- Home
- Historical Romantic Western
Bestselling author Linda Lael Miller's beloved novel of the American West shimmers with the unbridled passion of two adventurous hearts brought together first by dire convenience and second by blooming attraction.When a woman has to choose between death and marriage to a total stranger, she must be in a dire predicament... And for Jolie McKibben, about to pay by hanging for a terrible crime she didn't commit, salvation by marriage couldn't come a moment too soon. Housekeeping for Daniel Beckham, a widower who invoked the town's wedding ordinance to rescue Jolie from the gallows, is better than the alternative...but understanding the silent stranger who is now her husband might just about kill her. Daniel doesn't believe in Jolie's innocence. And despite his willingness to marry the pretty, defiant "outlaw" on the spot, the prosperous farmer had little to say to her after "I do." But for Jolie, their arrangement of convenience soon deepens into a rich and... Views: 647
The New Zealand wilderness is no place for an innocent young girl escaping an arranged marriage.... Shocked by the threat of being forced to marry an aging magistrate, Bliss Stafford flees her New Zealand home. But a chance encounter -- and the barrel of her father's pistol -- wed her to Jamie McKenna, a handsome, headstrong rancher whose bold touch inflamed her innocent senses. Yet Jamie's heart was captive to another -- and to a hidden, bitter sorrow. But young, courageous Bliss is determined to face the secrets of his past -- to claim the radiant prize of a lifetime of tomorrows. Passion, heartache, and the power of romance set New Zealand aflame with Angelfire in Linda Lael Miller's lush tale of a young woman audacious enough to settle for nothing less than love. Views: 607
An American beauty stranded by a shattered promise on Australia’s vast shores. . . . After sailing to Australia only to find that the man who asked her to marry him has no intention of fulfilling his part of the bargain, Maggie Chamberlain vows to shape a new life for herself in Sydney. Then arrogant, wealthy Reeve McKenna captures Maggie’s untried heart, thrilling her senses with the sweet, dark rush of desire. But Reeve cannot be hers alone, for he is obsessed by his search for his beloved brother James, lost two decades before. Reeve’s fierce hunger for the Yankee beauty is not yet love, and Maggie wants both the breathless pleasure of his passion and the full surrender of his heart—or nothing at all. One of America’s most romantic writers, Linda Lael Miller brings the white-hot passion of Moonfire to the Australian frontier country in this sensuous story of two lovers bound by desire. Views: 554
"Moving and memorable, this novel reveals the impossible choices women face in wartime." —James PattersonA richly layered, emotional novel about one woman's courage and the choices she must make in the face of a dangerous war.Caroline is the young wife of Jacob, who together live on a farm raising their daughter just outside of Gettysburg. When Jacob joins the Northern army, no one anticipates he will not return. Then Caroline gets word that her husband is wounded, and she must find her way alone to Washington City and search among the thousands of casualties to find him.When Jacob succumbs to his injuries, she brings his body home on the eve of the deadliest battle of the war. With troops and looters roaming the countryside, it is impossible to know who is friend and who is foe. Caroline fights to protect those she holds most dear while remaining compassionate to the neediest around her, including two strangers from opposite sides of the fight.... Views: 498
For the men of Painted Pony Creek, it's never too late for a second chance...Cord Hollister is a true cowboy at heart. As a man who has devoted his life to training horses under the big skies of Montana, he thrives on the stability of ranch life. But when a girl arrives in Painted Pony Creek with a shocking secret, Cord's orderly life is upended. She's the spitting image of the first woman who broke his heart—a woman he hasn't seen in years—and he'll do whatever he can to help her. He just can't do it alone...Shallie Fletcher left heartbreak where it belongs—in the past. And she's done everything she can to reinvent herself and move on. But when an opportunity arises to partner with a therapeutic riding program for kids, Shallie can't resist seeking out Cord for lessons. Back in school, he was the crush she couldn't forget, even though he only had eyes for her best friend. Seeing him now floods her with memories...and fills her with hope.... Views: 301
Two restless hearts will meet their matches in a Linda Lael Miller fan favorite and an unforgettable bonus story from Lee Tobin McClain.Mixed Messages by Linda Lael MillerAward-winning journalist Mark Holbrook doesn't know if beautiful and spirited Carly Barnett has what it takes to be a reporter, but he can't deny how drawn he is to her. Only, Carly is far better at uncovering the truth than Mark gives her credit for. Soon she'll uncover the most dangerous truth of all—that she is his only need. Low Country Hero by Lee Tobin McClainAnna George will do anything to take care of her five-year-old twins, even accept a job offer from a rugged contractor. His gentle way with her girls makes her want to trust him, but she's been wrong before... A family is the last thing Sean O'Dwyer wants right now. But as he and Anna spend their days bringing the cottages back to life and their... Views: 273
Washington's rowdy lumber camps were no place for an innocent young beauty. And when lovely Rachel McKinnon caught the eye of Jonas Wilkes, she was truly in dire straits. Wilkes owned the lumber empire, the town, the people -- and now he wanted Rachel. Her only hope was the town's darkly handsome doctor, Griffin Fletcher. In a promise to her dying mother, Fletcher had reluctantIly promised to protect Rachel from harm. But the smoldering enmity he felt for Wilkes would erupt in passionate conflicts...for the young doctor, who had forsworn any chance of loving again, was now desperately in love with his ward, and she with him. Views: 72
