Susannah Calloway

Two years ago, Quincy Sinclair lost his beloved wife. He walls off his heart, placing his attention solely on his cotton crops and raising his two young children. He counts heavily on his sister's help, not only with running the home, but in caring for his traumatized children-particularly his son who hasn't spoken since his mother's death. When Quincy's sister announces her betrothal and imminent move across the country, Quincy is frantic. How can he survive without Helena's help? But Helena has an idea. She sends for a Mail Order Bride for him. At first angry, Quincy finally agrees to a marriage of convenience. But Alma Fairman has different ideas. She wants romance, a beau who loves her, and a real marriage. So when she gets to Arkansas, she is devastated. Quincy's two beautiful children are her only consolation. When she succeeds in getting Quincy's son to talk, she prays that this might become the catalyst that sparks affection between herself and Quincy. But she is completely unprepared for his reaction. And then tragedy strikes. It seems like Alma will never find the love she desires. Nor will Quincy-unless he's courageous enough to open up his heart one last time.

When his young wife dies unexpectedly, Jed McBride has a tough time looking after his young daughter, Josie. He decides to send for a Mail Order Bride, hoping to find someone to help take care of his little girl. Across the country, Estelle Morrow is desperate to get away from the Slate Gang and their ruthless leader, Amos. As a young girl, she joined her brother as a member of the gang, but now wants nothing more than to escape the life of crime. After fleeing the gang, Estelle ends up at Jed McBride's ranch due to the most fortuitous of circumstances. Jed believes she is the bride he sent for. Estelle finds herself fitting into life at the ranch, bonding with Josie and unexpectedly falling in love with the handsome Jed. But her past haunts her, and she soon faces threats on her life and on the lives of those she loves.

Molly Stone is in a predicament. A young socialite from Boston, she is shocked and dismayed when her father announces he has sold her into a marriage to settle his financial debts. Worse yet, the man she is to marry lives in the wilds of Nebraska. Despite her misgivings, Molly takes the train to Nebraska and is met by her fianc . But within a day, he shows his true colors, and Molly is forced to flee in the middle of the night during a snowstorm.U.S. Marshal Jake McDonald has a problem. He's home from Kansas for his father's funeral and has to decide what to do about his mother and sister. Dare he leave them alone to try and run the farm themselves or should he stay and give up being a lawman? His situation grows even more complicated when he finds an unconscious woman in the snow and takes her home to recuperate. When it turns out she has amnesia, he is left to solve the mystery behind her appearance at his farm.Christmas is coming and Jake and Molly are quickly falling in love. Molly, feigning the amnesia, can't tell him the truth about herself, though, and doesn't know what to do. Will their Christmas dreams come true or turn into a nightmare?

When two young people are forced together by their older siblings, can they find love and happiness? Ezra Tobias cannot inherit his brother's ranch, nor become the permanent guardian of his niece and his nephew, unless he marries the sister of his late brother's wife. Ruby Berkley receives a posthumous letter from her sister, asking her to marry her husband's brother-which Ruby isn't about to do. She sets out from her native Boston to New Mexico with the express purpose of taking her sister's children back home with her. But in doing so, she condemns Ezra Tobias to losing his ranch and his family. Can she face the responsibility for causing someone to lose his home? Ezra finds in Ruby a beautiful and spirited woman, but he wonders whether a wealthy Boston socialite would ever marry a working man like him. But then why did she come out west if she has no intention of marrying him? When Ezra discovers her reason, it threatens to tear apart his family and break his heart in the process. However with matters of the heart, nothing is ever certain.

Ned Chapman returns from the war with scars marring him both inside and out. As a result, he loses both his wife and his zest for life. Trying to lessen his suffering, his mother and sister order him a Mail Order Bride for Christmas. They pray the agency will find the right woman to restore Ned's interest in living. Of course, they don't tell Ned what they've done. Lily Lockhart bears scars of her own. She grew up in an orphanage and now works there, but an urge for adventure causes her to leave her tedious life behind. After all, nothing is keeping her in Philadelphia. She yearns for a fresh start out west-and becoming a Mail Order Bride is the perfect way to get it. When Lily discovers she's been tricked, she is in turmoil. How can she tell Ned the truth? Can their fledgling love possibly heal both their scars and give them the new beginning they so desperately need?

Alice Thompson leaves her past behind when she boards a train to Sheridan, Wyoming. She is a Mail Order Bride, desperate to move on from the grief of a late husband and an unsatisfying life in New York. As she travels, her train is robbed, and Alice's journey is cut short by a shocking revelation. William Conway, a US Marshall with a permanent, undisclosed affliction, becomes Alice's savior and takes her to the orphanage where he grew up. Martha, the matron of the orphanage, welcomes Alice into their home. Soon, strong feelings between William and Alice blossom. But when the truth unfolds just before Christmas, emotions flare and relationships still being built are broken. The love between Alice and William is pitted against the wealth and power of a despicable man intent on having his promised Mail Order Bride. Is the struggling, yet growing love between Alice and William strong enough to win against the man who is determined to have Alice at all costs?

