She'd married young, hoping to put down roots in a safe haven, but her husband had shattered her naiveté, and made her fear for her beloved daughter's safety until the day he died.When she first met her new neighbor, Zachariah McGovern, all she saw was danger. But Zach saw much more. He saw beauty, he saw tenderness. He knew he could rescue Kate Blakely from her past - if only she would let him. What Zach couldn't know, however, was the price that had to be paid to save the woman he loved.

    Instead, the matriarch makes Lauren a scandalous offer to marry her son in name only. Lauren has strong feelings for him but are they strong enough?

    He'd sworn to protect her. He couldn't do that if she married someone else...COLE REDBOURNE, immersed in guilt over the accident that claimed his best friend, discovers there was nothing accidental about it. When he sets out for Silver Falls, Colorado, to fulfill his friend’s dying wish and to flush out his killer, the last thing he expected was to find hope again disguised as his impromptu bride.

    She’s tired of being pitied because she’s been jilted, tired of teaching other people’s children without any of her own. When she signs with a matrimonial agency, a letter from Jamie Fraser sounds perfect. A widower with two young children will give her a head start on the family she’s determined to have. But Colorado holds surprises for Olivia that endanger her goals and even her life. Rancher Jamie Fraser is shocked to learn his mother has written for a mail-order bride for him. He has two children and no plan to marry again. Ever! His late wife taught him women can’t be trusted. Even his beloved mother isn’t above tricking her sons to achieve her heartfelt ambitions. Now he’s stuck with a wife he didn’t want—a stubborn woman bent on changing his home and his life. Can two strong people at odds achieve happiness? Angel Springs, Colorado is a small town that inspires big dreams. Olivia and Jamie just might find their dreams meld to form a powerful and enduring love.

    That is until a single slap to a man’s face starts a barroom brawl that lands her in the last place she expected to be.Town Marshal Morgan Avery wants nothing more than to wash away the trail-dust and sleep for a week, preferably with a soft, willing woman by his side. Instead, he gets Abigail Thornton – all one hundred pounds of her thrust at him seconds before a fist connects with his face. Breaking up the fight takes more effort than he wants to admit and when the last man falls he finds Abigail still standing and not looking the least bit contrite.Throwing her into the town jail for the night would salve his wounded pride and then he will let her go. Or that was the plan. When morning comes he finds himself oddly reluctant to do so. Miss Thornton is hiding something and he aims to find out what, even if he has to bed her to do so. But will one night in her bed be enough?

    Who would want such a woman? Obviously no one. For here she was, eighteen and now of age to set out on her own. But New Orleans was full of men with evil intent for one such as herself, and she saw no other choice but to take the only offer for survival she could find and become a mail order bride. What she didn't count on was becoming Sheriff Clayton Riley's Christmas present!

    A one-time deal, that’s all was meant to be. He only needed enough to see him through until he got the pay owed him. Someone was counting on him, and he couldn’t let her down.Josie Pearson’s heart went out to Sissy Edwards, the orphan girl she’d found hungry on the streets. When Josie decided to adopt her, she was turned down because she was unmarried, and Sissy was sent to an orphanage.When they both feel like giving up, will a controversial new program become an unconventional solution?This is the first novelette (approximately 45 pages) of the new Texas Wildflowers series by bestselling authors Leah Atwood and Susette Williams.The Texas Wildflowers Series:Free to LoveFree to HealFree to ProtectFree to ServeFree to RoamFree to Forgive

    When she finds herself the legal guardian of her two nieces, two nephews, and facing eviction from her Kansas home, she enters the 1889 Oklahoma Land Run and confronts a new set of challenges. The biggest obstacle being her new neighbor, cocky lawyer Jesse Cochran, the son of a whore-a man determined to put his past behind him and start a new life and family of his own. Despite the undeniable attraction between them, Tori is determined to keep him at arm's length, but a family emergency brings them together and they declare a truce. Can Jesse win Tori's heart after a series of unplanned events, or will tragedy tear them apart forever?

