- Home
- Historical Romantic Western
With his rugged good looks, vast wealth and family name, hell-raiser Hutch Carmody is still the golden boy of Parable, Montana. But he's done some growing up--making peace with his illegitimate half brother and inheriting half of Whisper Creek Ranch, which should have been all his. These days, Hutch knows there are some things money can't buy: like the heart of loving, ladylike divorcée Kendra Shepherd.Kendra's quiet mansion reminds her of what she wants most--a devoted husband and the pitter-patter of little feet. She can't get Hutch Carmody out of her mind. But a rough-and-tumble cowboy like Hutch, coming home for family dinner? Seems crazy! Then again, crazier dreams have become reality under the vast Montana sky. Views: 34
The illegitimate son of a wealthy rancher, Sheriff Slade Barlow grew up in a trailer hitched to the Curly-Burly hair salon his mother runs. He was never acknowledged by his father...until now. Suddenly, Slade has inherited half of Whisper Creek Ranch, one of the most prosperous in Parable, Montana. That doesn't sit well with his half brother, Hutch, who grew up with all the rights of a Carmody--including the affections of Joslyn Kirk, homecoming queen, rodeo queen, beauty queen, whom Slade has never forgotten.But Joslyn is barely holding her head up these days as she works to pay back everyone her crooked stepfather cheated. With a town to protect, plus a rebellious teenage stepdaughter, Slade has his hands full. But someone has to convince Joslyn that she's responsible only for her own actions--such as her effect on this lawman's guarded heart. Views: 31
SUMMARY:"To win his father's ranch, a hard-living cowboy settles down and takes a wife -- another man's wife!" The youngest McKettrick brother, Jeb, is the wild one who never could stay out of trouble. And trouble is what he gets when he proposes to Chloe Wakefield. No sooner had he and the pretty schoolteacher tied the knot than Jeb discovers she's already married! After a major dustup with Chloe in a Tombstone barroom, an irate Jeb hightails it back to the Triple M Ranch, certain that his chances of winning the spread in a marriage race with his brothers are dashed. Now Chloe has come to Indian Rock, hoping to find her beloved uncle John and a much-needed teaching post. But when she unexpectedly crosses paths with Jeb, her rage -- and passion -- flare even stronger than back in Tombstone. Chloe never intended to mislead Jeb about her previous marriage to a scoundrel of a man. But when she finds out Jeb needs a bride and a baby in order to inherit the Triple M, she is livid. Learning to trust will be the hardest part of this mixed-up marriage -- until a stagecoach robbery and the return of a dangerous stranger prove to Jeb and Chloe that they need each other to love and honor as long as they both shall live. From Publishers WeeklySet in 1880s Arizona Territory, the final installment in Miller's McKettrick Cowboys trilogy (_High Country Bride_; Shotgun Bride) finds the short-tempered McKettrick brothers still squabbling and still vying for ownership of the Triple M ranch, which their father, Angus, will give to the first son who marries and provides him with a grandchild. For youngest son, Jeb, the ranch is the one thing in the world that he holds most dear, so with both his older brothers already wed, Jed needs to move it or lose it. A quick marriage to schoolteacher Chloe Wakefield gets him in the race, but when he hears that his new bride already has a husband, he hightails it back to the ranch instead of sticking around to learn the truth. But Chloe, reputation in shreds, isn't about to go down without a fight. The romance between Jeb and Chloe runs lukewarm, but Miller succeeds in drawing a compelling picture of 19th-century ranch life populated with flawed but genuinely likable characters. Prose as bright as moonlight on the prairie keeps the pages turning, and a perfect, if highly improbable, ending ties things up nicely. Still, the story has an unfinished feel, leaving readers to wonder if a spinoff involving Angus's long-lost son Luke and his daughter, Lizzy, is in the works. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ReviewRomantic Times You'll adore the McKettricks.... Views: 29
No one does the holidays like Linda Lael Miller, whose Christmas novels have warmed the hearts of millions of readers the world over! Charlotte Morgan grew up in Mustang Creek, Wyoming, and couldn't wait to escape to the big city. But life in New York isn't as fabulous as she'd like to admit—she's lonely, doing a job she doesn't love and dating too many frogs she meets online. There was one potential prince, though—Jaxon Locke, a veterinarian with definite possibilities—but his move to Idaho to fill in at his dad's vet practice ended things just as they were getting interesting. What Charlotte doesn't know is that he misses her, more than he expected... Meanwhile, Charlotte's great-aunt Geneva—the woman who raised her—needs to enter an assisted-living facility. So, just before Christmas, Charlotte moves back home. When Jax catches wind of her move back West, he's determined to get to Wyoming and do whatever it takes to... Views: 29
