Book picks similar to
Heart of a Family by Rita Hestand


western
historical-romance
historical
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Ask Me to Marry You


Heather Blanton - 2016
    Her father has passed away and her hands are abandoning her like rats from a sinking ship. Worse, neighboring cattle baron Jess Fairbanks is making a play for the Diamond D and Audra, whichever he can get his hands on first. Audra grudgingly accepts that the mere presence of a husband will keep her men working, and Fairbanks under control. It seems a perfectly reasonable idea, then, to ask her uncle, who is the town attorney and a matchmaker of sorts, to find her a groom—a “proxy” who will take her orders and dish them out to the men. Dillon Pine is in jail for a conspiracy charge, but because of certain mitigating factors he’s deemed a good risk for an unusual form of probation: serving as Audra’s husband. After a year, he can abandon her and she won’t tell. By then, she will have proven to the cowboys she’s a competent rancher, and the cattle man next door will be looking elsewhere for a wife. But when word gets out that Dillon came to Audra via Evergreen’s matchmaker, he’s dubbed a “male order bride.” The resulting jokes at his expense are constant and brutal. Just how much abuse can Dillon’s pride stand? When Audra discovers her father’s death was no accident, she realizes her new husband is in danger, too. And she cares . . . quite a lot, it turns out. To save Dillon, she may have to let go of the one thing she’s fought her whole life to keep.

Our Little Secrets


Merry Farmer - 2012
    So when the beautiful and wily Charlotte steps off the train looking for a new life he jumps at the business opportunity she presents. Engaged forty-five minutes after meeting, married the next day, Michael thinks he’s found everything a respectable man should have. Except that Michael is as far from respectable as they come. They agreed not to ask questions about each other’s pasts, but when the past seeps into their present Michael suspects his passionate new wife is not who she says she is. Too bad he’s already fallen in love with her.Charlotte Baldwin has a secret. She fled Philadelphia to escape the sins of her past but someone is following her. What better way to hide than by marrying Michael West, Cold Springs, Montana’s enigmatic shopkeeper? A new name, a new life, and a passionate husband is exactly what she needs to leave her sins behind. But when it comes to keeping secrets Charlotte may have met her match in Michael. When a connection neither of them expects catches up with them, the shocking revelation means Charlotte may have run right into the arms of her enemy.No sin stays a secret forever…

The Coffin Maker


Christine Sterling - 2018
    Living under the overprotective and overbearing nature of her mother, Charlotte Daniels, made it easy to keep her distance from the townsfolk of Silverpines apart from a few close acquaintances. However, when Tess finds a man sleeping in her deceased father’s studio, it sets in motion a series of events that she is not prepared for. The town needs assistance burying the bodies from the aftermath of the double-earthquakes and the new stranger challenges Tess to assist her community. As she steps in to help, she realizes that there are many secrets her mother has been keeping from her, including the mystery of how her father died. Dawson Elliot was in Silverpines for one reason only: to find the man who murdered his wife and unborn child. Helping a small community get back on its feet wasn’t in his plans. But the weather had other ideas, so he decides to put some long-retired carpentry skills to use, building coffins to bury the dead. Working side by side with Tess will he find healing and love again? As Tess uncovers the secrets of her past, what will happen when she finds out the biggest secret of all? What is the secret Dawson is hiding? With every coffin he builds can he heal his heart and possibly open it to love again?

Angie and the Farmer (An Oregon Trail Time Travel Romance #4)


Susan Leigh Carlton - 2016
    How can she convince him she is telling the truth? Will he believe the strange story? Would anyone believe it? Can their love for each other survive the incredible tale she relates?

Her Bodyguard


E.E. Burke - 2013
    When a ruggedly handsome drifter comes to her aid, she trusts her instincts and hires him as her bodyguard. Her life may be protected, but her heart is not.Buck O’Connor hides his dark past from Amy, as well as his purpose for returning to Kansas. A purpose that puts him at odds with his new employer’s ambitions with the railroad. He seizes the opportunity to use his new position to derail Amy’s plans and accomplish his goals—without hurting anyone. But nothing is as simple as Buck believes it will be. Least of all, keeping Amy safe. Passion and intrigue fuel this authentic Western romance, which races through historic events with twists and turns that raise the stakes all the way to the end.

