Men join the military to defend the frontier, while their women support them - striving to keep families together no matter what the hardship. Only after she agrees to marry another man does Sarah Montgomery realize her fiance was not killed in the Civil War. Fort Laramie is Where Leads the Heart, but does love still await her? Abandoned and pregnant, Emmie Croftner leaves her gossip-filled hometown, seeking refuge with old friends on the Plains of Promise. Can a gentle lieutenant convince her that all men are not the same? For Jessica DuBois, privileged daughter of an army officer, The Heart Answers only to money and male attention. But when her world changes, can she prove herself a woman of substance - worthy of a righteous man's notice? Thanks to her sister's meddling, Bessie Randall discovers that she is now married by proxy to Jasper Mendenhall. Shocked, Bessie travels to Fort Bridger to learn To Love a Stranger - and experiences the surprising things God has in store for them both. Discover love, faith, and adventure in the forts of frontier Wyoming.

    For Florence Peterson, it was to leave her teaching position in Missouri or have her life relegated to the same thing day in and day out. On a lark, she sent a letter to a school in Oregon, never dreaming they’d answer! Now all she has to do is decide if she should take the position. Because it’s one thing to dream, another to have it come to life. Alton Cutter had made the trip West more often than he’d like. Montana was fresh and new, and his brother was already there. With his wagons readied, the families in his wagon train readied too, all was well. Except for the crazy schoolmarm that had it in her head she could just “tag along.” He’d been planning this for too long to let some slip of a woman put a hitch in his plans. Let alone, his heart …

    BUT THE ONE WHO KNOWS THEM BEST MAY HAVE OTHER PLANS ...Abigail Stanton's whole life was rooted in her faith, a faith she now clings to solely to survive. In the wake of losing her husband and young son, Abby sets out alone, bereft and heartsick, to discover what God wants her to do. When he leads her to Conor MacKay's doorstep, though, the very foundation of her beliefs starts to shift.As the volatile rancher's new housekeeper, Abby is supposed to keep his affairs --- and his equally capricious little girl --- in order. Why, then, does she feel confusion, passion, desire, and anything but order every time they are together? Conor tries to hide his own seething emotions beneath a cold facade, but there is something about his prim new housekeeper that sets him on edge. And the more ruthlessly he attacks Abby's faith, the more his defenses crack.As Abby and Conor draw closer to the flame of their attraction, they must grapple with their deepest beliefs and fears. In opening their hearts again, both risk even greater loss for a chance at the greatest love of all.

    Raised in high Boston society by nannies and tutors, she has been somewhat of an embarrassment and disappointment to her socialite parents. While her older sister has secured a husband, Millicent faces banishment to her cruel grandparents in Paris. Her life will not be worth living, and she accepts the help of the family's loving cook to escape this prospect. Jessie lives in the simple wooden cabin he built in the Utah countryside, with his precious son, Joseph, while his beloved Stacey lies buried out back beneath a simple white cross. Joseph needs a mama and Jessie and the house need a woman's touch. The Cranhurst's cook, Patricia smuggles young Millie out of the city and she is soon journeying alone to her new life in Breakmill, Utah, to be a wife and mother. She had lied to Jessie Swanter during their brief correspondence by letter, and it was quite plausible that he would reject her once he found out that she was deaf. She would cross that bridge when she got to it. From then on in Millie's life is filled with bridges to cross, sometimes perilous, often pleasant and always character-building. Join this young lady and her brave husband, as their intrepid little family weather all that life throws at them and celebrate the blessings scattered upon them. Can the hearts of selfish parents be changed? Can one family have more than just that ONE Christmas miracle in their lifetime? Millie learns that you don't need lavish parties and an exquisitely decorated house to experience the true meaning of Christmas; all you need is love and family.

    Now that she is nearly a grown woman and her father is ailing, she must make difficult choices about the future. Several men--ranging from the undesired to the unthinkable--vie for her attentions, but she finds herself inexplicably drawn to a forbidden love that both terrifies and intrigues her. Can she betray the memory of her lost loved ones--and garner suspicion from her friends--by pursuing a life with him? Or should she seal her own misery by marrying a man she doesn't love? This sweeping tale of romance and forgiveness will envelop readers as it takes them from a Kentucky fort through the vast wilderness to the west in search of true love.

    And Lily Starr is determined to shepherd a helpless group of outcasts from Texas to Wyoming by Christmas—including a pregnant woman whose blessed event is drawing near. So encountering handsome Thorpe Turlow along the dangerous trail is a welcome unexpected gift, for he's as formidable as he is reserved. Besides, understanding this gentle, secretly wounded man is another challenge Lily isn't about to resist...   After the heartbreak he's found, Thorpe just wants to retreat to his peaceful Dove Creek ranch. But he's never met anyone as resourceful and straightforward as Lily. Somehow, she's reigniting his faith and giving him the courage to trust again. And if they survive the arduous trip ahead, he'll do whatever it takes to give her a lifetime of joy and love…

    Will His Love Endure Once He Learns Her Secret?Three years ago, Captain Brogan Talvis's late wife abandoned their son, leaving no clue as to the boy's whereabouts. After searching relentlessly, Brogan discovers his son was adopted by a New England shipbuilder. And the man's daughter, Lorena Huntley, acts as loving guardian to the child.Lorena, who hides a dark truth, finds herself falling for the handsome captain and ex-privateer who's come to secure ownership of one of her father's ships. She's unaware of Brogan's own secret when another's deceit has her sailing toward Europe against her will.Haunted by thoughts of Lorena in peril, Brogan is compelled to choose between the boy he longs for and the woman who has captured his heart.