Previously published in JINGLE ALL THE WAY A holiday miracle to remember . . . A matchbox advent calendar first brought Frank Rayner and Addie Hutton together. But that was years ago. Since then Addie has written herself out of her father's will, gotten herself blacklisted as a reporter, and had her husband leave her for a younger woman. The only good decision she seems to have made is to move back home, even if Frank now owns that home and is renting the apartment over the garage to her. Not that she thinks there's anything there. There's no reason to get wrapped up in the holiday cheer. Because Christmas miracles are for the movies. Real life is about unexpected families—and the magic of true love—and could there be a happy ending after all? Views: 28
From BooklistIn revolution-torn Bavia, Annie Trevarren is helping her friend Phaedra, the princess, prepare for her upcoming arranged marriage. Phaedra's brother, Rafael, the ruling prince, is still grieving his late wife, but he is determined to see Phaedra married. Annie enlivens Rafael's bleak life as he faces a rebellion against his late father's villainy. Rafael refuses to see Annie as a woman in love with him until she virtually seduces his pants off. Meanwhile, the revolution reaches its final stages and Rafael is besieged at the family keep. He arranges for Annie to leave with her father before he joins the fighting, but Annie is determined to return to rescue Rafael from certain death with or without any help. In this companion novel to Taming Charlotte (Pocket, 1993), Annie Trevarren proves she is just as determined as her mother, Charlotte, when it comes to choosing the right man and keeping him at all costs. Highly recommended for all collections. Melanie DuncanReviewRomantic Times Linda Lael Miller enchants readers. Views: 28
A Stone Creek ChristmasVeterinarian Olivia O'Ballivan is more comfortable with animals than men. Especially architect-turned-rancher Tanner Quinn. Olivia's bond with his daughter Sophie's pony makes him question her sanity, while she wonders if he's just a drugstore cowboy. Then Sophie conspires with Olivia to get Tanner into the spirit of Christmas. Will a holiday miracle transform globe-trotting Tanner into a family man for all seasons?At Home in Stone CreekEveryone in Ashley O'Ballivan's life is marrying and starting families—except her. But why bother when no one compares to Jack McCall, the man who left her heartbroken years ago?While recovering from a dangerous mission, security expert Jack rents a room in Ashley's bed-and-breakfast. He tries to keep his distance, though neither can deny the spark between them. But when his past catches up with him, he'll have to leave again...just as he realizes where he's always belonged. Views: 27
When a pretty spitfire who's down on her luck clashes with a stubborn man in search of a wife, sparks must turn to flames....A year after the Civil War, courageous former Union nurse Lydia McQuire was gamely scraping out an honest living. But now, as she said yes to marrying a stranger, her knees gave way with fear. Mr. Devon Quade had seemed polite and handsome when she answered his ad for a wife. Only after Lydia had arrived in Washington territory did she learn that her bridegroom wasn't to be sweet Devon Quade, but his older brother Brigham, a widower with strapping shoulders, hands as strong as steel, and an arrogant belief that he was lord and master of his lumber empire, the town of Quade's Harbor, and the woman he married. Lydia's dislike of him was instantaneous...yet Brigham was awakening in her a white-hot passion, and a firm resolve: before she would share his bed, he would have to surrender himself, heart and soul, to love.... Views: 26
Kidnapped and confined in a harem -- that's not the scenario Charlotte Quade envisioned when she prayed for just one grand adventure before sailing home to Washington Territory from Europe. While exploring the ancient, exotic island kingdom of Riz, Charlotte foolishly lost her way. In a dizzying moment, she was snatched, bound up in a sack and unceremoniously dumped -- completely naked! -- in the ship's cabin of the very same man who had caught her fancy as a young girl in Seattle: Captain Patrick Trevarran.But Charlotte's dream lover turned out to be no gentleman! He had once gallantly fetched her, as a mischievous teenager,from the riggings of his ship, but now he appraised her with exasperation and quickly packed her off to the harem of a sultan friend. When they were reunited -- as much by mercy as by fate -- it was clear that Patrick wished merely to tease and trifle with this pretty, rebellious American. But, through their adventure, Charlotte had discovered a provocative man torn between recklessness and devotion, between storm and calm. Now, with all the strength and passion she possessed, Charlotte would chart a course that would sweep them at last to their destiny -- a glorious and resounding love.From Publishers WeeklyIn 1877 Charlotte Quade has finished her tour of Europe and is longing for one " glorious adventure" before returning home to Washington Territory. No sooner does she express that desire in a letter to her sister than she is kidnapped in a marketplace on the island of Riz while traveling with family friends. The prize in a poker game, she is then delivered as a gift to Patrick Trevarren, a ship's captain on whom she has had a crush since she was caught climbing his rigging at the age of 13. Patrick deposits her in his friend the sultan Khalif's harem so that he can complete some business before accompanying her to Seattle, but she fears that he has abandoned her and tries to escape. To avoid punishment for her escape, she is forced to marry Patrick when he returns. The two then travel together but are soon called back to assist Khalif when his evil half brother tries to take over the palace. Miller ( Yankee Wife ) fills this frenetically paced romance with spirited repartee meant to recall The Taming of the Shrew, but while Charlotte is appealing and clever, her love interest is not her intellectual match, and his insistences that she stay out of trouble become tiresome. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. About the AuthorLinda Lael Miller is the author of seventy historical and contemporary romance novels, many of which are set in the American West. She was awarded the Romance Writers of America's prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. Views: 24
