But the endless journey across the frontier was proving a heartbreaking test of courage and endurance for Faith Beal. All she had to sustain her was her steadfast belief in a loving God--and the guiding hand of a stranger who truly seemed heaven-sent. Connell McClain was her selfless guardian as their wagon train slowly made its way west. And as they shared the dangers of the trail--and the closeness of a covered wagon--Faith felt the first tender stirrings of love for this roughhewn yet caring man. But would the secrets that seemed to haunt him threaten their growing feelings for one another?

    But upon awakening to the cruelty and injustice it encompasses, Caroline's eyes are opened for the first time to the men and women who have cared tirelessly for her. Her journey of maturity and faith will draw her into the abolitionist movement, where she is confronted with the risks and sacrifices her beliefs entail.

    But how did he get there? What was Job's life like before tragedy struck? What did he think as his world came crashing down around him? And what was life like after God restored his wealth, health, and family? Through painstaking research and a writer's creative mind, Mesu Andrews weaves an emotional and stirring account of this well-known story told through the eyes of the women who loved him. Drawing together the account of Job with those of Esau's tribe and Jacob's daughter Dinah, Love Amid the Ashes breathes life, romance, and passion into the classic biblical story of suffering and steadfast faith.

    Disillusioned by her father's insistence, she forges a daring plan to escape the sinister hand of her intended.Peter Colton sees the Alaskan gold rush as an opportunity to establish his family's fledgling shipping business. An unexpected partnership enables him to pursue those dreams and opens the door to an aquaintance with Grace, who has purchased passage north.Drawn together by need and circumstance, Grace and Peter form a faltering friendship. But when her deserted fiance continues to manipulate her loved ones, can she find peace in the wake of his wrath?

    It's going to take an extraordinary man to appreciate her joy and spontaneity--or so says her doting oil-man father.Unfortunately such a man doesn't appear to reside in Corsicana, Texas.It's 1894, the year of Essie's thirtieth birthday, and she decides the Lord has more important things to do than provide her a husband. If she wants one, she needs to catch him herself. So, she writes down the names of all the eligible bachelors in her small Texas town, makes a list of their attributes and drawbacks, closes her eyes, twirls her finger, and ... picks one.But convincing the lucky "husband-to-be" is going to a bit more of a problem.Join Deeanne Gist for another unforgettable tale and find out whether Essie's plan to catch a husband succeeds or if she's just Courting Trouble.

    For seven years, she's carved out an independent life in the bustling town of Bethlehem Springs, Idaho, teaching piano and writing for the local newspaper. But now she's a single woman running for mayor—and in 1915 this decision is bound to stir up trouble.Morgan McKinley is fed up with the delays that hinder the construction of New Hope Health Spa, a place where both rich and poor can come for rest and healing. New to the area, he has determined that serving as mayor would help him push through his agenda for progress.Gwen and Morgan each want to prove they are the most qualified candidate, not only to voters, but to each other, and so sparks fly as the two campaign. Although Morgan has learned to guard his heart as fiercely as Gwen guards her independence, could they learn to be allies instead of adversaries?This first book in the Sisters of Bethlehem Springs series provides intriguing insights into how women challenged convention and shaped America in the early twentieth century.

    With the same eloquence, dramatic energy, and grasp of history that marked his previous works, Madison Smartt Bell gives us a wholly new vantage point from which to view this complicated American figure. Considered a rogue by the upper ranks of the Confederate Army, who did not properly use his talents, Forrest was often relegated to small-scale operations.In Devil's Dream, Bell brings to life an energetic, plainspoken man who does not tolerate weakness in himself or in those around him. We see Forrest on and off the battlefield, in less familiar but no less revealing moments of his life: courting the woman who would become his wife; battling a compulsion to gamble; overcoming his abhorrence of the army bureaucracy to rise to its highest ranks. We see him treating his slaves humanely even as he fights to ensure their continued enslavement, and in battle we see his knack for keeping his enemy unsettled, his instinct for the unexpected, and his relentless stamina.As Devil's Dream moves back and forth in time, providing prismatic glimpses of Forrest, a vivid portrait comes into focus: a rough, fierce man with a life fill of contradictions.

    Two young Southern girls, one the daughter of a plantation owner and one the daughter of a slave, barely survive the onset of the Civil War and the loss of both their families. When these tragic circumstances bring them together, they join forces to discover if they can make a life for themselves. As their preconceptions give way to experience, they gradually learn to value their contrasting and complementing strengths and skills as they face the formidable task of keeping body and soul together in the aftermath of this devastating war. But is it possible the Lord they have come to know has something bigger in mind for the plantation than either of them can imagine?

