If only she could out run the lingering nightmares.Charles Bailey, camp foreman and Stony Creek's itinerant pastor, develops a reputation to match his new nickname — Preach. However, an inner battle ensues when the details of his rough history threaten to overcome the beliefs of his young faith.Amid the hazards of camp life, the unlikely friendship growing between the two surprises Isabelle. She's drawn to Preach's brute strength and gentle nature as he leads the ragtag crew toiling for Pollitt's Lumber. But when the ghosts from her past return to haunt her, the choices she will make change the course of her life forever—and that of the man she's come to love.

    Clinging to her battered faith, she heads west to escape her grief and runs headlong into the man who caused it. Tall and headstrong, Eliza expected to remain an "unclaimed treasure." Devastated in the wake of the war, she sets out for New Mexico's Sangre de Cristo mountains in search of peace and new purpose but finds that the western frontier is a wild place where former enemies--Yankees and Rebels, Freedmen and Indians--square off in the quest for land and gold. Eliza must confront her prejudices and fears, and Jacob Craig embodies that conflict. The mountain man wins her trust with his gentle strength, but he harbors a secret. As a Union sharp-shooter, he met her fiance on the field of battle and cost him his life. Eliza must learn that she will not find purpose or peace anywhere until she finds in God a faith more precious than gold. A real ghost town comes to life in this award-winning story of love, forgiveness, and the sovereignty of God.

    Instead, she’s faced with a very difficult choice: Go home or escape to the town of Belle Fourche, to the only friend she has left. Izzy heads toward freedom, clinging to the hope that ranch life will help her heal from her time with a beast. When she agrees to teach Conrad to read, his quiet attention starts to heal her broken heart.Conrad Oleson is illiterate, a humiliation he tries unsuccessfully to hide from his family. He takes no liking to the idea of his brother’s intervention by way of a pretty teacher coming to call. When Izzy reveals her painful past, he can’t say no. If learning to read brings him closer to her, he’ll do it. But can he teach her he’s ten times the man her husband was?Get this bestselling, sweet romance filled with heart and home. Scroll up now to get your copy.This book was originally published in the Timeless Love: Romantic Stories That Span the Ages collection.

    They should have a son and if it can be managed, he should be handsome. Cleverness isn’t important. Daughters in limited quantities are fine so long as they are pretty. Bastards are inconvenient and best ignored. It's not a big problem, unless you are one. Unfortunately, Sophy is. Sick of her outcast role, she escapes her father’s house, only to fall from her horse during a spring storm. Injured, soaked, and shivering, she stumbles to a stranger’s door—Tom, a blunt edged merchant from a family of vulgar upstarts. Mistaking Sophy for the genuine article, he takes her in. Sophy can’t resist twisting the truth. Soon she’s caught in her own snare—and it might just be a noose.

    For the sake of his three little ones, he has no choice but to remarry. His mail order bride must agree—this marriage will be strictly business.PERMILIA IS DESPERATE TO FLEE THE BONDS OF MARRIAGE…The War Between The States cost Millie her kind, gentle husband. He came back in body, but his soul was ravaged by war. To save herself and the life of their toddler son, she leaves her abusive husband though she has nowhere to go, no money, no family. A single option surfaces—a farmer has sent for a mail order mother, housekeeper, and help-meet. It’s a marriage in name only, so she justifies disappearing into the west and keeping her secrets.…A MARRIAGE HER HUSBAND VOWED SHE'LL NEVER ESCAPE.Oliver Owens warned Permilia the only way she’d leave him would be through the undertaker. It’s only a matter of time before he catches his runaway wife.He doesn’t want a wife.She doesn’t want a husband.Marriage of convenience?Perfect.

    Left with three children, he's desperate to find a mother for them. Ten year old Jenny does her best to care for two year old Ty, and fourteen year old Luke works the ranch with his father, losing himself in dime novels to ease the pain of his mother's passing. Brant's options are limited since eligible women seldom pass through Two Rivers, much less settle in the small Texas town. In desperation, he places a classified advertisement for a mail order bride. Marrying a woman he'll come to know through a newspaper advertisement scares the bejesus out of him, but at this point, he's out of options.Abigail Mary Vaughn always dreamed of having her own family, but caring for her elderly parents, as well as working as a teacher to help with finances, ended that dream. Her parents are now dead and she's faced with the reality of her lonely existence. After reading Mr. Samson's advertisement in the Philadelphia Inquirer, she garners enough courage to respond. Since she is considered an old maid at the age of thirty-eight, she'll more than likely spend the rest of her life wondering "what if" unless she does something unconventional.Sensual love scenes.

    He's been too busy helping to provide for his family. Now that he's heading west, Dex is hoping to start a family of his own. However, his attempt to acquire a mail-order bride fails miserably when the lady writes back ridiculing his terrible spelling. Rachel Oliver may be the last person he wants to know what a dunce he is, but she's also the smartest woman in town--and it's clear he needs her help.Rachel Oliver has lingered in town for three years secretly mooning over Dex Stanton, but now she's done. If the fool wants to write to a mail-order bride company, so be it. Once she begins giving Dex lessons, however, Rachel realizes she may not be prepared to give up just yet.As their time together runs short, can two of the most stubborn people in town set aside their pride long enough to find love?Love by the Letter is a companion novella to A Bride for Keeps, Melissa Jagears's full-length debut novel available fall 2013. Includes an extended sneak peek at A Bride for Keeps.