Product DescriptionEveryone in Ashley O'Ballivan's life is marrying and starting families—except her. But what date can compare to Jack McCall, the man who broke her heart years ago?And now he's mysteriously back. But he isn't who she thinks he is.After a dangerous mission working for the DEA, security expert Jack McCall rents a room in Ashley's bed-and-breakfast. For her sake, he must keep his distance. But his feelings for her are so powerful that only his heart remains off-limits. To protect her—from his enemies and himself—he has to leave…vowing to fight his way home to her and Stone Creek forever. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.Ashley O'Ballivan dropped the last string of Christmas lights into a plastic storage container, resisting an uncharacteristic urge to kick the thing into the corner of the attic instead of stacking it with the others. For her, the holidays had been anything but merry and bright; in fact, the whole year had basically sucked. But for her brother, Brad, and sister Olivia, it qualified as a personal best—both of them were happily married. Even her workaholic twin, Melissa, had had a date for New Year's Eve.Ashley, on the other hand, had spent the night alone, sipping nonalcoholic wine in front of the portable TV set in her study, waiting for the ball to drop in Times Square.How lame was that?It was worse than lame—it was pathetic.She wasn't even thirty yet, and she was well on her way to old age.With a sigh, Ashley turned from the dusty hodgepodge surrounding her—she went all out, at the Mountain View Bed and Breakfast, for every red-letter day on the calendar—and headed for the attic stairs. As she reached the bottom, stepping into the corridor just off the kitchen, a familiar car horn sounded from the driveway in front of the detached garage. It could only be Olivia's ancient Suburban.Ashley had mixed feelings as she hoisted the ladder-steep steps back up into the ceiling. She loved her older sister dearly and was delighted that Olivia had found true love with Tanner Quinn, but since their mother's funeral a few months before, there had been a strain between them.Neither Brad nor Olivia nor Melissa had shed a single tear for Delia O'Ballivan—not during the church service or the graveside ceremony or the wake. Okay, so there wasn't a greeting card category for the kind of mother Delia had been—she'd deserted the family long ago, and gradually destroyed herself through a long series of tragically bad choices. For all that, she'd still been the woman who had given birth to them all.Didn't that count for something?A rap sounded at the back door, as distinctive as the car horn, and Olivia's glowing, pregnancy-rounded face filled one of the frost-trimmed panes in the window.Oddly self-conscious in her jeans and T-shirt and an ancient flannel shirt from the back of her closet, Ashley mouthed, "It's not locked."Beaming, Olivia opened the door and waddled across the threshold. She was due to deliver her and Tanner's first child in a matter of days, if not hours, and from the looks of her, Ashley surmised she was carrying either quadruplets or a Sumo wrestler."You know you don't have to knock," Ashley said, keeping her distance.Olivia smiled, a bit wistfully it seemed to Ashley, and opened their grandfather Big John's old barn coat to reveal a small white cat with one blue eye and one green one."Oh, no you don't," Ashley bristled.Olivia, a veterinarian as well as Stone Creek, Arizona's one and only real-deal animal communicator, bent awkwardly to set the kitten on Ashley's immaculate kitchen floor, where it meowed pitifully and turned in a little circle, pursuing its fluffy tail. Every stray dog, cat or bird in the county seemed to find its way to Olivia eventually, like immigrants gravitating toward the Statue of Liberty.Two years ago, at Christmas, she'd even been approached by a reindeer named Rodney."Meet Mrs. Wiggins," Olivia chimed, undaunted. Her china-blue eyes danced beneath the dark, sleek fringe of her bangs, but there was a wary look in them that bothered Ashley…even shamed her a little. The two of them had always been close. Did Olivia think Ashley was jealous of her new life with Tanner and his precocious fourteen-year-old daughter, Sophie?"I suppose she's already told you her life story," Ashley said, nodding toward the cat, scrubbing her hands down the thighs of her jeans once and then heading for the sink to wash up before filling the electric kettle. At least that hadn't changed—they always had tea together, whenever Olivia dropped by—which was less and less often these days.After all, unlike Ashley, Olivia had a life.Olivia crooked up a corner of her mouth and began struggling out of the old plaid woolen coat, flecked, as always, with bits of straw. Some things never