1870s – Arizona
Dorothy “Cook” Miller and “Uncle” Owen Miller are living their best life and marriage. Though it is not without bumps along the way. Join them as they walk through the year together with its measure of mishaps and laughs. This collection of short stories shows that marriage can be fraught with misunderstanding. But also has its share of lighter moments.
1870s – Arizona
Ada Clara Miller is the new schoolteacher in Tombstone. Her desire for independence stems from her brother’s tales of the west. But she never expected to find herself torn between two men—one who promises safety and security, the other’s future is uncertain and offers excitement.
Though Francis “Slim” Dagley is determined that he will not become involved with a woman of privilege, Ada’s fiery personality intrigues him. And draws him. Soon he is vying for her heart with a man he’d rather not trifle with.
Making matters worse, a violent gang skirts the law and makes life difficult for well-meaning ranchers. And their interactions with the Earps create ripples through Tombstone.
Will Slim and Ada find what they seek in each other? Or will they become caught up in a piece of history—the shootout at the O.K. Corral?
1400s – Czechoslovakia
Zdenek and Eva are blissfully happy after finding one another. Then his father summons him home. It is a reunion Zdenek dreads. How will his father react to Zdenek’s involvement with a merchant’s daughter? More…what will Zdenek do if the man does not accept her?
Radek, who has recently defected, finds himself caught between two worlds. He stumbles upon a Hussite captive in the Royalist camp in dire need of a champion. Can he defy yet another army? Ostracize himself and limp back to the Hussites for the sake of a woman he owes nothing to?
While the Hussites maintain a tenuous hold on their lands, will internal conflict prove their undoing?
1915 – New York
A woman’s choice…is in question.
Brianne is a somewhat naïve college freshman. She becomes disillusioned as her professors and peers challenge many of her long-held beliefs. When she finds a diary that belonged to a distant relative, she hopes it will offer much needed distraction. And she is soon drawn into the story of a passionate woman who seems to whisper from the past.
In 1915’s New York, idealist and primary teacher Margaret struggles with the problems women face at home and in society. She is first timid about speaking her mind, but in time cannot keep her impassioned spirit hidden—not even from the gentleman who teaches in the classroom next door. His concern for her stretches the limits of their friendship, pressing into something more. Caught up in the Women’s Suffrage Movement, she faces down authority figures and others who question her beliefs.
And so, Brianne is whisked along on this journey as Margaret joins the fight for women’s rights, all the while trying to work through her own questions and experiences with modern feminism.
Before long, things spin out of control and she wonders where her newfound relationship fits into everything? Are there any clear answers? Will she land on her feet? Or be forever lost to herself?
1890s – Colorado
Tragedy strikes Katherine Matthews and the small town of Cripple Creek, Colorado. An epidemic teams her with an old enemy, Wyatt Sullivan, the town’s doctor. In the midst of desperation and death, Katherine has decisions to make. But she has no idea to what extent they will affect her daily life and livelihood.
The town is turned upside-down when the gold miners go on strike. The owners bring in outside reinforcements, ready to break the resolve of the Western Federation of Miners. Everything in an upheaval, Katherine faces a crisis of faith and hard choices. Will life ever be normal again?
1400s – Czechoslovakia
The red-headed Karin is strong-willed and determined, something she inherited from her father. She tries to keep her true nature a secret to avoid being deemed a traitor by those loyal to the king. Karin and her father butt heads over her duty to her family and the Czech Crown. She is then sequestered to the Royal Viscount’s hunting lodge.
Not aware of everything that is happening, she becomes the target of an individual with murderous intent. Her heart soon becomes entangled though her father intends to wed her to another.
The turmoil inside Karin deepens and reflects the turmoil of her homeland, on the brink of the Hussite Wars.
200s BC – Egypt
A Greek noblewoman in a foreign land. The Pharaoh’s highest general preparing for battle.