    And it could be all his if he only married a woman he had never met. Jack Tanner had drifted from job to job. A natural loner, the last thing he ever expected was to end up married to a stranger and owning a beautiful valley. And now, just as he was beginning to put down roots for the first time in his life, someone wanted to take it all away from him. He’d die before he let that happen. Mail-order bride, Jenny O’Neil was coming west to marry Nathanial Parker only to find out he had been murdered. And here was this tall cowboy telling her that Nathanial had left his valley to them. But only if they married. A business arrangement, Mr. Tanner called it. Not a true marriage. But what choice did she have? Penniless, no home to go back to, alone in a different world. She had already committed herself to marry a stranger. Although, she had never imagined marrying a man like this. Tall, rough around the edges, with eyes that touched her soul. Someone has killed and would try to kill again to get their valley. Struggling together, the two of them will fight for what is theirs. All the while, growing closer. Both of them wanting more than a cold business arrangement. Both of them coming to want a true marriage.

    The art of capturing a moment forever in time is magical to her, and she's worked hard to become the best of the best. Week after week, she works with couples as they plan their happily ever afters, but she hasn't been so lucky in love.Behind the camera, it's easy to hide from the pain and rejection of her past. The life she has made for herself is safe and predictable, until the owner of a rival photography studio sets up shop in her small town and comes to her with an unexpected proposal. Suddenly, everything she has worked so hard to build is threatened and her simple, controlled life is thrown into chaos.As she travels the state of Michigan photographing weddings, she struggles to keep her business afloat and the wall around her heart intact. But along the way, she learns more about loyalty and love than she ever imagined.

    She wants to be important and to help people. But her meddling mama, one of the members of The Ladies Club of Laramie, discovers that the territorial governor and his single, eligible son is coming to town, she plans a ball and plots ways to marry Kelly off. Brandon Masterson is a humble sheep rancher just outside of Laramie, and in a territory where cattle is king, he is a laughingstock. Brandon is responsible for his four younger sisters, though, and is determined to make his unusual ranch a success. If only the beautiful and mischievous Kelly would stop trying to give his family charity. When Kelly and Brandon meet, sparks fly, just in time for Valentine’s Day. But can Brandon open his heart to love? And will Kelly’s parents accept her rebellious choice for a suitor? This is a sweet, clean, wholesome historical western romance.

    The books follow the untamed Haven brothers, the spirited brides they marry, and the struggle to find love and joy amid the rugged wilds of the West. ELLA HUNTER never thought she’d be a mail-order bride. But when she sees a photo in the Marriage Gazette of the man she believes killed her brother, Ella agrees to marry the Civil War soldier turned cowboy. Prepared to confront a cold-hearted killer then return home, she finds all her expectations dashed when her intended husband appears to be a good man. Ella’s loyalties are torn between honoring the memories of her family and her undeniable attraction to Ty Haven. TY HAVEN needs a wife. The ranch he runs in the wilds of Wyoming Territory could use a woman’s influence. Frankly, so could he. So when Ella arrives like a gift tied up in a cornflower-blue hair ribbon, more intelligent, practical, and, yes, beautiful, than he could have imagined, he hopes she will give him and the West a chance. Turns out, he doesn’t just need a wife. He needs Ella. But she has a secret, and it might destroy their marriage almost before it’s begun. Can the unforgivable be forgiven? What will the cowboy ranchman do when he learns why…THE MAIL-ORDER BRIDE CARRIES A GUN?

    Horse traders from Virginia, Ethan Sharpe and his brother Devon would defend their livelihood from her interfering kind. When love ignites, friends become enemies separated over the course of a long and brutal conflict. Can the very influences which carved a chasm unite a torn family against all odds?

    If she survived Uncle Jackson, she can survive anyone.When Sky Jordan hears that his nefarious cousin has sent for a mail-order bride, he knows he has to prevent the marriage. No woman deserves to be left to that fate. Still, he’s as surprised as anyone to find himself standing next to her before the minister.Brooke’s new husband turns out to be kinder than any man has ever been. But then the unthinkable happens and she holds the key that might save innocent lives but destroy Sky all in one fell swoop. It’s a choice too unbearable to contemplate…but a choice that must be made.A thirsty soul. Alluring hope. An Oasis of love.Step into a day when outlaws ran free, the land was wild, and guns blazed at the drop of a hat.

    When he refuses, Elenora becomes the competition across the street. Is this town big enough for the two of them? Miles can’t help but stick his well-polished boot in his mouth whenever he comes face-to-face with Elenora. Can he find a way to win her heart while destroying her business? Miles’s mother, Maude, is bent on Elenora becoming her new daughter-in-law while Elenora’s daughter, Tildy, thinks Miles would make a perfect papa. How far will these meddlers go to unite this enterprising pair?

    When battlefield nightmares disturb his peace and his tomboy niece, Juliet, needs taming, somehow a mail-order bride seems like a logical solution. Dr. Evangeline Olson has no idea her niece is writing to a rancher on her behalf, and she sure isn’t interested in abandoning her medical practice for a stranger. But when an inheritance threatens to reveal a long-buried secret, she travels west to become Jake’s wife. Jake soon realizes Evangeline is more than he bargained for, especially when her arrival causes a stir in the community. As the two try to find their way in a marriage of convenience, their fragile relationship is further tested by cattle rustling and kidnapping. Can their hearts overcome past hurts to create a real marriage?