As the U.S. descends into the Civil War, photographer Brenton Baldwin travels west with his sister Jordana, taking pictures of the developing lands and in search of their sister. Along for the trip is young Caitlan O'Connor, who has just arrived from Ireland. Will they make it to California to find their family despite the danger that looms ahead? And can early romance grow into love in the face of trials and tragedy?
Book Two in repackaged RIBBONS WEST Series While the Civil War is raging, Brenton Baldwin has promised to provide a safe escort to California for Caitlan O'Connor. But now that his heart is totally hers, how can he leave her once they finally arrive? Meanwhile, Kiernan and Victoria O'Connor struggle as his work on the Central Pacific Railroad keeps them separated for long periods of time. Then a devastating accident with explosives suddenly changes everything. What will this mean for all of them?
The Civil War has ended, and the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads are locked in a high-stakes competition to link the eastern states with their western counterparts. Jordana Baldwin's writing catches the attention of an eastern newspaper, and she takes on the guise of a man to report on the progress of the rail line...and to spy for the Central Pacific. She continues to correspond with Captain Rich O'Brian, who now works for the Union Pacific. When they meet again, romantic sparks fly, but Rich's past still looms between them. Will competing interests keep Jordana and Rich apart...or bring them together?
The year is 1835 and Carolina Adams finds herself enchanted by an unlikely suitor...the railroad. Frustrated by society's expectations upon her gender, she longs to study more masculine subjects and is thrilled when her father grants her a tutor. James Baldwin arrives to serve as Carolina's teacher, but of more importance, he is to court Carolina's beautiful older sister, Virginia. Will expectations--and Virginia's southern charm--elicit the hoped-for proposal? Or will James and Carolina dare to acknowledge the mutual interests and feelings growing between them?
In 1871, Kirstin Hallberg arrives in Duluth, Minnesota, to find the city council intent on building a canal and ensuring the city's rise to greatness. She's come to care for her elderly grandmother Lena Segerson only to discover Lena very full of life and full of secrets. For when Kirstin opens their front door one day, she finds the brother she long thought dead on the other side. Domar begs his sister to say nothing to their parents, viewing their grief as payment for falsely accusing him of bad behavior years prior and driving him from their Swedish village. Caught between her brother's wishes and the chance to ease her family's pain, Kirstin doesn't know which decision is right. When Domar's friend Ilian is hurt in an accident, Kirstin and her grandmother volunteer to care for him. Ilian struggles with his own bitterness toward his estranged father, heightened by his injured leg. He can now never return to logging, but the only other thing he really knows and enjoys is making Mackinaw boats--but that would force him to seek his father's help. As he recovers, a natural attraction starts between Ilian and Kirstin, but both are dealing with problems without easy answers. With no clear way forward, can love ever thrive and the past be forgiven?
With the loss of her first true love, Carolina Adams finds life at the family plantation nearly unbearable. Desperate to escape, she moves to Baltimore to become a nanny to Victoria, a little girl whose mother has died. After breaking his wedding engagement with Virginia Adams, Carolina's older sister, James Baldwin immerses himself in work for the B&O Railroad, the other passin in his life besides Carolina. But when a shocking business proposal is given to Carolina, James and Carolina seem destined to be apart. Can they dare to dream their aspirations for love might come true?
When James Baldwin takes a new position with the B&O Railroad, he and Carolina decide to move their growing family from Baltimore to a small rural town in the Allegheny Mountains. Carolina's stepdaughter, Victoria, becomes enthralled with handsome Kiernan, an Irish railroad worker. But will the upper-class Baldwins even consider him as a suitor for their daughter? And when tensions rise among the workers, can James stop a destructive plan before it's too late?
Elise Toussaint Hearne thought her devastating secret was safe--after all, her dark hair and complexion could mean she had French ancestry. But that did little to save her when it was discovered that her deceased mother was a runaway quadroon. Disowned and shamed by the Hearne family, Elise and her baby find themselves on their way to the wild frontier of Texas--as slave. When Elise inadvertently meets Benjamin Sinclair, a fiery evangelist determined to convert the lawless Texans, their lives become intertwined in the midst of tragedy--shattering their fragile existence and forcing them to discover the faith that sustains. This volume also includes the full-length novel Heaven's Road, the story of Micah Sinclair, the reckless but courageous stepson of Elise.
Eight lives are forever altered by the events of one day. Whether they were on the plane, or share a more distant connection, these four young couples find a dark mystery haunting their budding romances. Waiting for God to work everything out could be their biggest challenge yet. Locked by the past, CJ and Brad have only A Wing and a Prayer left to look toward the future. Wings Like Eagles are needed to pull Christy and Curt out of the grips of a tangled web. Cheryl and Erik have an unlikely chance to start over on the Wings of the Dawn. And, Debbie and Nathan receive A Gift of Wings, allowing forgiveness and healing to take place. The Denver air is filled with intrigue and romance in these three complete novels and one bonus novella, all by best-selling author Tracie Peterson.
