But when he spies the marks on her back and hears about her stepfather’s advances, Clayton knows he must spirit Vanessa away to safety. As they make their way west, it becomes apparent that there’s something special between Vanessa and Clayton— far more significant than mere friendship or his sense of duty. Unfortunately, also heading west are Vanessa’s brother Miles and her stepfather Price Venture. Price wants Vanessa back for obvious reasons; Miles wants to earn his stepfather’s respect. Eventually, unexpected confrontations reach a harrowing conclusion. As their family begins to heal, their journey and trials they've faced helps them realize their future is in God's guiding hands.Same author as Shelley Shepard Gray.

    Her father, a rodeo cowboy, recently passed away after a long, expensive illness. The medical bills, combined with his habit of gambling and the fact that she had to quit her job to take care of him,has left her homeless and with no place to go but back to the rodeo. She tracks down Luke Delaney, one of her father’s proteges, and asks for help. Luke Delaney thought of Red Stacey as a father. Kennedy didn’t call him when Red was sick, so he didn’t get to say good-bye to the man he loved like a father. He can’t forgive her for that, and turns her away.But when she turns to his brother Liam for help instead,Luke steps forward, partly because of his concern of how his brother the player will treat her, and partly because he knows her father would want him to. Since she’s homeless, she has to stay in his tiny RV. At first close quarters lead to sparring as they fight their attraction--and she fights to have some kind of independence when she’s leaning so heavily on him. But nature can only hold out so long, and despite their better judgement, they give in to their desires. But Kennedy is afraid he’s taking her body in payment, and he’s afraid of the feelings he has for her as he gets to know her again, the feelings he hasn’t let himself feel since they were sixteen years old.

    Matt Slade is the orphaned son of hardscrabble Texas settlers. Sarah knows about every Civil War battle from studying newspaper accounts. Matt fought in the bloodiest of them under Generals Longstreet and Lee. If Matt and Sarah ever crossed paths, it should have been for an unremarkable moment. He would tip his hat. She would nod and pass on by. Except that as survivors of a Comanche attack, Matt and Sarah spend far more than a moment together. They come to know each other, depend on each other and love each other. Humiliated by Sarah's love for "Rebel trash," her jilted fiance extracts a revenge so vicious, he boasts that he destroyed the young lovers. Did he? Or when Matt and Sarah meet again years later, can they put their lives and their love back together?

    Undaunted, Noelle Kramer fought to remain independent. But then a runaway horse nearly plunged her into a rushing, ice-choked river, before a stranger's strong, sure hand saved her from certain death.And yet this was no stranger. Though she could not know it, her rescuer was rancher Thad McKaslin, the man who had once loved her more than life itself. Losing her had shaken all his most deeply held beliefs. Now he wondered if the return of this strong woman was a sign that somehow he could find his way home.

    And if that meant paying notorious gunslinger Drake Frazier to take his place in a fight, she'd barter her last gold nugget. But Hope soon discovered she'd have to give the handsome rattlesnake more than riches if she wanted his help. His improper demands infuriated her; even as she luxuriated in the tantalizing heat of his embrace, she refused to yield to her desires. She'd accept his terms, then find a way to escape him... somehow...

    Though tragedy has wrecked her life, Allie Siders holds on to the hope that her five-year-old daughter, Betsy, will speak again. But with a stalker out for revenge, all Allie can think about now is their safety. She must sever all ties and abandon life as she knows it. She heads to the peaceful Bluebird Ranch, nestled deep in Texas hill country, and to the only person who can help them. The ranch is a sanctuary for abused horses, and also for troubled youths: the perfect place for Betsy to grow and recover. Ranch owner Elijah DeAngelo eagerly welcomes the duo. But Rick Bailey--the ranch foreman and DeAngelo's right hand man--hasn't decided to let his guard down . . . yet. Promises made long ago soon force Rick and Allie to work together to escape danger. Will they discover love along the way?

    Catherine Bennett is destined to hang... unless she can disappear.With the untamed territory of Colorado as her most likely refuge, she packs her physician's kit and heads West. But even with a new life and name, a female doctor with a bounty on her head can hide for only so long.Sawbones is the first novel in a gripping historical fiction series.

    Not willing to return to her father's restrictive home — or face the arduous six-month voyage back to Boston — she hatches a plan to start her own business. She'll never have to trust her future to a man again. Jack Dalton struck it rich in the Sierra Nevada and is having a mighty fine time spending his gold at dance halls and saloons in town. He can't for the life of him figure out why so many of his drinking buddies are signing up for ads in the matchmaking paper that snooty 'Miss Priss' is starting up. The last thing he wants to do is to settle down. When an unscrupulous charlatan threatens to shatter Delilah's dream, Jack takes pity and steps in to lend a helping hand. Then he gets suckered into partnering with the very woman he desperately wants to avoid. Long hours working together force them to face their deepest fears and admit they're drawn toward one another. Can they let go of their pasts and find hope for their future or will they let their fears tear them apart?

     After growing up in a dying town, with only two restaurants, no movie theater, and no future, waitress Cassidy Simon wants out. For once, luck is on her side when the oil boom comes to South Texas. She’s determined to use it for her advantage, starting up an RV park for the oilfield workers to add to her escape fund. She’s never been out of Texas, and she’s itching for adventure. Grady McKenna couldn’t get away from his family’s ranch fast enough when he was a teenager, but a tour in the Air Force in the Middle East is enough to convince him there’s no place like home. He’s seen the world, had his adventure. Now he’s ready to contribute to his family’s legacy in Evansville. Naturally, the woman who draws his attention is the one intent on slipping through his fingers. How can he convince her life with him will be all the adventure she needs?

