Book picks similar to
Short Straw Bride by Dallas Schulze


historical-romance
western
romance
historical

The Bridal Veil


Alexis Harrington - 2002
    And she is far from the woman Luke thought he wanted. Arriving in Oregon with nothing but the gown and veil her sister had intended to wear, Emily had nowhere to go and is in more desperate straights than she can ever let on. But Luke needs a mother for his eleven-year-old daughter, and despite his anger at the deception, he can't turn this proud, yet vulnerable, woman away. He's determined to keep this a marriage in name only--unless Emily's quiet grace and tender understanding can tempt him to open his heart...

Caine's Reckoning


Sarah McCarty - 2007
    Caine Allen is a hardened Texas Ranger, definitely not the marrying kind. But when he rescues a kidnapped woman and returns her to town, the preacher calls in a favor. One Caine's honor won't let him refuse. From the moment he beds Desi, Caine knows turmoil will follow. Desi might have the face of a temptress, but she also has a will of iron and while she needs his protection, she's determined that no man will control her again. They establish an uneasy bond, but it isn't enough for Caine. He wants all Desi has to offer. He wants her screams, her moans, her demands...everything. Yet there's still a bounty on Desi's head, and keeping her sexually satisfied is proving easier than keeping her alive.

Abby: Mail Order Bride


Verna Clay - 2012
    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.

High Country Bride


Linda Lael Miller - 2002
    Three sons. Only one will inherit...and on one condition. Tired of waiting for his sons to settle down, Arizona-territory rancher Angus McKettrick announces a competition: the first son to marry and produce a grandchild will inherit Triple M ranch. Now, three distinctly different, equally determined cowboys are searching high and low for brides. If Emmeline Harding knows one thing, it's that she can't hold her liquor. And though she's not sure how she came to wake up next to a stack of gold coins in a brothel, she fears the worst. Fleeing town as a mail-order bride, she wonders: how will she ever confess her past to her handsome new husband? Freedom-loving Rafe McKettrick is a man of strong beliefs and stronger passions and he'll do anything to win the Triple M—even marry a stranger. To his surprise, Emmeline's charms beguile him even as the secrets he senses she's hiding ignite jealousy and suspicion. But when a visitor from the past enters the high country, the newlyweds have no choice but to give up on a marriage in name only and seek a union that satisfies them body and soul.

Morning Comes Softly


Debbie Macomber - 1993
    Never before has she done anything so reckless, casting the only life she knows aside to travel to a strange place and marry a man she's never met. But something about this man calls to her—and she knows this may be her very last chance at happiness.Tragedy made Travis Thompson the guardian of three orphaned children—and determination leads him to do whatever it takes to keep the kids out of foster homes. When he decides to take a long shot on a personals ad, the results are surprising, and before he knows it, he has agreed to marry a mysterious Southern woman sight unseen.It could be the mistake of a lifetime. But Mary Warner may be exactly what this broken family needs. And with a little faith, a little trust, and a lot of love, two lonely hearts might just discover the true meaning of miracles.

Texas Bride


Joan Johnston - 2012
    Now marriage to a stranger is her only hope of finding a home where she and her two younger brothers can escape the brutality of the Chicago orphanage where they live. With any luck, she can even start a family of her own, once the three of them are settled at Jacob Creed’s Texas ranch. But Miranda has one gigantic concern: Her husband-to-be knows nothing about the brothers she’s bringing along. What if he calls off the deal when he discovers the trick she’s played on him?Jake Creed is hanging on to his Texas ranch by his fingernails. His nemesis, Alexander Blackthorne, is determined to ruin him. Jake will never give up, but he’s in desperate trouble. His wife died six months ago in childbirth, along with their stillborn son, and his two-year-old daughter needs a mother. The advertisement Jake wrote never mentioned his daughter—or the fact that he has no intention of consummating his marriage. He’s determined never to subject another wife to the burden of pregnancy. But Jake doesn't count on finding his bride so desirable. He doesn't count on aching with need when she joins him in bed. And he never suspected his bride would have plans of her own to seduce him.

Land of Dreams


Cheryl St. John - 1995
    When Booker Hayes shows up to take his niece, a marriage of convenience suits them both. Thea’s nights are filled with dreams of the tall, dark army major, but she guards her heart. Booker’s first taste of home and hearth has him longing for more, but first he must win the trust of his niece..and the heart of the sun-kissed farmer's daughter.

