Not again. He's already been jilted by three mail-order brides and figures a wife just isn't in his future. However, a well-meaning neighbor hasn't given up on seeing him settled, so she goes behind his back to bring yet another woman to town for him.Julia Lockwood has never been anything more than a pretty pawn for her father or a business acquisition for her former fiance. A mail-order marriage in faraway Kansas is a last resort, but she'll do anything to leave her life in Massachusetts and the heartbreak she's experienced there.Although Everett doesn't see how a beautiful, cultured woman like Julia could be happy sharing his simple life, he could really use a helpmate on his homestead. Determined to prove she's more than just a pretty face, Julia agrees to a marriage in name only. Faced with the harsh realities of life on the prairie and hesitant to explore the tentative feelings growing between them, can Everett and Julia ever let each other in long enough to fall in love?

    The feisty director of Oklahoma’s Big Heart Ranch for orphans is as stubborn as she is pretty. But Jack must stay focused; he’s only there to evaluate the ranch’s funding. Falling for Lucy and the sweet children she protects is out of the question. Though Lucy is determined to keep the ranch, she’s not about to give control to a city slicker—even a devastatingly good-looking one. But as they bump heads, Jack and Lucy gradually nudge open their hearts. Could a temporary cowboy become a permanent part of Lucy’s life?

    As Rebekah Weaver recovers from an accident that has left her badly burned, she worries that her father's handsome new assistant won't see past her scarred exterior. Deputy Marshal Nathaniel Kirkland is working undercover to investigate a series of explosions in the mines and businesses of Silver City. When ominous notes begin appearing on townspeople's doors, Nate needs Rebekah's help to uncover the identity of the perpetrator. As they work together, Nate begins to speculate that Rebekah's "accident" was really a case of intentional sabotage - and that she might still be in danger.

    But she didn't foresee the tornado that tore their wagon train apart. Now her father is dead, her mother and sister are injured and their twin wards are missing. There's nowhere to turn but the fledgling Kansas settlement of High Plains. Town founder Will Logan steps in to search for the twins and house the Carters...for now. He's not cut out for family life long-term. But Emmeline's got her own ideas, and when this high plains bride chooses her groom, nothing will get in her way!

    A Marshal who is given the sudden responsibility of two children. A mail-order bride situation that has fallen to ruin. Can Lottie find a home and a family by Christmas? December 1880 When Lottie Reiner lost her father in the war, her mother fell to pieces. At the young age of eleven, Lottie began caring for her catatonic mother. But when both her mother and grandfather pass away months apart, Lottie becomes nothing but a burden to her family. Her grandmother pushes Lottie to get married before it’s too late. But Lottie is a twenty-seven-year-old spinster with no experience raising children. Isn’t it already too late?Deputy US Marshal Archer King comes from a family of law keepers. His father was a US Marshal, and his mother worked as a Pinkerton Agent with Kate Warne. When his only sister passed on in childbirth, his brother-in-law swore he could care for the children on his own. And Archer was to check in on them, but in almost two years, he’s neglected that duty to his sister. When the father, Sam Hodge, goes missing, he finds out exactly what kind of dire situation the children have been subject to.After being turned out of her home, Lottie heads to Durant, Oklahoma, where Sam Hodge and his two children live, in the hopes of becoming a new wife and mother. Only the mail-order situation does not turn out the way Lottie had hoped, and many of the things that Sam had told her in his letters turn out to be lies. The only thing true is the children, and Lottie is fast becoming attached to them. But what will happen when Sam is found? Will she have the opportunity to get a home and a family before Christmas?

    With her father threatening to kick her out of his home, Sonja impulsively responds, offering to travel west to be a substitute bride. At the same time, Louis’s railroad promotion sends him back to Michigan, the one place on earth he’d hoped to never return—where Christmas past was full of pain. A mysterious stranger leaves him marked copies of “A Christmas Carol” as he considers romancing Sonja in Christmas present. Will Louis discern the best choices for Christmas future? Does it include the Poor House, again? Even so—will God bring healing and love to him this year?

