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.

    You eat it. But for Etta Capstone it’s not that simple. An excellent cook and the owner of a successful restaurant on the Texas frontier, she’s had years to perfect other uses for food besides the obvious. Food as shield. As wall. As love letter. As peace offering. Food as life—well, half a life, anyway. Etta’s not like other women. She’s been frozen in the past, frozen heart and soul for a long time, captive to memories of unbearable violence. Until suddenly, with the sighting of the man she holds responsible for her painful history, Etta begins to consider the possibility of a more satisfying future. She knows that with a good cooking fire and the steady heat of a patient man’s love, a lot of things are possible—even change, even happiness—and to her way of thinking, all that stands in the way of a bright future is one wicked man, one necessary execution, and lessons in good penmanship. So as a woman used to creating dishes from diverse and rare ingredients, Etta concocts a deadly recipe using just those elements. She knows better than most that life offers few guarantees, and if all it takes to free her from the past is one wicked man, one necessary execution, and lessons in good penmanship, she’ll take the risk and make the effort, no matter who gets burned. Because after years of keeping the fires of love and the warmth of hope at a distance, Etta Capstone is finally ready to thaw.

    Through God’s leading, she finds herself accepting a newspaper marriage proposal from a God-fearing young rancher in the Montana Territory. But when Leah arrives at the mountain ranch, she learns her intended husband was killed by a grizzly, leaving behind a bitter older brother and a spunky younger sister.Gideon Bryant has lost too many people to the wild elements of these mountains—his parents, his wife, and now his brother. His love for this untamed country will never die, but he’s determined not to open his heart to another person, especially this beautiful Easterner who shows up on their doorstep.But when an accident forces Leah to stay at the ranch for several months, can Gideon guard himself from a love he doesn’t want? Will Leah find God’s true direction for her life?

    A fugitive desperate to clear his name, he embodied the bold, insatiable lover Lettie had dreamed of for so long. He was there, in virile flesh and blood, in Lettie's prim and corseted Illinois town.Relentlessly pursued by the law and by a reckless band of vigilantes, Ethan took refuge in the heat and dust of Lettie's attic bedroom, and in the warmth and hunger of her arms. But he was a man who trusted no one, a man more afraid of losing his life ...

    Allison Pearson is a well-to-do young lady traveling by stagecoach from her home in Boston to meet her intended in Santa Fe, but instead finds herself stranded in a military fort in the middle of Indian Territory when her stagecoach leaves without her.Given the choice to either temporarily marry an officer until her intended can come rescue her or take her chances with the indians, she marries the glib Captain Wes Tucker, who unbeknownst to her, grew up in a wealthy Charleston family and despises everything she represents.But when it's time for her beau to reclaim her and for Allison and Wes to annul their marriage, will she want to go with him, and more importantly, will Wes let her?

    But when she sets a “werewolf trap”, she finally snares the one thing she’s been praying for—a handsome “knight” who can protect her from the ruthless land baron who has been lusting after her property.It has not been a good day for Sterling Montoya. He had awakened next to a naked, screeching stranger, been chased across hostile Apache territory by her shotgun-toting father and had become the reluctant guardian for a newborn babe… And now he was the prisoner of a beautiful, but batty, would-be sorceress—a stunning, Shakespeare-spouting enchantress whose passionate touch promises Sterling heaven…until he realizes that whenever she’s around, all hell breaks loose.Can Sterling break the tender spell Chimera casts over his hungry heart or will he discover her love is the one enchantment too magical to resist?

     A Chance for Escape Takes Two Unlikely Allies on a Romantic Adventure Along a Desert Trail  Since orphaned at age twelve, Carmela Wade has lived a lie orchestrated by her uncle, pretending to be a survivor of an Indian kidnapping and profiting from telling her made-up story on the speaker circuit. But as she matures into adulthood, Carmela hates the lies and longs to be free. On a stagecoach in Arizona Territory, Carmela and her uncle are fellow passengers with US Marshal Freeland McKay and his handcuffed prisoner. The stage is attacked. Now a chance to make a new life may suddenly be within Carmela’s reach. . .if she can survive the harsh terrain and being handcuffed to an unconscious man.   Will Carmela’s wish come true, or will she forever be branded by her past? More from My Heart Belongs in Series...My Heart Belongs in Fort Bliss: Priscilla's Reveille by Erica Vetsch (January 2017)My Heart Belongs in Ruby City, Idaho: Rebecca's Plight by Susanne Dietze (May 2017)My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island: Maude's Mooring by Carrie Fancett Pagels (July 2017)My Heart Belongs in the Shenandoah Valley: Lily's Dilemma by Andrea Boeshaar (September 2017)

    Despite the fact the union soldiers took everything from them during their march through Atlanta-their lands scorched, house burned, food stolen-she won’t give up. With a plan in place, she sets out for Kansas to her second cousin under the guise of marriage. But instead, she plans to convince him that the seven of them can help run the homestead for him. Her plan is full proof, until she makes the arduous journey to discover he’s dead. Owen Baker vows to never have a woman in his life again after the death of so many in his life, but when Abigail McKinnie struts onto his land claiming ownership on behalf of her dead cousin, he’s dumbfounded by her drive and beauty. Despite her abilities and their attraction, he vows to throw her over his horse to deliver her to the first train home the minute she recuperates from her trip.