

After everything she’s suffered in the past, can Susie ever trust another gambler?

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?

A Man with a Past by Mary Connealy

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1870 – Wyoming

Falcon Hunt awakens without a past, or at least not one he can recall. He’s got brothers he can’t remember, and he’s interested in the prettiest woman in the area, Cheyenne. Only trouble is, a few flashes of memory make Falcon wonder if he’s already married. He can’t imagine abandoning a wife. But his pa did just that–twice. When Falcon claims his inheritance in the West, Cheyenne is cut out of the ranch she was raised on, leaving her bitter and angry. And then Falcon kisses her, adding confusion and attraction to the mix.

Soon it’s clear someone is gunning for the Hunt brothers. When one of his brothers is shot, Falcon and Cheyenne set out to find who attacked him. They encounter rustled cattle, traitorous cowhands, a missing woman, and outlaws that take all their savvy to overcome. As love grows between these two independent people, Falcon must piece together his past if they’re to have any chance at a future.

Rescuing Her Heart by Cindy Ervin Huff

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1870 – Kansas

As her husband’s evil deeds haunt a mail-order bride from the grave, can she learn to trust again and open her heart to true love?

On visitation rounds as a lay preacher, the last thing rancher Jed Holt expects is to be shot at from the barn next to a burned-down homestead. But the soot-covered woman hiding inside needs protecting, and Jed is the man to do it whether she likes it or not. Delilah James’s nightmares began when she came to Kansas as a mail-order bride. Her husband was nothing like his letters. Now that he is dead, she can’t shake his abuse from her heart. Trusting men tops her never-again list and taking a job on the Holt ranch as a housekeeper is a means to save money and bring her parents west. But her attraction to the compassionate former chaplain both angers and confuses her.

Jed has his own nightmares from a POW camp and understands Delilah better than she knows. Can two broken people form a forever bond?

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?

Much Ado About Josie by Lacy Williams

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1880s – Montana

Mack has built a solitary life for himself as a railroad surveyor. The only person he can rely on is his brother and partner. But when his brother is gravely injured, Mack is forced to accept help from the lovely Josie and her sidekick Ruthie.

Josie is Mack’s opposite in every way. She’s a dreamer who has led a charmed life. She sees the good in people. She draws people in, makes them feel special.

Trapped on a mountain, surviving an avalanche, and exposure to the elements… being with Josie is the biggest risk of all. Because she makes Mack want things he’s never had before. Home. Family. Someone to love.

Lassoed by the Lawman by Renae Brumbaugh Green

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1882 – Texas

Juliana Duke has always dreamed of owning a dress shop.

But as the only child of Oscar and Maria Duke and heiress of the vast Duke Ranch, her job is to marry a rancher and produce a male heir. When Lt. Cody Steves rides onto the scene, her resolve to place duty over daydreams is shaken. Now that her heart’s been lassoed by the handsome lawman, will she be able to love another?

Cody Steves wants marriage and family, but he loves being a Texas Ranger. At any time, he could ride into a job and not come out alive. How could any decent man marry, knowing he could leave a widow and orphans behind? But the beautiful Juliana Duke captures him in a way no other has. When this job is over, can he ride away with his heart intact?

When he learns of a secret plot to take over the Duke Ranch, Cody must risk everything to save Juliana. Little does he know, the outcome will be nothing like he’s planned or imagined.

Braced for Love by Mary Connealy

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1870 – Wyoming

Left with little back in Missouri, Kevin Hunt takes his younger siblings on a journey to Wyoming when he receives news that he’s inheriting part of a ranch. The catch is that the ranch is also being given to a half brother he never knew existed. Turns out, Kevin’s supposedly dead father led a secret and scandalous life.

But danger seems to track Kevin along the way, and he wonders if his half brother, Wyatt, is behind the attacks. Finally arriving at the ranch, everyone is at each other’s throats and the only one willing to stand in between is Winona Hawkins, a nearby schoolmarm.

Despite being a long-time friend to Wyatt, Winona can’t help but be drawn to the earnest, kind Kevin–and that puts her in the cross hairs of somebody’s dangerous plot. Will they all be able to put aside their differences long enough to keep anyone from getting truly hurt?

A Change of Scenery by Davalynn Spencer

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1911 – Colorado

A hidden fear. A daring challenge. A liberating love.

A motorcar accident on a rainy Chicago night steals Ella Canaday’s fiancé as well as her ability to ride. Clinging to the remnants of her independence, she cuts her hair and her ties with her wealthy father and takes a train west as the seamstress with a moving-picture company. Colorado offers the change of scenery she needs. But she doesn’t expect the bold cowboy who challenges her to reclaim both the loves she thought she’d lost forever.