Christy


Vivi Holt - 2016
    Without a home to return to, she is stranded in a strange town where she discovers the kindness of a stranger and an opportunity for new love. Brent has lost the love of his life and after years of loneliness he hopes to find a life-long companion through a Mail Order Bride service. When the two strangers meet sparks fly, but misunderstandings threaten to tear them apart. Before Christy and Brent can have their fairy tale ending they will have to learn to trust each other and take a chance on love.*NB. Christy has been revised and extended.

Whispers Among the Prairie: A Western Historical Romance


Michelle Roberts - 2018
     The Indians wish to continue living in freedom as they always have, but the White Man see them as savages who need to be eradicated. Chief Black Kettle, of the Southern Cheyenne Indians, and his adopted daughter, Morning Dove, try and keep the peace with the Whites, wishing to protect their people from the needless bloodshed sweeping across the land. Enter Clinton McKay, a veteran of the Civil War, who re-enlists in the cavalry and crosses paths with Morning Dove. The pair soon develop feelings for one another but fight against them, knowing society wouldn’t allow them to be together, as they are on opposite sides of a war. What will happen? Will they bow to an unjust society? Will their love flourish? Will Black Kettle keep his tribe safe? Join the adventure on the Great Plains in Whispers Among the Prairie.

Restless Hearts


Mona Ingram - 2014
    Denied her dream of attending medical school, Sarah Howard is desperate to leave Boston far behind. Determined to prove that she can make it on her own, she poses as a married woman and boards a schooner bound for San Francisco. Stuck working in his family’s merchant bank, Jamie Thompson eagerly accepts the challenge of setting up a branch in San Francisco. He’s been restless for some time now, and barely escaped the clutches of the woman determined to marry him. The attraction between Sarah and Jamie is instant and powerful, yet each has something to prove, if only to themselves. Will their single-minded determination derail a blossoming romance?

Mail Order Bride: Susannah's Story


Ella Camsen - 2015
    She soon learns that the ad was posted in error, and in fact Jared was not looking for a wife- but he could use a writer at his newspaper. Susannah takes off immediately for Montana, thrilled to embark on a new life and career. She does not anticipate the being in Jared's life- even as a writer, not a wife-comes with a dangerous price, and that falling love is not something you can necessarily control. Jared was definitely not planning to get married, and when he read Susannah's letter it took him a moment to realize it was his mother looking out for him that caused the mail-order bride ad to be printed. He saw an opportunity in the situation and decided to take a chance on Susannah- his newspaper could sure use a lady's touch! Not realizing that Susannah's move meant that she now became part of his close circle of family and friends threatened by an old rival of his, he felt a strong need to protect her from the danger she now faced. Unexpectedly falling in love with her did not make things any easier. Will Jared be able to keep Susannah safe and reveal his secret love for her?

In Love's Territory


Lucy Evanson - 2011
    Thrust onto the frontier. Forced to choose between two men. As the only daughter in a wealthy Boston family, Katie Taylor has a comfortable home, good friends and servants to attend to her every whim. But when her father uproots her family and moves them to a farm in the Territories, her former life disappears forever. Soon she finds herself caught between the desires of two men: Edward, the wealthy businessman who has taken an interest in her, and Sam, the half-Sioux farmhand who has also kindled a passion within her. Now, when she least expected it, she finds herself without a guide in a brand-new land: the territory of love.

