Fleeing scandal, stage sensation Savannah Reed swaps sparkles and satin for calico and wool to be Morrow Creek's telegraph operator. Through the wires she finds her new leading man, but when he arrives–shot and left for dead on her doorstep–Savannah suspects she's jumped out of the limelight and into the fire…. Detective Adam Corwin awakens to Savannah's bewitching smile, but she's mistaken him for her mail–order groom! Now Adam must tell Savannah that her future husband is a wanted outlaw and the danger's barely begun….
Valentine Silverton has enjoyed comfort and luxury his entire life. Then, all at once, the family fortune vanishes, and he’s a pauper. The only recourse he has is to find a wealthy heiress. But he doesn’t want to just find just any wealthy heiress. He wants to find one he can fall in love with. Since there are no suitable prospects in his area, he takes his friend’s advice and becomes a mail-order husband. Nelly Larson grew up on a farm, and she loves everything about it. She loves the life so much, in fact, that she got her own homestead. The last thing she wants is to be strapped to one of the men in town who think her place is in the kitchen. She’s going to keep her independence, and keeping her independence will require her to avoid marriage at all costs. Nelly’s sisters, however, can’t believe Nelly will truly be happy if she doesn’t get married. Romance, after all, is one of life’s most wonderful experiences. When they come upon Valentine’s ad, they know he’ll be perfect for her. So they take matters into their own hands and answer his ad on Nelly’s behalf. Valentine thinks Nelly is the one answering his ad, and at once, he’s intrigued by her. He has no idea what a homestead is, but he assumes that a young woman who owns land and runs her own business must have lots of money. Excited, he runs off to Omaha to marry her. The day comes when the two meet, and it’s at that time they realize they’ve been set up. Since Valentine has no money, he can’t leave Omaha. He has to marry Nelly. Even if she doesn’t have much, she has a place to live and food to eat. In exchange for marriage, he promises Nelly he won’t hinder her independence. Thankfully, she agrees to marry him. But Valentine kind of likes Nelly, and he’s determined to show her that some things are worth giving up total independence for…and love just happens to be one of them.
In the American media, Russian mail-order brides are often portrayed either as docile victims or as gold diggers in search of money and green cards. Rarely are they allowed to speak for themselves. Until now. In Dreaming of a Mail-Order Husband, six Russian women who are in search of or have already found U.S. husbands via listings on the Internet tell their stories. Ericka Johnson, an American researcher of gender and technology, interviewed these women and others. The women, in their twenties and thirties, describe how they placed listings on the Internet and what they think about their contacts with Western men. They discuss their expectations about marriage in the United States and their reasons for wishing to emigrate. Their differing backgrounds, economic situations, and educational levels belie homogeneous characterizations of Russian mail-order brides. Each chapter presents one woman’s story and then links it to a discussion of gender roles, the mail-order bride industry, and the severe economic and social constraints of life in Russia. The transitional economy has often left people, after a month’s work, either unpaid or paid unexpectedly with a supply of sunflower oil or toilet paper. Women over twenty-three are considered virtually unmarriageable in Russian society. Russia has a large population of women who are single, divorced, or widowed, who would like to be married yet feel that they have no chance finding a Russian husband. Grim realities such as these motivate women to seek better lives abroad. For many of those seeking a mail-order husband, children or parents play significant roles in the search for better lives, and they play a role in Johnson’s account as well. In addition to her research in the former Soviet Union, Johnson conducted interviews in the United States, and she shares the insights—about dating, marriage, and cross-cultural communication—of a Russian-American married couple who met via the Internet.