Cale Hutton needs the money the moving-picture company is paying for use of his cattle and horses, but he’s not keen on some city gal gettin’ in the way out at the ranch. Between the filming crew by day and a rogue cattle-killing bear by night, his attention snags on the little bob-haired seamstress. Something about her easy manner around his horse sets his mind to find out what she’s hiding and why she has such a pull on his heart.

The Rancher’s Legacy by Susan Page Davis

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1863 – Colorado

Matt Anderson’s father and their neighbor devise a plan: Have their children marry and merge the two ranches. The only problem is, Rachel Maxwell has stated emphatically that will never happen.

When Rachel finishes her education in the East and arrives in Colorado, Matt is tasked with retrieving her from the stagecoach. As they crest the hill overlooking the sprawling acreage, Rachel gets her first glimpse of her new home. Only it’s in flames and besieged by outlaws.

She soon learns her father was killed in the raid, shattering her life. Will she allow Matt to help her pick up the pieces?

Meanwhile in Maine, a sea captain’s widow, Edith Rose, hires a private investigator to locate three of her now-adult grandchildren who were abandoned by their father nearly 20 years ago. After weeks of investigation, Ryland Atkins believes he’s located the eldest—in Colorado Territory.

Legacy of Honor by Renee Brumbaugh Green

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1882 – Texas

He’s been raised to carry on the legacy.

After her mother’s untimely death, Emma Monroe’s dreams to become a teacher are dashed. She takes a job as maid and cook at the local Stratton Ranch, where she endures humiliation and hardship in order to provide for her ailing father and younger brother. Only Riley Stratton, her childhood friend and heir to the Stratton fortune, sees her heart. When she’s asked to care for Skye, the young half-Indian girl most family members refuse to claim, Emma finally finds the purpose she craves.

Riley Stratton has it all, or so it seems. Growing up as the youngest son of the rich and powerful John Stratton, Riley stands to inherit a legacy of greatness in the Stratton Ranch. On the surface, his family looks like they have it all, but manipulation, deceit, and an ever-present quest for power leave him desperate for change. Yet his father has made it clear: do things the Stratton way, or face alienation and disinheritance.

As Riley and Emma choose between honor, dreams, and expectations—not to mention the love they can no longer deny—their first steps prove how quickly the situation can spin into danger. When their best efforts threaten the lives and hopes of those closest to them, it becomes clear the decisions they make will change the course of their lives forever.

A Heart of Gold by Stacy Henrie

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1898 – Montana/Canada

They’ll have to conquer more than the Klondike Trail to reach her father in time—they’ll have to overcome their past too.

After months of silence from her father in the Klondike, Tava Rutherford finally receives word from him. Only the outdated letter reveals that her father is ill and may be dying. Desperate to discover his fate, Tava resolves to make the journey to the wilds of northwestern Canada. But Jess Lawmen, her ranch foreman and the man who broke her heart, insists she doesn’t go alone. Jess intends to keep his promise to look out for her—even if that means traveling thousands of miles with Tava, the woman he claims to feel just friendship for but has never stopped loving.

With their own ragtag group of travelers in tow, Tava and Jess confront one challenge after another as they join the hundreds of stampeders scrambling to reach the goldfields. But as the two of them come face to face with their past hurts and mistakes in their race to reach Tava’s father, they will have to decide whether to cling to safety or risk their hearts for something even greater.

A Convenient Escape by Sara Turnquist

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1870s – Arizona

She has nowhere to go. He has nothing to lose.

Lily McAllen has known nothing but hardship and rejection. Her brother, the only person she can lean on, takes a job at the Miller ranch. Now with no ally, she is alone, confined, and vulnerable. Even God has forsaken her. She becomes desperate to get away…by any means necessary.

Despite his best intentions, Daniel Hayworth is drawn into a fatal mishap. He feels responsible. And is prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure Lily is cared for…even if that means proposing marriage.

Complicating matters, Geronimo and his raiding band terrorize the surrounding areas. Troubles mount and tensions challenge the growing attraction between Dan and Lily.

Will they make it to the church? Or find themselves victims of lies, disillusionment, or the ire of an Apache rebel?

Levi’s Blessing by Linda Ford

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1886 – Canada

Levi Hooper is the youngest brother and tired of being ‘the kid.’ No one takes him seriously. Not even the girl he hoped to marry.

Zola Minor needed an escape from a controlling relationship. She found one by moving west with her parents. When her father falls ill, the family stops to rest near the Coulee Crossing Ranch—Levi’s home.

While Zola finds a freedom she’s been seeking in the open spaces and big sky, she also clashes with Levi. In the best way possible. She is both attracted to and afraid of the young rancher. She sees what his brothers can’t. Levi is a mature young man with a generous heart. A heart she’s afraid she can’t resist.