Big Sky Blue


Hildie McQueen - 2013
     Elizabeth Dawson is too outspoken for gentle society, but she may be the perfect match for a tough Montana cowboy. A story of two very different people who belong together, proof that sometimes fate can have a sense of humor when it comes to love

The Trail Master's Bride


Maddie Taylor - 2015
    Then tragedy strikes and Mina is left a widow. The west is no place for a young, newly single woman, and the job of keeping Mina safe—and keeping her in line—falls to Weston Carr, the rugged trail master. Weston quickly proves more than ready to tame the feisty redhead’s careless ways and sassy tongue, even if that means taking her over his knee for a good, hard, bare-bottom spanking. Unfortunately, even as Mina does her best to learn to cook over a camp fire, make coffee properly, and do the laundry in a creek, jealousy and gossip among the other wives quickly build into significant strife in the wagon train. To quell the gathering storm, Weston is forced to take matters into his own hands and make Mina his bride, whether she likes it or not. Despite Weston’s rough ways and firm-handed discipline, Mina soon finds pleasure in his arms far beyond anything she has experienced before. But when a series of mishaps befalls the wagon train—incidents in which Mina is the prime suspect—the new couple’s growing bond is badly strained. Can Mina prove she is not at fault before things come to a head, and if she does, will Weston be able to protect her from whichever of their traveling companions is up to no good? Publisher’s Note: The Trail Master’s Bride is an erotic Western romance novel that contains sexual scenes and spankings, including domestic discipline in a historical setting. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.

Building Forever


Cat Cahill - 2019
    A family to save. A love that can’t be.When Emma Daniels’ well-to-do family finds itself destitute, she answers an ad for the Gilbert Company seeking young women to be waitresses at hotel restaurants along remote railroad lines out west. The rules for a Gilbert Girl are strict: work hard, act respectably at all times, and no courting allowed. None of them present a problem for Emma, at least until she meets the hotel’s builder, Monroe Hartley. His smile and teasing manner were the last things Emma expected to find on the Colorado frontier. But as intriguing as he is, Emma would be risking her job – and her family’s lives – if she allowed his attentions.Building this hotel for the Gilbert Company is the perfect opportunity for Monroe. Not only will it advance his career, it barely gives him a moment to drown in guilt over his wife’s death. When Emma arrives, he finds himself drawn to her. But he can’t promise her anything, not unless he wants her to end up with the same fate his wife suffered.Giving in to their feelings would mean losing everything, yet they find themselves growing closer as the summer stretches on. When a man who covets Monroe’s job discovers their secret and threatens to reveal it, they must each decide whether their love is worth uprooting everything they’ve worked so hard for.Building Forever is the first book in the new Gilbert Girls series. Like all of Cat's books, this sweet and clean historical romance will warm your heart and fill you with hope.

Simply Heaven


Patricia Hagan - 1995
    Determined to bring his friend's estranged daughter, Raven Ralston, back into her family fold, Steve Maddox is surprised by the half-Tonkawa girl he meets, a woman cast out of her dead mother's family who quickly falls in love with him.

Alma's Mail Order Husband


Kate Whitsby - 2014
     ** A clean historical novella ** Book 1 of The Texas Brides Series unravels the mystery of Jude McCann. Jude travels to the desolate desert flats along the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas, to marry Alma Goodkind. The Goodkind Ranch runs just fine since Clarence Goodkind broke his back falling off his horse. His three daughters, Alma, Amelia, and Allegra, manage the herds, guard them in their pastures, brand the young calves, and drive the cattle to the sale yards. They do all the jobs of cattle punching on the ranch without any help from anyone. All of that changes when eldest sister, Alma, decides she wants to get married and orders herself a mail-order husband. Alma and Jude McCann get married in the little adobe church in Eagle Pass. But the minute they come home to the ranch, their plans for happily ever after run off the rails. Jude joins the sisters on the range, and conflicts develop in their approaches to managing the ranch. Alma’s new marriage puts her loyalty to her sisters to the test. At the same time, her bond with her sisters strains her budding romance with Jude. Can their marriage survive, and can the ranch survive so many competing interests and personalities? Worst of all, the sisters’ father, Clarence, instantly detects that Jude is hiding something, a secret that threatens to push this family to its limits and shatter the peace they’ve worked so hard to build.