Ismene, a beautiful, somewhat naïve, young noblewoman, is torn from her childhood home in Greece and her first love. Bound by honor and duty, she marries Pharoah’s chief military commander, Alistair. Though determined to remain true to the man she left behind, her new husband stirs feelings in her she cannot ignore.
Attempting to accept this brazen new culture, it isn’t long before she discovers that the locals don’t like her. The Alexandrian mob starts making anonymous threats. This faceless group will stop at nothing to achieve its goal of driving out the unwelcome Greeks. In the midst of these heightening attacks, the general must leave for battle. Ismene fears that she is on her own.
Evidence of a spy within her own household arises. It soon becomes apparent that one of these Egyptian rebels wants her dead. The safety of Ismene, and possibly the entire ruling class of Egypt, hangs in the balance.
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?
1400s – Czechoslovakia
Karin and Pavel have found their way safely to his parents home, but things are not as well as they seem. There are secrets between them. A wall goes up. And then Pavel is called into battle.
Radek and Zdenek find themselves pulled into the conflict despite their best efforts to remain neutral, while Stepan finds himself ready for bloodshed.
With tensions mounting within their circle and throughout their country, what will become of Pavel and Karin? Can they find their way back to each other?
1890s – Colorado
Katherine and Wyatt have settled into a well-earned, comfortable life together. Until an unexpected attack threatens to bring an end to their happily-ever-after. And on the cusp of the town’s yuletide merriment.
As they come to grips with their new circumstances, they begin to realize the difficulty is far from over. And new challenges arise.
What will become of their family? Of their Christmas?
1830s – Georgia
He’s a steadfast missionary. She’s a proud Cherokee. Can their love survive the brutal Trail of Tears?
Thomas Greyson believes God had called him to spread the gospel. He leaves his sheltered world behind to live among the native peoples and teach in their school. But as the government tightens its grip, not everyone is ready to listen to the gospel’s message of love… least of all the stubborn beauty who stole his heart.
Adsila resists bending her knee to the white man’s God when Thomas seemingly tries to steal away the last remaining shreds of her heritage. Is she prepared to fight him tooth and nail? But when he stands with her people in the face of hardship, her soul begins to long for the curious stranger and his unshakeable faith.
Against impossible odds and staggering loss, can Thomas and Adsila find the strength to follow their hearts’ true path?
1860s – Old West
Disillusioned by the war and prejudice, can this southern belle trust in love? Claire Crawford is nothing she should be. Put off by the War between the States and her own experience with the slaves on her father’s plantation, she longs for something more. Under the control of her parents, there is not much room for anything but submission. Still, she dares to defy them and reach out to a sharecropper’s family on her father’s land. The war changed Henry Garrett. And he has plans of going beyond his father’s humble farm. He will do whatever it takes to make those dreams come true. Nothing will stand in his way. Until he meets her. Drawn to the southern belle he would rather despise, he is soon caught up in a situation not of his own making. How much is too much for the one he loves? Dare he sacrifice his dream?
1800s – Old West
He never imagined her heart would be so hard to reach.
Forced into a marriage of convenience after her husband dies, Amanda Haynes is determined she will never love again. Not that it bothers Brandon Miller. He needs her husband’s cattle. She needs financial stability and long-term support for her son and herself. But she never expected to care so much about the running of the ranch.
Butting heads over the decisions of the ranch, adding to her frustration and grief at her loss. Her wellbeing is soon threatened as their lives become entangled with Billy the Kid and his gang.
What has she gotten herself into? What kind of man has she married? Is there any way out?
1860s – Traveling in US
A young debutante devoted to her fiance. A doctor committed to saving lives.
Elizabeth is passionate about many things. Protecting John from the guts of war becomes the most important when he joins the Union Army. Determined to follow him through thick and thin, she joins the commission of women supporting his regiment and sneaks aboard his train upon deployment.
In fear of being discovered and sent home, she keeps a low profile. Until she learns he has rushed to the front to save critically wounded soldiers. Despite the danger of musket and cannon fire, she knows the decision she must make to ensure John makes it back alive.
How far would you go to protect the one you love?