Seven women seek husbands to help them rebuild a Kansas town. Meet seven of Turtle Springs, Kansas’, finest women who are determined to revive their small town after the War Between the States took most of its men. . .and didn’t return them. The ladies decide to advertise for husbands and devise a plan for weeding out the riff raff. But how can they make the best practical choices when their hearts cry out to be loved? Abigail’s Proposal by Cynthia Hickey When her father never returned from the war, Abigail Melton stepped into his role as town mayor. The town needs men, and she needs a husband—and she has a big idea how to find both—but her first duty is to hire a sheriff. And drifter Josiah Ingram will do just fine. The Kidnapped Groom by Susan Page Davis Riding through the Flint Hills on his way to Dodge City, cowboy Sam Cayford finds himself the kidnapping victim of two children. When he meets their lovely mother, Maggie Piner—whom the kids insist he should marry—Sam starts to question God’s plans versus his own. A Clean Slate by Susanne Dietze Schoolmarm Roberta “Birdy” Green won’t marry any of the prospective grooms flocking to town. After losing her fiancé in the war, the only love her broken heart can bear is for her students. But then she takes on a new pupil—Drew Cooper, one of the gentlemen drawn to Kansas by the advertisement for grooms. Sunshine of My Heart by Darlene Franklin Debbie Barker longs to bring beauty to her new home on the prairie, where her family moved after the war, and seeks a husband to help her father run the ranch. Zack Gage returned home from the war to a life in ruins—family dead and business bankrupted. He answers the mail-order husband ad to seek a fresh start. But neither Debbie nor Zeke know what they are doing when it comes to ranching. . .or love. Come What May by Patty Smith Hall Chardy Stevens is at the end of her rope. Between running her late father’s store and tending to her four younger brothers, she barely has time to breathe, much less look for a husband to help her. The boys scare off most of her prospects and throw Chardy together with her childhood friend Luke, a disabled veteran who seeks her happiness above his own. Dime Novel Suitor by Carrie Fancett Pagels Widow Caroline Kane is the proprietor of a restaurant and inn—and responsible for her five teenaged siblings. But she has no plans of finding a mail-order groom. Britisher Barden Granville IV is on a “cowboy holiday” when he finds himself flat broke in Kansas. When he answers an old “help wanted” ad, Caroline misconstrues Barden is there as a potential husband. Will the beautiful and fiesty widow cause the new vicar to make Kansas his home? Louder than Words by Gina Welborn After years of writing abolitionist pamphlets and chronicling soldier life during the war, J.R. Lockhart is bored and jumps at the opportunity to investigate an advertisement for husbands for an article in Godey’s Lady’s Book. Jane Ransome would like to help the charming-but-oblivious-to-life-out-West man chronicle the courtships developing in town, but she has her own husband to find—one who will fit perfectly in her picket-fenced Kansas home.
"Find a husband in thirty days or lose the ranch when I die." Emma Marshall is stunned by her dying father's ultimatum. With Twin Oaks to run alone, she delays dealing with it, unaware of advertisements he placed seeking a groom. One by one, prospects arrive, spurred by the promise of control of a prosperous ranch and a beautiful bride. Angry, embarrassed and heartbroken by her father's tactics, she fights for her independence. Tyler Rountree acts on a request from his best friend and accepts the job of temporary foreman at the Marshall place. Surprised to find his new boss is a beautiful, jean-wearing, gun-toting woman with enough grit to go bear hunting with a switch, he happily accepts the job. Distracted by persistent suitors and a dangerous man intent on getting control of her ranch, Emma is totally unprepared for the instant attraction to Ty. Thrown together by chance, she can't help but wonder if he may be the answer to her problem. However, it soon becomes clear she knows everything about running a ranch, and nothing about being a woman. A world-weary Southern gentleman, a fiery, independent woman; will a marriage of convenience bring them happiness or more heartache?
Sandra Chastain returns to the richly sensuous Wild West as a case of mistaken identity leads to uninhibited passion and pleasure. Melissa Grayson desires nothing more than to teach art and poetry to the children at the private school founded by her father. But every trip Melissa makes into town drives the single men into such a frenzy that the local clergy and sheriff finally give her an ultimatum: marriage or jail. Prepared to make any sacrifice for her students, Melissa writes her New York pen pal—a sickly, sensitive scholar—to arrange a platonic union whose real commitment will be to education. Gambling man Lucky Lawrence is always up for a game of chance. But when a sore loser expects Lucky to pay with his life, even he wouldn’t bet on making it out alive—until he’s confused for a studious Harvard boy who’s engaged to the most beautiful woman Lucky has ever seen. Never one to deny a damsel in distress, Lucky happily plays the part. Melissa in turn is shocked to discover that her groom is so ruggedly handsome—with broad shoulders and teasing eyes . . . a man who just may show her a love she has always thought existed only in books.
Three brides for three rugged men. Rocky Mountain Wedding by Jillian Hart Melody Pennington fled to Montana for a new start as a mail-order bride. Gabe Brooks, handsome older brother to the man she was supposed to marry, helps her settle in. But what Melody doesn't expect is to fall for the rugged, closed-off lawman who swears he doesn't believe in love! Married in Missouri by Carolyn Davidson Lucas Harrison needs a mother for his sons. He's not looking for love, but he expects his wife to act like one—in every sense of the word! Elizabeth has always felt tall and awkward, but Lucas towers over her. He's strong as a bull, gentle as a lamb, and Elizabeth's heart soon begins to melt…. Her Alaskan Groom by Kate Bridges Newly trained midwife Sophie Grant had hoped marrying respectable John Colburne would be easy as pie. But he's tough, stubborn and cynical—except in bed with her at night! How can Sophie turn her passionate nighttime lover into a daytime husband who isn't afraid to show he loves his mail-order bride?