They are the women of Primrose Creek, and their strength and passion is a match for the Nevada frontier they call home. Linda Lael Miller masterfully captures the hardships and dangers of a country swept by the winds of war — and the daring and determination, the hopes and dreams of four unforgettable women — in a thrilling new series.Skye McQuarry's heart belongs to one man — Primrose Creek's lumber baron, Jake Vigil. After a shattering heartbreak in his past, Jake vowed to never again take a chance on love — until he came to know beautiful Skye. But their delicate bond faces the ultimate test when a business deal threatens to tear them apart — and battle lines are drawn between two passionate hearts.Skye is determined to stand her ground. Then a surprise from Jake's past unexpectedly comes to her — a discovery that may be just the key to unlocking the true, deep, and trusting love that she knows lives deep within Jake Vigil.B... Views: 71
A time-traveling teapot links two generations of McKettrick women, and brings the author's popular Western saga into the present day, when single mom Sierra reluctantly moves into the Triple M ranch. Soon her son claims to see a mysterious boy in the house, and an heirloom teapot starts popping up in unexpected places. P>In 1919, widowed Hannah McKettrick lived at the ranch with her son and her brother-in-law, Doss. Her confused feelings for Doss and her son's health problems occupied all her thought. . .until the family teapot started disappearing.Could Sierra and her ancestor, Hannah, be living parallel lives? Views: 69
After years of wandering, Logan Creed, a cowboy with a dusty law degree, has returned home. To put down roots, to restore his family's neglected ranch...to have kids of his own proudly bearing the Creed name. Divorced mum Briana Grant has heard the stories about her gorgeous neighbour. So Logan's kindness with her young boys is a welcome surprise, especially when her ex reappears. And when an unknown enemy vandalises her home, Logan shows Briana – and the folks of Big Sky country – just what he's made of. Views: 69
Devastated on her wedding day by a shattering revelation, Melissa Corbin turned to a stranger with a brazen bargain: she would take his name in exchange for the power of the Corbin empire. Quinn Rafferty was shockingly handsome and used to command. His bold, generous heart was quickly roused to laughter, to anger...and to white-hot desire for the head strong, sable-maned beauty. Quinn's caresses kindled blazing starlight in Melissa's pounding blood...and soon there was no turning back. But above their happiness loomed a bitter man's vengeance that could destroy all that Quinn most cherished. Now Melissa and Quinn would risk their very lives for the glorious heights of ecstasy....About the AuthorThe daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is the author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels. Now living in Spokane, Washington, the “First Lady of the West” hit a career high when all three of her 2011 Creed Cowboy books debuted at #1 on the New York Times list. In 2007, the Romance Writers of America presented her their Lifetime Achievement Award. She personally funds her Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women. Visit her at www.lindalaelmiller.com. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.Chapter OnePort Hastings, Washington March 7, 1891She appeared out of a driving rain, a spirit of the storm, clutching the skirts of her billowing white wedding dress in her hands and running for all she was worth. A circlet of bedraggled flowers graced her dark hair, which hung in sodden ropes to her waist. Her gown was most definitely ruined, and her dainty slippers were muddy and wet. Quinn Rafferty stood fascinated on the platform of his private railroad car, heedless of the rain and the keening of the train whistle that signaled imminent departure. The nymph had gained the tracks now and was charging toward him.Quite a lot of her trim but womanly bosom was visible from Quinn's vantage point, and he was charmed. When the train lurched into motion and began to clatter and clank he saw the bride set her beautiful jaw and burst into even greater speed."Damn you, h-help me!" she gasped, holding up one hand.Quinn was stunned to realize that she'd actually caught up to the train. Like a man moving in a dream he reached down, gained a hold on her, and hauled her aboard.Her small, nubile body slammed against Quinn's, and although the impact was slight, for a moment he was as breathless as though he'd been buried alive in a high-country snowslide.The sprite was spitting mad and panting from her flight and her fury. Her azure eyes snapped. Quinn recovered himself enough to grin and tip the brim of his hat with insolent good manners. He allowed his gaze to slide down over her, and again he had that sensation of being crushed beneath some invisible, elemental substance."This is so sudden," he quipped, to hide his distress at being so violently affected by this little snippet of a girl in a muddy wedding dress and a crown of drooping petunias.She was looking back on the town of Port Hastings now, a certain dismay in her round eyes. A flock of disgruntled wedding guests had gathered at the tracks, peering after her through the drizzle, shouting and waving their arms."Forgive me," she whispered. And then she lifted delicate, gloved fingers to her lips and blew a kiss to the throng.Three men towered in the forefront of the crowd. The one wearing a clerical collar lifted his hand in farewell and smiled sadly, but the other two looked as though