Not if they value their life. But when Meredith Hayes overhears a lethal plot to burn the Archer brothers off their ranch, a twelve-year-old debt compels her to take the risk.Fourteen years of constant vigilance hardens a man. Yet when Travis Archer confronts a female trespasser with the same vivid blue eyes as the courageous young girl he once aided, he can't bring himself to send her away. And when an act of sacrifice leaves her injured and her reputation in shreds, gratitude and guilt send him riding to her rescue once again.Four brothers. Four straws. One bride. Despite the fact that Travis is no longer the gallant youth Meredith once dreamed about, she determines to stand by his side against the enemy that threatens them both. But will love ever be hers? Or will Travis always see her merely as a short-straw bride?

    Her childhood sweetheart taught her to ride bareback and shoot a rifle, but then he chose a “perfect lady” for a wife—a real Southern belle, who’s now expecting a baby. Heartbroken, Becky signs up to be a mail-order bride to a Seattle man, sight unseen. She resolves to squelch her hoydenish ways and become a “perfect lady” for her future husband.If logging-operation owner Isaac Jessup had wanted a bride, he’d have chosen a sturdy frontier woman, not some fragile lady from back East. Ready to explain the mistake, honorable Isaac takes one look into Rebecca’s vulnerable eyes...and knows he’ll marry her, even though this delicate waif is obviously unsuited for wild Seattle.Can an unexpected marriage ever be a match made in heaven?Book One in The Brides SeriesSweet Historical Western Romance / A Mail-Order Bride Novel***Excerpt***The lean-to was chilly and not for the first time, Isaac considered boarding it up proper and calling it a barn. He sat on the stool and began milking the goat, all the while mentally preparing for the worship service they planned to go to later that morning. The Scriptures he’d read first thing that morning were fresh in his mind, and his prayers kept returning to the problem of Rebecca. One inner voice urged him to send her back home, but another voice spoke of commitment. He’d said vows before God to love and keep her till death do them part. Those weren’t words he was willing to dismiss lightly.“What’s her name?” His wife’s voice was suddenly in his ear, quite close.Isaac jumped. The goat bleated at him.“Sorry, girl.” He patted her side and resumed milking her with slow, careful hands. He glanced over his shoulder toward the subject of his thoughts.Rebecca stood watching him, leaning over the rail and peering in at them with curious eyes. He was surprised to see her out this early. She usually left him to his morning chores, and most times he’d get back inside the cabin and find her already up preparing breakfast.“What’s her name?” she repeated.“Name? The goat?” He looked at the goat dumbly. It was a goat. He’d never gotten much further than that. She gave them a daily supply of milk, but other than that she was generally a nuisance. She liked to butt down the stall door. And whenever she got loose, she’d eat what few vegetables he was able to grow in the summer. She also liked to nip at his shirts and underthings when he hung them out on the line—if he was lucky. Most times she’d tug the whole line down and drag it through the mud.“Yes, the goat,” Rebecca said, a pleasant-sounding smile in her voice. “Don’t tell me she hasn’t got a name?”There was something nice about hearing a woman’s voice in the morning. It reminded him a little of when he was young, and his mother had chatted with him in soft tones while they ate breakfast. As if speaking too loud would jar them too quickly out of whatever dreams they’d had the night before.Rebecca’s soft voice put him much in mind of those times.“All right. I won’t.” Isaac focused on his milking.“She doesn’t have a name?” Rebecca pressed. “How can you have an animal that doesn’t have a name?”“Never gave it much thought. She’s good for milk, but other than that she’s nothing but trouble, always munching on the laundry.”“Well, then I think your choice is clear. Either you call her Milky or you call her Trouble.” Her teasing tone brought a reluctant smile to his lips.“Well, then, if I have to choose, then I guess she’s Trouble.” The real Trouble was standing behind him, her elbow propped against the top of the rail, her chin cupped in one dainty hand.***

    Just because the Bailey girls had met with one mishap or another after wearing Jenny's loveliest creation, her clientele had begun to stay away in droves. Yet Jenny was still betting she could turn her luck around--by wearing the gown herself at her very own wedding. There's just one hitch: first she has to find a groom...Trace McBride seemed as likely a candidate as any. An attractive widower raising three little girls who were fast becoming three little outlaws, Trace badly needed a woman's loving touch. Jenny wasn't altogether sure she knew how to get a man to propose marriage, but she was willing to take off her spectacles, let down her honey-blond hair, and even give flirtation a try. But when seduction turns into red-hot passion, Jenny will find herself risking everything--even her life--on the chance that she'll be lucky in love.