    Spirited Katie MacKenzie helps her father run a saloon and writes articles for the local newspaper about the Griffin, a Robin Hood-style highwayman who robs the unscrupulous mine owners and gives back to the townspeople. Irresistibly roguish Jack Adams, an adventurer with a dark secret, rides into the sleepy Sierra town one summer day and changes everything.A powerful attraction smolders and burns between Jack and Katie despite their efforts to resist, but when a tragic death occurs during one of the Griffin's stagecoach robberies, Katie is haunted by thoughts of revenge. Can Jack reconcile his life in Columbia with his surprising true identity in San Francisco... and will this couple find their way to happiness in spite of the dangerous secrets that separate them? Journey back to Civil War-era California with Jack, Katie, and historical characters like Samuel Clemens for a passionate & adventurous romance that will keep you turning the pages to the very end!

     "A Cajun Dream will bring a smile to readers' faces. Ms. Claire has captured the sweetness of falling in love the first time with the gentleness of Dorothy Garlock and the tenderness of Pamela Morsi." — Maria C. Ferrer for Romantic Times magazine "What a marvelous debut! Cherie Claire is sure to earn a bevy of fans with this charming and heartwarming tale." — Rexanne Becnel, author of Blink of An Eye

     Overhearing a conversation between the couple who has kindly taken her in during this horrible time in her life, she realizes that if she cannot deal with her grief and start to move on, she just may find herself married off to a man old enough to be her grandfather. Understanding that fact is exactly what she needs in order to start living her life. That’s when she agrees to become a mail order bride. Simon Callaghan is a rancher in Idaho Springs, Colorado and in need of a wife to help him run it. He has taken out a classified ad to find the right woman to travel west and become his wife. Handsome, damaged, and holding painful secrets, he did not want to risk finding a woman to love. Yet, when he meets Emma, he knows that losing his heart might be something he has no control over. Could a woman like this ever grow to love a man like him? MESSAGE FROM AUTHOR MEGAN WEST: Hi everyone! Thanks for taking the time to check out my first ever published story :) I hope you enjoy the story and it fills your hearts with love and happiness! Please stay tuned for many more stories! Megan West

    But Jackson Smith quickly realizes that Ellie's presence may solve his own problems--both the rearing of his young boys and the scandal that surrounds his first marriage.When a marriage of convenience is offered, Ellie is initially humiliated. Though she is past the age most women marry, she has more pride than to agree to his outlandish suggestion. Yet what options does she have? To marry would mean a home and stability. So despite the rumors circling Jackson and his first wife, Ellie accepts this unlikely proposal...

    Don’t miss these steamy love stories! Alaska and the Yukon, 1898 MEET COLT, the strong and silent Mountie who’s forced to escort the beautiful, brainy and talkative Elizabeth through the northern wilderness. Mountie Colt Hunter is on a dangerous undercover mission with his team of Mounties, traveling to Alaska and the Yukon, and the last thing he wants is the delicate Elizabeth Langley joining them. Frustrated at being forced to escort her, Colt orders Elizabeth to go in disguise too—as his make-believe sister. He wants Elizabeth to understand that she needs to follow his orders and step in line with his men. How else will they survive the dangers? And how will Colt survive the emotional battle dueling inside his heart, between duty and passion, every time he looks at her? Elizabeth thinks that pretending to be his sister is ridiculous. But she can fake it as well as he can. She’s not the delicate city woman that Colt believes. Elizabeth is a hardworking doctor, trying to make it to the Yukon in search of answers to a troubling family secret and to meet with her grandfather. When they get to the Klondike, she’ll finally be free of Colt’s bossy attitude, free of his close proximity and free of the way he makes her heart race…. Originally published as Klondike Doctor. All of the books in this romance series are stand-alone novels. Don’t miss any of the ALASKA COWBOYS and MOUNTIES! Book 1: COLT Book 2: LUKE Book 3: DYLAN Book 4: WESTON Book 5: QUINN Book 6: BRANT Book 7: HARRISON Book 8: JAMES Book 9: JOHNBook 10: WYATT

    But Charlotte simply can't marry him ... she won't! He is vulgar, putrid and disrespectful - not to mention, over three times her age.With help from her best friend Beth and the kindly Mistress Belle, Charlotte is soon heading east to marry young farmer Thomas Ackerman in Conrad, Montana. * As her life in Conrad unfolds, Charlotte meets a wonderful mix of townsfolk, including her future husband Thomas, the lovely Louise, the interfering Mabel, and an adorable 8 year old boy named Junior. * But even in Paradise, life doesn't always turn out the way we might hope or expect it to. Has Charlotte jumped from the frying pan into the fire? Or might she learn that amidst the mud and the blood and the tears, romance and love can materialize in the most magical, unexpected ways. * The Seasons Mail Order Bride series: * Series 1 - Seasons * Book One - Charlotte's Summer Book Two - Falling for Beth Book Three - Alice in Winterland Book Four - Spring Belle * Series 2 - Seasons Sons & Daughters * Book One - Madeline's Match Book Two - Hannah's Hope Book Three - Sarah's Choice Book Four - Stella's Fella