With all of the good men dying at the hands of a local rancher and his three sons, Raine hires a shootist to be the town’s protector. But her handsome new employee is more than a hired hand; he’s a man who keeps his guns close and his secrets closer. BUT NOTHING COULD PROTECT HER HEART After a chance encounter on a train, Kellen Coltrane travels to the Pennyroyal to carry out a dying man’s last wish. But once he meets the hotel’s fiery-haired proprietor, Coltrane finds himself assuming the role of the shootist’s accomplice and agrees to protect Bitter Springs. And as he learns more about Raine’s own tragedy, Coltrane can’t deny his growing desire for the courageous widow, or the urge to protect her from the threat that draws near…

    But she needs a guide to lead her safely through this dangerous, unfamiliar country, someone as wild and unpredictable as the land itself. And that man is the gunslinger they call Chandos.Courtney fears this enigmatic loner whose dark secrets torture his soul, yet whose eyes, bluer than the frontier sky, enflame the innocent, determined lady with wanton desires. But on the treacherous path they have chosen they have no one to trust but each other--as shared perils to their lives and hearts unleash turbulent, unbridled, passions that only love can tame.

    He's witnessed and experienced a lifetime of cruelty and he's lost too much to care about anything ever again. While he was captured, his entire family died, leaving him with the only person he cares about - his cellmate, Griff. As a result, his steely nerves have made Sam one of the most famous and feared hired guns in the west. Then Griff disappears inside the gates of Hamilton's fabulously profitable Silver Spur ranch. Sam figures that posing as a bodyguard of the Baron of Banking's daughter, who's come to visit, will be the simplest solution to finding his way in. Little did he expect that fighting a war would do so little to prepare him for an encounter with the very adventurous and alluring Laura.

    Once the most sought-after scout west of the Rockies, she led folks through wild, unexplored terrain–until a gunshot wound ended her guiding career. She’s living a calmer life when a handsome stranger appears with an urgent request to take him to Denver immediately. The gold coins he offers catch Fox’s eye–and so do his sharp good looks. Fox can’t resist the chance to guide again, and can’t ignore the fire that burns in her body whenever she sees this oh-so tempting man.Matthew Tanner has received a startling telegraph: His father is being held for ransom in Denver. With time running out, Matthew must find the best scout money can buy. When the best turns out to be a woman with gritty good looks and a wild mane of red hair, Matthew is both shocked and intrigued. Can Matthew and Fox’s mutual desire and growing love survive the perils of their journey, or will their secrets destroy each other?

    On the strength of three letters she has traveled by railroad, riverboat and stagecoach to meet her new life out west. Grady McGuire, her intended and the author of those letters, though formally dressed and still holding a bouquet of wilted prairie flowers, is unfortunately passed out drunk in a buckboard behind the saloon.That new life isn’t beginning quite as she envisioned it. As she attempts to salvage the promises they made to each other, she finds herself involved with others in town with their own stories to tell:Addison Pruitt, Sarah’s saving grace, owns the very fine Russell Hotel and keeps the irritating John Russell close as she spends his money.Diego, the Mexican hotel cook possessed of an exquisite repertoire of French dishes, has a secret that he hopes he never has to tell.Jim, Booker and the boy Abraham, Grady’s long-suffering hands, are her new family. They run the ranch Grady didn’t intend to inherit and love him even though they can’t keep him out of trouble.Ellen, Grady’s strong-willed mother, lies under a headstone out by the river, but won’t quite stay dead.Last but not least, there is Elijah Blue, a member of the tribes, shotgun rider and horse trainer, who drove cattle with Grady from the time they were barely out of childhood, and is now waiting to see if his friend can make amends with the woman from the East, the one in the black traveling dress covered with dust, the one that he noticed the minute she stepped down off the stage.

    So far she has managed to keep her three fiancés a secret, insisting she cannot marry until she turns twenty-three. But her birthday--and disaster--are looming....He is a hardheaded Westerner...Rugged, independent "Bear" McQuaid has never taken a dime he didn't earn by his own hard work. But now his dream of building a railroad, so close to coming true, is about to collapse from lack of funds. Approaching Baltimore's infamous "soft touch," he learns she has other assets as well: a delicate, strawberry blond beauty and shining intelligence--and a fascination for the romance of the railroad. Then Bear uncovers Diamond's embarrassment of riches in fiancés as well as money and charms. Now he must make a choice: finance his dream through a little genteel blackmail, or do it the hard way...by falling in love.