    Her doting parents want her to make a good match with a worthy gentleman and live a respectable life. She is beautiful and intelligent and she comes with a hefty dowry. There is no reason that she shouldn’t be able to find an eligible man and settle down.Tessa herself is the reason. The men who are attempting to court her are, in her opinion, boring and conceited. Not only that, Tessa craves excitement and adventure, of which there is little in her social circles. By chance, she comes across an advertisement for a bride brokerage company seeking eligible women of good breeding to go west and find husbands.One man on the list catches her eye and she begins corresponding with him, eventually agreeing to go to Montana to meet him. She can’t resist the possibility of finding someone different and even if she doesn’t, the adventure itself would be worth her time. Tessa makes a successful escape and sets out to make a new life in Montana.Dean Samuels is a Montana rancher who is in over his head. His ranch is struggling and his two children are unruly and in need of a caretaker. It’s clear to his younger brother, Marcus, that he needs help. He tells Dean about a mail order bride service and convinces him that he should utilize it to find a wife.After his wife, Sarah, had passed away, Dean never intended to marry again. His ranch and his children became his life. However, it becomes apparent that Sadie, his daughter, and his son, Jack, need stability and love. The demands of raising his children and keeping his head above water financially have taken a toll and Dean grudgingly gives in to Marcus’ idea.Sarah had been the love of his life and Dean doesn’t intend to let any other woman into his heart. He’s locked those kinds of emotions deep inside, not wanting to take the chance of getting hurt like that again. Because Dean has trouble expressing his feelings in writing, his younger brother Marcus agrees to help write the letters to Tessa. Dean is happy to leave that part up to him.When Dean and Tessa meet, sparks fly between the two strong willed people. Tessa is disappointed that Dean isn’t the romantic, sophisticated man she was lead to believe he was in the letters she received. Dean is aggravated that she isn’t a meek woman who is easily managed. Never mind the fact that she has no idea of how to take care of children and keep a home.Dean and Tessa struggle to find common ground and make their marriage work. Will they each take the risk and open their hearts to one another? Can their marriage survive and will they find love and contentment in each other? Their future happiness hangs in the balance under the Montana skies.

    But Casey Hamilton had nowhere else to go, no place but the Spanish Spur ranch to make a new home for herself and her little brother and sister. And when none of the local men would work for her, when trouble seemed to dog her steps, she had no choice but to hire the loner with the low-slung guns strapped about his lean hips. She knew he was part Comanche, a man who'd fought his share of battles; was he a gunslinger as well? Was that why the past seemed to haunt him? Either way, his silver eyes held secrets too deep for telling; his warm lips whispered warnings she dared not ignore; and his hard arms promised that in his stirring embrace she would find the true...Heart of Texas.

    But still, she can't help thinking that something about this strong, silent farmer could be the key to leaving her troubled past behind...and making a worthy wager with her heart.

    With Love's Bounty, she continues to delight readers with the passionate tale of a proud woman and the reckless bounty hunter who steals her heart. Life hasn’t been easy on young Callie Hobbs. After her father’s sudden death and her mother’s murder, there isn’t much left for her on the outskirts of Rawlins. Alone with a ranch to run, Callie could sell it all, cut her losses, and find a suitor in town. But Callie knows only one thing will bring her peace: Seeing her mother’s killers hung. To find them, she turns to the most ruthless bounty hunter on this side of the country: Christian Mercy. Distant and brooding, Christian Mercy is far from the ideal travel companion. But as their journey unfolds, Callie finds herself falling for those blue eyes that flicker with something deeper than she could have ever anticipated. He wants redemption. She wants revenge. And as they close in on their targets, Callie and Chris bite back a fear worse than death. Could their love for one another douse the burning rage that keeps them going?

    She yearns to be rid of her unwelcome husband, although a deep desire stirs each time she looks into his piercing gaze.Now Giles has conquered all, but the ultimate battle will be for his new lady's love --- and her utter surrender!

    Now Brooke's back with news she isn't sure the wealthy rancher is ready to hear—especially when she discovers he's already a father…of twins! Being a single dad is a full-time job Wyatt can't do alone. He doesn't expect the ideal nanny to be the beauty who briefly shared his bed. But he accepts her help gladly—not knowing her little secret will change his family forever…

    Thornton Duvall was orphaned at a young age, and he was taken in by a rancher. He’s been working on a cattle ranch all his life.He can read and write, but he’s not well-read. He’s a good man, one who would give the shirt off of his back to anyone who needs it.Despite the strong objections of his boss, Thornton says that it’s time he got married and puts out an ad seeking a mail order bride. He has always wanted a family of his own.Jane starts falling in love with a man that she’s never met before. But how could a city girl learn how to live on a ranch? Will she be able to break through the hardships of a ranch life for the sake of a stranger?Can two people coming from completely different worlds, put their disagreements and create the family they always wanted? Or, their stubbornness and the opinion of others will become a self-fulfilling prophecy for them?