changed— even with Tanner's money, Olivia still dressed like what she was, a country veterinarian."Not much to tell," Livie answered with a slight lift of one shoulder, as nonchalantly as if telepathic exchanges with all manner of finned, feathered and furred creatures were commonplace. "She's only fourteen weeks old, so she hasn't had time to build up much of an autobiography.""I do not want a cat," Ashley informed her sister.Olivia hauled back a chair at the table and collapsed into it. She was wearing gum boots, as usual, and they looked none too clean. "You only think you don't want Mrs. Wiggins," she said. "She needs you and, whether you know it or not, you need her."Ashley turned back to the kettle, trying to ignore the ball of cuteness chasing its tail in the middle of the kitchen floor. She was irritated, but worried, too. She looked back at Olivia over one stiff shoulder. "Should you be out and about, as pregnant as you are?"Olivia smiled, serene as a Botticelli Madonna. "Pregnancy isn't a matter of degrees, Ash," she said. "One either is or isn't.""You're pale," Ashley fretted. She'd lost so many loved ones—both parents, her beloved granddad, Big John. If anything happened to any of her siblings, whatever their differences, she wouldn't be able to bear it."Just brew the tea," Olivia said quietly. "I'm perfectly all right."While Ashley didn't have her sister's gift for talking to animals, she was intuitive, and her nerves felt all twitchy, a clear sign that something unexpected was about to happen. She plugged in the kettle and joined Olivia at the table. "Is anything wrong?""Funny you should ask," Olivia answered, and though the soft smile still rested on her lips, her eyes were solemn. "I came here to ask you the same question. Even though I already know the answer."As much as she hated the uneasiness that had sprung up between herself and her sisters and brother, Ashley tended to bounce away from any mention of the subject like a pinball in a lively game. She sprang right up out of her chair and crossed to the antique breakfront to fetch two delicate china cups from behind the glass doors, full of strange urgency."Ash," Olivia said patiently.Ashley kept her back to her sister and lowered her head. "I've just been a little blue lately, Liv," she admitted softly. "That's all."She would never get to know her mother.The holidays had been a downer.Not a single guest had checked into her Victorian bed-and-breakfast since before Thanksgiving, which meant she was two payments behind on the private mortgage Brad had given her to buy the place several years before. It wasn't that her brother had been pressing her for the money—he'd offered her the deed, free and clear, the day the deal was closed, but she'd insisted on repaying him every cent.On top of all that, she hadn't heard a word from Jack McCall since his last visit, six months ago. He'd suddenly packed his bags and left one sultry summer night, while she was sleeping off their most recent bout of lovemaking, without so much as a good-bye.Would it have killed him to wake her up and explain? Or just leave a damn note? Maybe pick up a phone?"It's because of Mom," Olivia said. "You're grieving for the woman she never was, and that's okay, Ashley. But it might help if you talked to one of us about how you feel."Weary rage surged through Ashley. She spun around to face Olivia, causing her sneakers to make a squeaking sound against the freshly waxed floor, remembered that her sister was about to have a baby, and sucked all her frustration and fury back in on one ragged breath."Let's not go there, Livie," she said.The kitten scrabbled at one leg of Ashley's jeans and, without thinking, she bent to scoop the tiny creature up into her arms. Minute, silky ears twitched under her chin, and Mrs. Wiggins purred as though powered by batteries, snuggling against her neck.Olivia smiled again, still wistful. "You're pretty angry with us, aren't you?" she asked gently. "Brad and Melissa and me, I mean.""No," Ashley lied, wanting to put the kitten down but unable to do so. Somehow, nearly weightless as that cat was, it made her feel anchored instead of set adrift."Come on," Olivia challenged quietly. "If I weren't nine and a half months along, you'd be in my face right now."Ashley bit down hard on her lower lip and said nothing."Things can't change if we don't talk," Olivia persisted.Ashley swallowed painfully. Anything she said would probably come out sounding like self-pity, and Ashley was too proud to feel sorry for herself, but she also knew her sister. Olivia wasn't about to let her off the hook, squirm though she might. "It's just that nothing seems to be working," she confessed, blinking back tears. "The business. Jack. That damn computer you insisted I needed."The kettle boiled, emitting a shrill whistle and clouds of steam.Still cradling the kitten under her chin, Ashley unplugged the cord with a wrenching motion of her free hand."Sit down," Olivia said, rising laboriously from her chair. "I'll make the tea.""No, you won't!""I'm pregnant, Ashley," Olivia replied, "not incapacitated."Ashley skulked back to the table, sat down, the tea forgotten. The kitten inched down her flannel work shirt to her lap and made a graceful leap to the floor."Talk to me," Olivia prodded, trundling toward the counter.Ashley's vision seemed to narrow to a pinpoint, and when it widened again, she swayed in her chair, suddenly dizzy. If her blond hair hadn't been pulled... Views: 24