    Now, she will stop at nothing to take her revenge and recover their wealth. Even travel across the country to marry the man’s son. With his focus on his sprawling Arizona ranch, Axel Forsberg has little time for wooing a woman, so when his father finds him a bride from the east, he trusts he won’t regret the convenience. Until horses go missing, barns burn to the ground, a range war begins…and he loses his heart.

    In White Christmas by Cara Putman, Abigail Turner is holding down the Home Front as a college student and a part-time employee at a one-of-a-kind candy shop. Loss of a beau to the war has Abigail skittish about romantic entanglements—until a hard-working young man with a serious problem needs her help. Abigail’s brother Pete is a fighter pilot hero returned from the European Theatre in Sarah Sundin’s I’ll Be Home for Christmas, trying to recapture the hope and peace his time at war has eroded. But when he encounters a precocious little girl in need of Pete’s friendship, can he convince her widowed mother that he’s no longer the bully she once knew?In Tricia Goyer’s Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Meredith Turner, “Merry” to those who know her best, is using her skills as a combat nurse on the frontline in the Netherlands. Halfway around the world from home, Merry never expects to face her deepest betrayal head on, but that’s precisely what God has in mind to redeem her broken heart.The Turner family believes in God’s providence during such a tumultuous time. Can they absorb the miracle of Christ’s birth and God’s plan for a future?

    Traveling west alone on a promise of marriage, each woman has her reasons to accept a husband sight unseen. Some are fleeing poverty or abuse while others simply seek hope for a brighter future.Perfect for the Preacher by Megan BesingThe Outlaw’s Inconvenient Bride by Noelle MarchandTrain Ride to Heartbreak by Donna SchlachteMail-Order Proxy by Sherri ShackelfordTo Heal Thy Heart by Michelle ShockleeMiss-Delivered Mail by Ann ShoreyA Fairy-Tale Bride by Liz Tolsma The Brigand and the Bride by Jennifer UhlarikThe Mail-Order Mistake by Kathleen Y’BarboBut what the brides find at the end of their journeys doesn't go according to plan—missing grooms, mistaken identities, nefarious traps, undisclosed secrets, and so much more await them. How can each bride possibly find a safe place to call home and a husband she can love?

     After her parents die in a buggy accident, Diane is bereft. It was all so sudden, not only for her, but also for her four younger siblings. Heartbroken, Diane turns to the young man she's courting for support. But when Elmo learns that Diane is determined to care for all four of her siblings, he's quick to back away. Now Diane is all alone, and the local bishop has told her that unless she can prove to him that she can run her parents' fabric store as well as raise her siblings, the children will be split up and sent to relatives in distant states. Diane has already lost her beau and her parents – she can't face losing the rest of her family, too. And the bishop has imposed an impossible deadline: Christmas Day. The snow is falling, the holiday is fast approaching, and Diane is struggling to cope with responsibilities she never asked for. Yet as Christmas Day draws near, there's a glimmer of hope in the darkness. Diane meets Ben Lehman, himself trying to raise his two children after grieving the loss of his wife. As Christmas approaches, he might turn out to be just what Diane has been missing ... before she runs out of time.

    So she strikes a bargain with an aging storekeeper that in exchange for finding a bride for his son Clara can have his house to run a boardinghouse. But Dr. Saul Reed is not interested in getting tied down to Buttonwood in the middle of nowhere, and he certainly has no plans for marriage. Can he shake his determined matchmaker, or will he strike a new bargain with Clara?

    Jilted by her fiancé, Karla packs away her wedding quilts and her plans for marriage. Widow Jane travels to marry a prosperous man she barely knows in order to give her daughter a better life—then is stranded in a winter storm. Ada, a wealthy ingénue, inadvertently causes grave injury to a poor man she once considered quite a catch. Each must search her heart, change her plans. . .and patch together a tender, unexpected life filled with love.

     Next, she’s duped into boarding a Texas-bound ship. When she arrives in Texas, she discovers Mr. Walker has been hoodwinked, as well. The tall, handsome rancher is furious when he discovers the deception, and vows to send Abigail home as soon as the next ship sets sail. Abigail is certain that she doesn’t belong in Texas. Boston has always been home. But as the weeks pass, Mr. Walker’s anger softens. He makes a startling confession – he’s read her letters a hundred times, or more. His lingering gaze, his gentle banter and slow tender smile play upon her heart. She resists the gruff cowboy’s charms. Barely. But how can she not love his nephew, an orphaned infant? As the day of departure looms, the small, motherless baby might unravel the last of her fragile defenses. Abigail dares to hope… that home is where the heart is.

    Applicants may apply by mail. Must allow at least two months for an answer.With the matrimonial prospects in her little Michigan town virtually nonexistent, nineteen-year-old Faith, along with her two sisters, Hope and June, answers an ad for mail-order brides. Before she knows it, shes on her way to Deliverance, Texas to marry wealthy rancher Nicholas Shepherd.But from the moment she arrives in Deliverance, sparks fly between Faith, a strong-willed tomboy, and her prospective husband, a man with a strong will of his own! After a string of wedding postponements and a slew of interferences, a union between Faith and Nicholas begins to look less and less likely.In the meantime, Faith and Nicholas are beginning to care for each other, but is their matching stubbornness destined to forever be a barrier between them?