    Follow pioneers, immigrants, and orphans through their adventures, heartaches, challenges, victories, and romances. You are sure to find more than one favorite among nine stories in this unique collection to warm your heart and inspire your faith.After the harvest / by Lynn A. Coleman Love notes / by Mary Davis Mother's old quilt / by Lena Nelson Dooley Bride's song / by Linda Ford Barefoot bride / by Linda Goodnight Provider / by Cathy Marie Hake Freedom's ring / by Judith Miller Returning Amanda / by Kathleen Paul Only believe / by Janet Spaeth

    Faced with the challenges of taming the land, enduring harsh weather, and outsmarting outlaws, these couples' faith and love will be tested in exciting ways.The Advent BrideA Bride Rides HerdHis Surprise FamilyHomestead on the RangeSophie's Other DaughterThe Sweetwater BrideTexas TeaHope for ChristmasThe Old West comes to life under the talented pen of bestselling author Mary Connealy, and readers will enjoy a lighthearted ride alongside one contemporary and seven historical cowboys and the women who tame their hearts.

    When the Charles Town family she’s to work for never arrives to collect her from the dock, she is forced to settle for the only reputable choice remaining to her—marriage to a man she’s never met. Trapper and tracker Samuel Heath is a hardened survivor used to getting his own way by brain or by brawn, and he’s determined to find a mother for his young daughter. But finding a wife proves to be impossible. No upstanding woman wants to marry a murderer.

    First, bandits hold up her stagecoach, stealing all her money. Then, upon arriving in Fairplay, Colorado, she learns the man she was betrothed to as a mail-order bride has died. Homeless, penniless, and jobless, Greta and her sister are worse off than when they started.Wyatt McQuaid is struggling to get his new ranch up and running and is in town to purchase cattle when the mayor proposes the most unlikely of bargains. He'll invest in a herd of cattle for Wyatt's ranch if Wyatt agrees to help the town become more respectable by marrying and starting a family with Greta. But when old insecurities and surprising revolutions arise, can a union born out of desperation survive?

    Seventeen-year-old Fanny has never put much stock in the conventions of society. In fact, she has given her heart to Michael, the family boat-keeper. But when she receives a surprising inheritance, she discovers just how oppressive society can be . . . and that she may be trusting the wrong people.Dare she follow her heart and risk going against her family? What if she loses everything she's ever known? It all comes down to one choice: What does Fanny Broadmoor want her legacy to be?

    When the girls return a lost pup to its beautiful owner, Liam thinks widow Sarah Blackburn is just the person he needs—or who the children need. He's promised to never marry again. ' Sarah takes his deal: she'll watch his kids and he'll watch her menagerie of pets—but the new father is off-limits. But two determined little matchmakers can be hard to resist when they need a mom to make one big happy family…

    But she won't give up, especially when she learns she owes her life to the missing girl's father. Years ago, former army ranger Josh Adams lost his brother when he died saving Elise. Though Josh resents her for the loss, she's now his niece's only hope. Working with the ex-soldier proves dangerous to Elise's heart…and to her life when she closes in on what she fears is a human trafficking ring. If she's right, Elise has only days to rescue Josh's niece for a holiday homecoming—and to prove herself worthy of his love. RANGERS UNDER FIRE: Nothing's more dangerous than falling in love

    . . women of strength and spirit who embrace the challenges of life and love in the wild Montana Territory. Determined to save her father and siblings from a crumbling Chicago tenement, Emilia Stanek becomes the long-distance bride of a Montana rancher. But when she arrives in Helena, a rugged lawman shatters her plans with the news that her husband is dead—and deeply in debt. County sheriff Mac McCall can’t afford to be distracted by the pretty young widow, not with scandalous secrets emerging as he investigates his friend’s suspicious death. Mac’s gruff order that she leave town at once only spurs Emilia’s resolve to take ownership of her late husband’s ranch and face his debtors. But as her defenses soften, Emilia begins to accept Mac’s help, feel compassion for his own wounded heart—and learns that trust means taking a leap of faith . . .

    Twice, he was engaged, and neither time led to a marriage. He finally made a choice to send for a mail-order bride, but his letter was destroyed on the way to the post office. Enough is enough, he decided. Marriage wasn’t meant for him. Or was it? Cora Barnett’s life hadn’t been an easy one. Her only living parent was a drunken, good-for-nothing Pa, who ruined all her marriage prospects. Barely surviving, she jumped at the opportunity presented to her by an aunt she hadn’t seen in years. Will the union between Eli and Cora only be a means to an end or will they find love this Christmas? Dear Reader: Please note this is a sweet and wholesome, holiday short story of forty (40) pages and has faith elements.