    But Ruth has the best of intentions. Truly. It's just that her attempts to live up to her mother's expectations of how a lady should act have often yielded...well, less than impressive results.Josh McCain is speechless when he sees Ruth step off the stage in Folsom, California. Sure, it looks like she's been sleeping in her gown for the past week, but with a crown of riotous curls and those deep green eyes, she's certainly the most beautiful woman he's ever met.But attraction is not all that causes sparks between Ruth and Josh. With Ruth's legitimate claims to an inheritance, the Broken P Ranch's future is suddenly precarious. And when Ruth's "accidents"--going beyond even her normal bumbling ways--seem to take a sinister turn, Josh must decide where his loyalties lie.

    When Dana Rose's ex gets married, and then starts the business Dana had dreamed of opening, Dana has her friends and her faith to rely on.

    Twelve years later, Bill has almost forgotten his crush on the wild and feisty Lettie. Almost. But when fate reunites them, he realizes that some opportunities shouldn't be missed. Lettie Campbell wants to start her own business designing lingerie. Her dream is going to become a reality with the cash she's bringing in as a cheating consultant at My Alibi, a company that lies for cheaters 24/7. When her sister, Amy, asks her to help a friend by providing an alibi, Lettie agrees. Lying to strangers is easy. But lying to the friend you've had since third grade is hard. As the lies pile up and Lettie and Bill burn up the sheets, she will have to come clean. Because the person she's lying to is Bill and no amount of lies will help her when he discovers that he's been conned.

    Mattie Evans grew up in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Although her family has lost their ranch, she still calls this land home. A skilled young veterinarian, she struggles to gain the confidence of the local ranchers. Fortunately, her best friend and staunchest supporter is John McCray, owner of the Lightning M Ranch. They both love the ranch, and can’t imagine living anywhere but in the Flint Hills. He’s haunted by it. Gil McCray, John’s estranged son, is a pro football player living in California. The ranch is where his mother died and where every aspect of the tallgrass prairie stirs unwanted memories of his older brother’s fatal accident. Gil decides leaving the ranch is the best solution for his ailing father and his own ailing heart. But he doesn’t count on falling in love. Falling in love isn’t an option. Or is it? When Mattie is called in to save a horse injured in a terrible accident, she finds herself unwillingly tossed into the middle of a family conflict. Secret pain, secret passions, and secret agendas play out against the beautiful landscapes as love leads to some unexpected conclusions about forgiveness and renewal.

    Tobias is obsessed with two things: God and girls. Mostly girls, of course. But being a Baptist preacher's son, he can't escape God. When his father is blinded in a bizarre accident (involving hard cider and bird droppings), Tobias must ride the rails to Texas to recover a long-hidden stash of money. Along the way, he's initiated into the hobo brotherhood by Craw, a ribald vagabond-philosopher. Obstacles arise in the form of a saucy prostitute, a flaming boxcar, and a man-eating catfish. But when he meets Sarah, a tough farm girl under a dark curse, he finds out that the greatest challenge of all is love.

    She started the habit of writing down everything that happened to her when she was no more than eight years old, and now she had six journals completely full. She thought about the prize at school, almost prayed to win, but somehow she could not. “God,” she finally said, “I’ll do my best, and if you’ll help me, that’s all I ask.”Fourteen-year-old Lanie Belle Freeman of Fairhope, Arkansas, has high hopes for her future. Happy on the five-acre family homeplace, she dreams of going to college and becoming a writer. And with her father launching a new business and her mother expecting the fifth baby, the bright days of an early Southern spring seem to herald expansive new beginnings for the Freeman family.But her mother isn’t as strong as she should be, and it’s going to take time for the business to pay back the mortgage. When unexpected tragedy strikes, it is left to Lanie to keep the family together and hold on to their home. In a world shaken by the Great Depression, it is faith in God and love in a tightly knit family that will help Lanie and her siblings overcome the odds and create a future that promises the fulfillment of love.The Homeplace offers a warmhearted and inspiring saga of a courageous young woman who holds her family together through the Depression era.

    Facing a messy divorce and doubting his talent as a writer, CJ is forced to confront secrets that have tormented him since childhood. To complicate matters, his brother Graham is running for a Senate seat, and the family is intent on keeping their most damaging secret in the family, for fear the truth, were it found out, would ruin Graham's chances at winning. But with CJ airing their dirty laundry in his books, the family is forced to deal with him. They decide on a familiar method for handling the problem: a hunting trip, and just the setting for an accident to happen. CJ must find a way to avoid being killed while exposing their toxic family secret, regardless of Graham's lofty ambitions. More important, CJ must come to terms with the newfound faith that compelled him to return to Adelia in the first place.