    Fearing he won't survive, the Confederate soldier's last wish is that Abigail look after his sickly sister at home. Marry him, return to his horse farm, and it'll be hers. Left with few choices, Abigail takes him up on his offer and moves to Missouri after his death, but just as the family learns to accept her, the real Jeremiah Calhoun appears--puzzled to find a confounding woman posing as his wife. Jeremiah is determined to have his life back to how it was before the war, but his own wounds limit what he can do on his own. Still not fully convinced Abigail isn't duping him, he's left with no choice but to let the woman stay and help--not admitting to himself she may provide the healing his entire family needs.

    HE WAS THE ONE MAN SHE WAS FORBIDDEN TO HAVE ...As soon as the tall, handsome Spaniard leaned down from his stallion to offer her a rose, Caralee McConnell knew California held danger. But all too quickly she was forced to deny the heat Ramon de la Guerra had sparked. Determined to please her uncle who had saved her from poverty, she must resign herself to marrying a man he has chosen for her ... and ignore what is in her heart.Behind Ramon de la Guerra's dark eyes throbbed the memory of his lands, stolen by the beautiful Americana's uncle. He had sworn to reclaim them --- riding by night as the ruthless outlaw, El Dragon. In a moment of rage and revenge, he stole Caralee away to his mountain lair ... but there, in a passion as sweet as California wine, he would reveal a secret that could cost him his life --- and his heart's freedom.

    Now dear Esther -- one of London's richest and most formidable matriarchs -- lies dying. But first she was going to help Taylor pull off the scam of the season.To escape becoming a ward of her unscrupulous uncle, Taylor would wed Lucas Ross, a rugged American rancher. Lady Esther's money would enable Ross to return home to Montana. Taylor had her own urgent reason to go to America...a precious legacy she hadn't revealed to Ross, for they had agreed to part ways once they reached Boston. But as her handsome new husband spoke of life in Montana, Taylor began planning a new future. To Taylor, the wide-open spaces of Montana sounded like paradise....

    To Meg, who lost her husbands and brothers in the war, Clay's presence was a constant offense. As punishment, Meg commissioned Clay to create a memorial for the town's war heroes. But as she spent months watching him, Meg's feelings began to change.

    Though she loves him, Nicole's father has always focused on what she's not. Not male. Not married. Not able to run Renard Shipping.Vowing to find a suitable husband to give her father the heir he desires before it's too late, Nicole sets out with the Renard family's greatest treasure as her dowry: the highly coveted Lafitte Dagger. But her father's rivals come after the dagger, forcing a change in Nicole's plans.After a boiler explosion aboard the Louisiana nearly took his life, Darius Thornton has been a man obsessed. He will do anything to stop even one more steamship disaster. Even if it means letting a female secretary into his secluded world.Nicole is determined not to let her odd employer scare her off with his explosive experiments, yet when respect and mutual attraction grow between them, a new fear arises. How can she acquire an heir for her father when her heart belongs to another? And when her father's rivals discover her hiding place, will she have to choose between that love and her family's legacy?

    For a poor Scottish immigrant with a gift of talking to horses, it all began with love.A Daring EscapeFrom the moment he set eyes on his beautiful Faith, Ian Duncan knew she was the only girl for him. But her unbreakable betrothal to his employer's vicious son forced him to steal his love away on the very eve of her marriage.A Secret WeddingRunning for their lives, Faith and Ian were married clandestinely, their only posessions a magnificent horse, a family Bible, a wedding-ring quilt and their unshakable belief in each other.A Double BirthWhile their homestead waited to be carved out of the Iowa wilderness, Faith presented Ian with the most precious gift of all: a son and a daughter, born of the winter snows into the spring of their lives. The golden years were still ahead, their dream was coming true, but that was just the beginning.

    Original.

    Now, here is one of Coffman's wonderful earlier novels, available again with a beautiful new cover. Journey with her back to west Texas, in this deeply moving tale of the healing gift of selfless devotion.IF MY LOVE COULD HOLD YOUCharlotte Augusta Butterworth might be all manners and starch on the surface, but Reed Walker knew that inside there was a woman of passion and fire. She saved this handsome stranger from the gallows. He couldn't just walk away, no matter how much she protested to the contrary. Reed wanted to give her back her life as she had given back his. He needed to show her there was more to living than hurt, mistrust, and disappointment. So he gave her his love. But he couldn't promise her his future. . . .

    His dark eyes seemed to pierce her very soul, stripping away layers of civilization and baring her hidden longing to his savage gaze. His bronzed arms were forbidden to her, his searing kisses just a tantalizing fantasy; but as the countless miles passed beneath the wagon wheels, taking them to the heart of Indian territory, Shannon sensed that this untamed land would give her new strength and the freedom to love the one man who could fulfill her wild desire