Never Love A Lawman


Jo Goodman - 2009
    Through a twist of fate, Rachel is the inheritor of a very valuable commodity: control of the railway that keeps the isolated mining town connected to the world. That is, she will be, if she agrees to the surprising stipulation in her benefactor's will-that she marry Wyatt.Rachel has no choice: refusing the marriage could put all of Reidsville in the hands of an outsider, and not just any outsider but the cruel tyrant she has come here to escape. Yet living with Wyatt will be her greatest challenge. For he has a tempting way about him that makes Rachel forget theirs is a marriage in name only- until her frightening past shows up to remind them exactly how much they have at stake…

Silver Lining


Maggie Osborne - 2000
    Now meet the most irresistible and independent heroine of them all, a woman called Low Down, who never had anything good happen to her until the day she asked for the one thing that only a man could give her. . . .As scruffy and rootless as the other prospectors searching for gold in the Rockies, Low Down wanted nothing in return for nursing a raggedy bunch through the pox. But when pressed to reveal her heart's wish, she admits, "I want a baby." Not a husband, not a forced marriage to the proud man who drew the scratched marble and became honor bound to marry her. To be sure, Max McCord was easy on the eyes, but he loved another woman and dreamed of a different life. Yet they agreed to a temporary marriage that could end only in disaster. But can this strange twist of fate lead to the silver lining that both have been searching for?

The Bride Wore Spurs


Sharon Ihle - 1994
    How could John Winterhawke, a fiercely independent and unsettlingly handsome half-Indian, possibly make room in his heart and in his life for her?As far as Hawke was concerned, the last thing he needed was a high-spirited, overeager Irish wife who knew nothing about surviving on the harsh prairie. But once the determined Lacey sensed the rough kindness and simmering hunger under Hawke's forbidding demeanor, she set out to match his dark passion with her own – and claim his wild heart on her terms.

Cherish


Catherine Anderson - 1998
    He is now a rugged, respectable rancher, but it's a solitary life. Then Fate leads Race to an earthbound angel—lost and alone' the sole survivor of an outlaw attack—and even his hardened heart is moved. He sweeps the ivory-skinned beauty into his arms and carries her away from danger. A Woman to Cherish When innocent Rebecca Morgan wakes up in a stranger's embrace, her life has been changed forever. Race's touch makes her blood sing and stirs up emotions in her she never knew existed. But this man has a fearsome reputation. And though her life may depend on him, can she trust him? Is it love she sees in her rescuer's dark eyes.?

Where the Wind Blows


Caroline Fyffe - 2009
    But when her husband dies, Jessie fears the family she's longed for is slipping away - until Chase Logan unexpectedly comes to her rescue. By pretending to be her husband, Chase can make all of her dreams come true.Three days are all she asks of him. Three days to ignite a love neither of them ever imagined possible....Number of Pages: 283

Train Station Bride


Holly Bush - 2012
    Julia strikes out on her own to gain independence, traveling to the Midwest to marry an aging shopkeeper and care for his mother. Julia finds her new home rough and uncivilized after the sophistication of a big city, while closely held secrets threaten to ruin Julia’s one chance at love. Jake Shelling was sixteen and grew up quick when his parents died from influenza on the South Dakota prairie. Left with a half-cleared farm and two young sisters, he spent little time on his own needs . .till now. At thirty-five, he figured it was high time to have some sons and a mail order bride would suit him just fine. No expectations of love, just a helpmate from sturdy stock, ready for farm life. Will fate and chance play a trick on Julia and Jake?

The Chef's Mail Order Bride


Cindy Caldwell - 2015
    She'd been raised to bake in her parents' bakery, and after their deaths, she had planned to carry on the family tradition. Devastated to find out she was losing her family's business, she needed something to do to support herself. When she received a letter from her twin sister's husband in Arizona Territory, suggesting she come out to be the bride of his best friend who was opening a restaurant, it seemed like the perfect solution to her problems. Tripp had gone to the best culinary school in the country, and he knew exactly how to create the perfect meal. He spent hours and hours coming up with just the right menu for his restaurant, only to be told he couldn't get a loan for it unless he married. When his best friend came up with the solution of sending for his baker sister-in-law, it only made sense. Her ideas of the perfect menu were different than his, though. Would the two be able to stay together long enough to convince the bank he was a good risk? Would Sadie be able to convince Tripp that the two of them belonged together after all?

Matthew


Emma Lang - 2012
    . .and died for. To the eight Graham siblings, no matter how much hard work or hard love it takes, life is unthinkable without. . .In the wake of his parents' murder, Matthew Graham must take the reins at the Circle Eight. He also needs to find a wife in just thirty days, or risk losing it all. Plain but practical, Hannah Foley seems the perfect bride for him. . .until after the wedding night. Their marriage may make all the sense in the world, but neither one anticipates the jealousies that will result, the treacherous danger they're walking into, or the wildfire of attraction that will sweep over them, changing their lives forever. . . Praise for Emma Lang and her novels: "A sweet and sensual Western in which the heroine discovers her inner strength with the help of a delightfully sexy hero." --Angela Knight, New York Times bestselling author"With a fresh voice and engaging characters, Emma Lang's Restless Heart kept me reading late into the night." --Tina Leonard, bestselling author