they could uproot railroad spikes with their teeth and chew them like peppermint sticks.Quinn wondered which one was the spurned groom. While he'd never been afraid of any man -- save his own father -- he was glad he didn't have to give an accounting of this episode to either of those two. And that very relief nettled his pride."Shall we?" he asked with biting politeness, extending an arm.The lady took the offered arm, full of disdainful dignity, and allowed Quinn to escort her into the car.She looked around her, clearly unimpressed with the luxury Quinn had worked all his life to acquire, and plopped her sodden bustle down on a velvet-upholstered bench. She was peeling off her spoiled slippers while Quinn went to the liquor cabinet and poured healthy doses of brandy for himself and the runaway bride."What's your name?" he demanded, fairly shoving a crystal snifter into her hand.She accepted it without the maidenly reluctance Quinn had anticipated, her incredible azure eyes fixed for the fraction of a moment on something above and beyond his right shoulder. "Pullman," she said, after that brief and patently disturbing hesitation. "Melissa Pullman."He took a long draught of his own brandy before sitting down in a nearby chair and ran one hand through his light brown hair. "Well?" he prompted when, after several long sips from her glass, Miss Pullman had not volunteered her story."Well, what?" she countered testily.Quinn sighed, turning his snifter between his palms. "I'd like an explanation," he responded tautly. "I think you owe me that."She sighed, and her straight little shoulders stooped just a bit as she pondered the amber depths of her brandy. "I suppose I do," she conceded, and Quinn found himself feeling sorry for her.The sentiment was of short duration."I'm not sure I'm going to tell you anything, though," she added. She eyed him in an appraising fashion. "You are a man, after all.""Thank you very much.""Not at all," came the immediate retort. "It wasn't a compliment. And your name, sir?""Rafferty," her host allowed, annoyed. "Quinn Rafferty." Even though he was indisputably the best poker player in four counties, Quinn found that he couldn't keep a straight face. What he was feeling was more than mere idle curiosity; it was a driving, vital need to know. "Which one of those three giants was supposed to be your husband?"A smile curved her lips, and Quinn was struck with a piercing awareness of her loveliness. God in heaven, even in that dirty, water-spotted wedding dress, with her hair dripping and her face wet with rain and, Quinn suspected, tears, she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. "None. They were my brothers."Quinn searched his memory for a trio of Pullman brothers based in Port Hastings and came up dry. "And the groom?""I doubt that Ajax would stoop to running after me." She made the admission with a small sigh. "He's practically royalty, you know. His family goes back to the time of William the Conqueror."Quinn shrugged, irritated by that kind of pretension. "We all go back to Adam and Eve, don't we?"To his surprise, she smiled. "You're right, Mr. Rafferty. You're absolutely right." She shoved the snifter at him. "Might I have more brandy, please?"Quinn was about to refuse -- it was powerful stuff, that brew -- when he knew a certain stab of sympathy. The poor little sprite had run out of a church, through a pounding rainstorm, and been wrenched aboard a railroad car by a complete stranger. Despite the cocky act she was putting on, Quinn was convinced that Melissa Pullman was nervous and afraid.He rose and refilled her snifter, and when he handed it back she took a great gulp. After a few more such swallows she seemed more receptive to sensible conversation."Why did you leave Ajax at the altar?" Quinn asked kindly.Melissa smoothed her skirts, ignoring their hopeless condition, and avoided Quinn's eyes. She bit down hard on her lower lip for a moment, then tossed back the last of her brandy. "I didn't love him," she stated shakily, and in a hoarse voice, after a very long time.Quinn had his doubts as to her sincerity. "Wouldn't it have been simpler to say so?" he prompted in a gentle tone."I couldn't have faced him," she said."Then why didn't you just tell your brothers how you felt? Surely they would have understood."Melissa hiccuped and set her snifter aside on a table that, like all the other furniture in the car, was bolted to the floor.She shook her head. "As far as they're concerned, I'm a spinster," she confided. "I'm sure they thought Ajax was my last chance."Moments before Quinn had been glad not to have to deal with the Pullman brothers. Now he longed to confront them. "Bull-balderdash!" he muttered. "How could you be an old maid? You're on the sunny side of twenty or I'm a donkey's first cousin!"She gave a pealing, slightly drunken giggle and gingerly removed her halo of flowers. "I'm twenty-two, and your family heritage would explain your stubbornness, wouldn't it?"Quinn knew that he s... Views: 69
The sudden death of the town marshal leaves Blue River, Texas, without a lawman…...and twenty-five-year-old Dara Rose Nolan without a husband. As winter approaches and her meager seamstress income dwindles, she has three options. Yet she won't give up her two young daughters, refuses to join the fallen women of the Bitter Gulch Saloon and can't fathom condemning herself to another loveless marriage. Unfortunately she must decide—soon—because there's a new marshal in town, and she's living under his roof.
With the heart of a cowboy, Clay McKettrick plans to start a ranch and finally settle down. He isn't interested in uprooting Dara Rose and her children, but he is interested in giving her protection, friendship—and passion. And when they say "I do" to a marriage of convenience, the temporary lawman's Christmas wish is to make Dara Rose his permanent wife…... Views: 67