    She had come upon it not long after her marriage to Edgar, and it had offered her the only peace she was to know for a long time. It was dangerous to share the only thing that belonged to one. Yet the thought of spending an afternoon with the earl in her most treasured place, sharing a leisurely meal, beckoned her. She glanced shyly over her shoulder to see if he still followed.Lord Ashworth rode only a few yards behind her horse, and he grinned when their eyes met. He had a lazy, sensual smile and, when he looked at her like that, she felt an odd breathless catch in her throat. She wondered how it would feel if he were to place those warm lips to hers instead of the back of her hand. Oh dear! There went that catch again.Within moments they entered a clearing. Catherine dismounted without waiting for the earl’s assistance and swung her arms wide as she turned in a circle about the shaded copse.“What do you think?” she asked.The earl, still astride, cast his gaze slowly around the tiny glen as he studied the scenery. He then turned his attention to Catherine but did not speak. A suggestive grin broke the calm of his expression as he continued to watch her.“More beautiful than I could have imagined,” he murmured.Simple statement that, but it held a wealth of meaning. Catherine dropped her arms while staring back in fascination. Her mouth fell open and her breathing quickened. The air vibrated with unspoken words as they shared a moment of absolute understanding. The specter of desire had been brought into the open and was acknowledged.Experience IN THE GARDEN OF TEMPTATION today. Meet characters you'll visit again in the other books in this series.Now Available on Amazon:IN THE GARDEN OF SEDUCTION, Book 2 of The Garden Series.IN THE GARDEN OF DISGRACE, Book 3 of The Garden Series.IN THE GARDEN OF DECEIT, Book 4 of The Garden Series.Just Released: THIEF OF SOULSDark and sensual, Thief of Souls is one man's battle with evil for the fate of his humanity. It is a modern vampire-esque romance, gothic in tone, with a twist on the "Beauty and the Beast" theme, for the beast's ugliness resides on the inside rather than the outside, and his hope for redemption comes not from being loved by another but from discovering his own ability to love.

    Bewildered by his arrogance yet drawn to his panther-like grace, she senses the painful memories that smolder in his eyes. When he gathers her at last into his arms, arousing a sweet, insistent hunger, they wed and are embraced by fierce, consuming joy -- free from the past's cruel grasp. Then, in a moment of anguish, Victoria discovers the treachery at the heart of their love . . . a love she had dreamed would triumph not just once, but always.

    She was born with the face of an angel. Her father is a knight, and a small fortune has been lavished upon her. And now she is to be married to an earl. Her security is fixed, her destiny guaranteed. At least, she hopes.The Earl of Lytham has already been married once. But the beautiful woman only left him with a broken heart and the bitter taste of betrayal. Now, his only demand of Marget is that she help him win favor with the Queen.But when Marget's introduction to court is met with the jealous queen's wrath, the young bride fears she's lost her husband forever. Desperate to honor him, she'll risk everything by doing whatever it takes to recapture the heart of a man bound to the Queen in a world where love is the only forbidden luxury.

    It seemed like a page out of a fairy tale. But everything about it–from the formal vows to the magnificent reception–was a lie, Catherine had reluctantly agreed to Clay's "marriage of convenience"...and the only thing that could threaten their arrangement was the unexpected arrival of love.

    Undaunted, Noelle Kramer fought to remain independent. But then a runaway horse nearly plunged her into a rushing, ice-choked river, before a stranger's strong, sure hand saved her from certain death.And yet this was no stranger. Though she could not know it, her rescuer was rancher Thad McKaslin, the man who had once loved her more than life itself. Losing her had shaken all his most deeply held beliefs. Now he wondered if the return of this strong woman was a sign that somehow he could find his way home.

    They seek a new life together, but society, her family, and nature itself, wage war against them. Their forbidden love is a sure formula for disaster.

    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.

    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.

    She's a widow who needs protection. A marriage of convenience is the means of keeping her safe in a town populated by gold miners, dance hall girls, and scurrilous men, until her gold mine is producing and she can return east. But soon after Jenny MacDonald marries Jason Colby, she finds herself falling in love with a man whose dark past is quickly catching up with him, the very man who might have killed her husband.

    And if that meant paying notorious gunslinger Drake Frazier to take his place in a fight, she'd barter her last gold nugget. But Hope soon discovered she'd have to give the handsome rattlesnake more than riches if she wanted his help. His improper demands infuriated her; even as she luxuriated in the tantalizing heat of his embrace, she refused to yield to her desires. She'd accept his terms, then find a way to escape him... somehow...

    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

    After sneaking out of town on a train, she goes to Iowa and marries. She quickly falls for the wonderful man she marries, but does he feel the same? And will she be able to escape her past?