But Zola’s family never planned to stay. When her pa is strong enough to continue the journey, she faces a tough choice: leave the rancher behind? Or take a chance and trust him with her heart?

The Damsel’s Intent by Mary Davis

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1893 – Washington

Can Nicole learn to be enough of a lady to snag the handsome rancher?

Nicole Waterby has lived her whole life in the hills away from town due to her grandfather’s mistrust of people. But now he’s passed away, and Nicole is left to care for her two younger cousins. Feeling inadequate to handle the responsibility, she heads down the mountain to fetch herself a husband. She doesn’t realize women don’t wear trousers, buckskins, or carry a gun. She has a lot to learn about being a lady if she’s going to catch a husband. And the quilting circle is just the group of women to help her.

Rancher Shane Keegan has drifted from one location to another to find a place to belong. He longs to have a family of his own but feels doomed to live a life alone. When Nicole crosses his path, he wonders if he can have love, but he soon realizes she’s destined for someone better than a saddle tramp. Even though he knows there’s no future for him with the intriguing mountain girl, he still steps in to help her at every opportunity.

Will love stand a chance while both Nicole and Shane try to be people they are not?

Love’s Silver Bullet by Julie Lessman

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1872 – Nevada

She’s targeting his love. He’s aiming to steer clear. ‘Til true love picks them off in a bull’s-eye of the heart.

Eighteen-year-old Sheridan Donovan has been in love with Jake Sullivan since the age of four, when she used to tag after him and her big brothers on the Silver Lining Ranch. From little on, Jake has been her hero, convincing her brothers to play school and wedding with her whenever she’d begged and cried. From horsey rides and tickle fests to his sweet willingness to be her pretend groom, Jake’s gentleness and affection had nurtured two dreams in Sheridan’s heart—becoming both a teacher and Mrs. Jake Sullivan. Preferably not in that order.

At the age of thirty, Jake figures he pretty much has everything he needs at the moment. A good job as the Assistant Foreman for Silver Lining Ranch, great friends in Blaze and Dash Donovan, and a true mentor in their uncle and owner of the ranch, Finn McShane, the man who’d given him a family to replace the one he lost. But when Finn’s niece, Sheridan—Blaze’s and Dash’s little sister to whom Jake became a big brother as well—turns eighteen, Jake discovers there’s one more thing he needs: distance and lots of it. From pinafores and bows at age six to overalls and dirt till age fifteen, the grown-up Sheridan looks nothing like the little girl who’d once been his constant shadow, now transformed into a young woman who races his heart. Painfully aware that Sheridan is determined to win his love, Jake is equally determined to keep a promise to her uncle, a promise that not only shoots a hole in his well-ordered life, but in his heart as well.

Pretending to Wed by Melissa Jagears

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1884 – Wyoming Territory

It’s a match made in heaven…as long as they don’t fall in love!

The ranch Nolan Key has spent decades working for, even lost a leg for, is now his—or at least it should be. But an absurd clause in his father’s will means he’s in danger of losing the place to his lazy, undeserving cousin. Nolan finds himself scrambling to save his home—by proposing marriage to the town laundress.

Corinne Stillwater’s hands have betrayed her. Numb from hours of doing the same work over and over, her hands will only heal, according to the town doctor, if she gives up the laundry and marries. But she’s been stung repeatedly by love before, so that is one remedy she can’t swallow.

When Nolan offers Corinne a marriage in name only, how can she refuse? Such a partnership could give them the security they seek, but what if the ranch isn’t as secure as they believe, and their lives—and dreams—aren’t quite as compatible as they thought?

Pretending to Wed is the second book in the Frontier Vows Series by award-winning Christian romance author Melissa Jagears. If you like marriage of convenience stories that deal with the nitty-gritty of making a relationship work, you’ll love this authentic romance set in a time gone by that tackles issues still relevant for today.

A Distant Heart by Heather Blanton

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1800s – Wyoming

Two wounded souls. One loving, relentless God.

Welcome to Burning Dress Ranch.

Miss Sally, the mysterious and secretive owner of Burning Dress, established the operation with a very particular mission—to make sure her charges leave with a real skill, and to share the love of Christ with their hurting, wounded souls.

Cecelia Huggins, broken by a bitter, shameful divorce, has come to Burning Dress to take control of her own destiny. She wants to work and learn. She doesn’t want friends, and she certainly doesn’t ever want to fall in love again.

Jax Taylor is foreman of the Burning Dress and he’s the perfect man for the job. Most of the ranch hands are women who are healing from some pretty tough blows. Just like them, he’s pushing past his own hurts and would prefer to drink poison rather than fall in love again.

Miss Sally has had some tough cases before but Cecelia and Jax maybe the toughest. How do you convince two stubborn hearts that the only way to find rest for their souls is to give in to love?