When Phoebe Durbin answers a mail-order bride ad, she doesn't realize the groom-to-be didn't post it. Worse, the day she arrives at her destination, she learns he doesn't even want to get married. Having nowhere else to go, she convinces him to give her a chance to prove having a woman cook and clean for him will be the best thing that ever happened to him. Abe Thomas reluctantly agrees to take Phoebe in, though he doubts they will make a good match. They're much too different. While she sees the best in things, he knows the world is much darker than she can ever imagine. No woman in her right mind would be his convenient wife. He's sure when the stagecoach comes back to town, she'll be the first one on it. After all, two people so completely different can't make a good match, can they?
Book 3 of Cowboys & Brides From New York Times and USA Today-bestselling author Carolyn Brown comes a contemporary Western romance filled to the brim with sexy cowboys, gutsy heroines, and genuine down-home Texas twang. Emily Cooper promised her dying grandfather that she'd deliver a long-lost letter to a woman he once planned to wed. Little does adventurous Emily know that this simple task will propel her to places she never could have imagined...with a cowboy who's straight out of her dreams... When sexy rancher Greg Adams discovers his grandmother Clarice has installed Emily on their ranch as her assistant, he decides to humor the two ladies. He figures Emily will move on soon enough. In the meantime, he intends to keep a close eye on her—he doesn't quite buy her story of his grandmother as a mail-order bride. A lost letter meant a lost love for Clarice, but two generations later, maybe it's not too late for that letter to work its magic. Fans of Linda Lael Miller and Diana Palmer will thrill to this charming story of a sexy Texas rancher and the mail order bride who brought him to one knee. Cowboys & Brides Series: Billion Dollar Cowboy (Book 1) The Cowboy's Christmas Baby (Book 2) The Cowboy's Mail Order Bride (Book 3) How to Marry a Cowboy (Book 4) Praise for Bestselling Contemporary Western Romances by Carolyn Brown: "Sizzling hot and absolutely delectable."—Romance Junkies "Charming...a smoking-hot romance...there's nothing sexier than a cowboy."—RT Book Reviews, 4 stars "Witty dialogue and hilarious banter... Carolyn Brown delivers yet another steamy cowboy romance."—Night Owl Reviews
What kind of woman would answer an advertisement and marry a stranger? Escape into the history of the American West along with nine couples whose relationships begin with advertisements for mail-order brides. Placing their dreams for new beginnings in the hands of a stranger, will each bride be disappointed, or will some find true love? Perfect for the Preacher by Megan Besing 1897, Indiana Fresh from seminary, Amos Lowry believes marriage will prove to his skeptical congregation that he’s mature. If only his mail-order bride wasn’t an ex-saloon girl, and worse, pregnant. The Outlaw’s Inconvenient Bride by Noelle Marchand 1881, Wyoming After a gang of outlaws uses a mail-order bride advertisement to trick an innocent woman into servitude, an undercover lawman must claim the bride—even if it puts his mission in jeopardy. Train Ride to Heartbreak by Donna Schlachter 1895, Train to California John Stewart needs a wife. Mary Johannson needs a home. On her way west, Mary falls in love with another. Now both must choose between commitment and true love. Mail-Order Proxy by Sherri Shackelford 1885, Montana A mail-order marriage by proxy goes wrong when a clerical error leads to the proxies actually being married instead of the siblings they were standing in for. In their quest to correct the mistake, the two discover outlaws, adventure, and even love. To Heal Thy Heart by Michelle Shocklee 1866, New Mexico When Phoebe Wagner answers a mail-order bride ad that states Confederate widows need not apply, she worries what Dr. Luke Preston will do when he learns her fiancé died wearing gray. Miss-Delivered Mail by Ann Shorey 1884, Washington Helena Erickson impulsively decides to take advantage of her brother’s deception and travels to Washington Territory in response to a proposal of marriage intended for someone else. How will Daniel McNabb respond when Helena is nothing like he expected? A Fairy-Tale Bride by Liz Tolsma 1867, Texas Nora Green doesn’t feel much like Cinderella when her mail-order groom stands her up. But could the mysterious jester from the town’s play be her Prince Charming? The Brigand and the Bride by Jennifer Uhlarik 1876, Arizona Jolie Hilliard weds a stranger to flee her outlaw family but discovers her groom is an escaped prisoner. Will she ever find happiness on the right side of the law? The Mail-Order Mistake by Kathleen Y’Barbo 1855, Texas Pinkerton detective Jeremiah Bingham is investigating a mail-order bride scam bankrupting potential grooms. When unsuspecting orphan May Conrad answers his false ad, she becomes the prime suspect in the case.