When Deryn Kavanaugh's father and stepmother announce that she is to marry a wealthy attorney in Rutger Creek, Arkansas, Deryn is both devastated and terrified. Upon arriving in Arkansas, her worst fears are realized when she discovers that Rex Gilbert, her fianc , is not an attorney at all, but a ruthless saloon keeper. She is put to work waiting on drunks and men who mistreat her. When the aggressive behavior goes too far, Deryn is injured. Wes Branson, a local bounty hunter, and the local sheriff witness it, and Wes takes Deryn home to his family. Though Deryn has escaped potential marriage to Gilbert, she has little choice but to go back to work for him. As time goes on, she and Wes fall in love. But Wes must continue chasing down outlaws if he is to buy the ranch of his dreams. How can he marry now? Meanwhile, Gilbert is not finished with Deryn and will have her for his own-and Wes Branson better not get in his way.

Amanda Olsen is running out of options. Raised in the home of the rich Ramsey family, she's been working as a maid for Luella Ramsey, once her best friend. But now that Amanda is growing more beautiful by the day, jealousy has sullied their friendship. Luella is determined to get rid of Amanda at any cost - even if it means paying off a Mail Order Bride agency to ship Amanda out west, where there is no husband waiting for her. Half-Apache, half-white, Levi Fletcher has never been accepted by the townsfolk, but ever since his father died, he's the only doctor left in Santa Fe, New Mexico. When the sheriff brings a half-dead young woman to his door, Levi knows he has to help her. What Levi doesn't know is how quickly and how completely, he's going to fall in love with Amanda Olsen. Lies, villainous outlaws, and Amanda's fear of the future can't stand against the Christmas miracle that's in store for both of them..

Henry Watson's young wife is killed in a tragic accident less than a month after their marriage, and Henry buries his heart with her. His parents pray Henry will find a new love. When his ailing father begs him to get married by Christmas, Henry can't disappoint the old man, but he also can't love another woman. He will settle on a marriage of convenience and send for a Mail Order Bride. Kitty Clarke's husband and father of their twelve-year-old daughter Faith died two years ago at Christmas. When Kitty loses her factory job, she can't support herself and Faith. She investigates a Mail Order Bride agency and hears that brides should be unencumbered by children. Kitty decides there is just one solution: claim Faith as her younger sister and not her daughter. After Kitty arrives in Montana, she falls in love with Henry and prays that someday, he'll feel the same way toward her. As Christmas approaches, Kitty's lie about her daughter is exposed. Now, there seems little hope of her ever gaining Henry's affection or finding any kind of happy ending...

Tina Bosworth, the daughter of a rich businessman, is bored. With a quick and sharp mind, she and her best friend Leah find ways to entertain themselves. As a joke, they send Tina's photograph and introductory letter to The Matrimonial Times, advertising her as a Mail Order Bride.Nothing comes of it... at first. But two years later, John Bernett, a simple but honest farmer, shows up at her door with high expectations and her photograph gripped in his hand. A hardworking man, John is heartbroken when he is soundly rejected. Desolate, he leaves his farm to find work in the city of San Diego. Though he never stops thinking of Tina, life goes on. He makes a fortune with his new employer Raymond Cabanne, and he begins to court Cabanne's daughter, Rachel.Everything unravels when John and Tina cross paths again. With his affection dormant but not forgotten and Tina charmed by the changed man, the two have potential for a great love together... But with John's commitment to Rachel and Tina's past knocking at her door, can these two find a way to each other?

Callie Forbes is tired of waiting tables, tired of pushy men and cranky customers, tired of it all. She decides to become a Mail Order Bride, and the agency finds her an ideal husband in Kansas. But when she arrives, she discovers her fianc is an outlaw with devious plans. If she doesn't do exactly what he says, her family will suffer. So, Callie schemes to deceive and distract Sheriff Ben Daugherty of El Paso, Texas.When lovely Callie Forbes shows up on Ben Daugherty's doorstep claiming to be his Mail Order Bride, he's confused. He didn't place an advert but here she is, complete with paperwork. He's initially suspicious that there could be a link between her and the Ramsey Gang he's been chasing for two years, but what is it?Things worsen when Callie finds herself falling in love with the handsome sheriff, but he's still grieving the fianc e he lost two years before when she was caught in a shootout with the Ramsey gang. Callie despairs her fate. If she confesses the truth to Ben, her family will be harmed. But if she doesn't confess, Ben could die. Is there any way out for her?

After her father passes away, Jodie Wines is lonely and overworked. Her stepmother, a vain and lazy woman, leaves Jodie to do everything. Jodie's one consolation is that she still lives in her father's house, her childhood home in Boston, the town she loves. But when she discovers her stepmother's plot to marry her off to an odious merchant, Jodie flees west to become a Mail Order Bride.Ainsley Milligan is rich. Living on the ranch he loves is fulfilling but isolating. After having his heart broken by a cheating, money-hungry woman, Ainsley fears trusting any woman. When his friend advises him to send for a Mail Order Bride, he finally agrees-but he can't take the chance of being conned again. He'll have Jodie Wines prove her love to him, and only then will he tell her the truth of his wealth.But things quickly get out of control... and Ainsley's plan of secrets and mystery is now backfiring. The woman he's come to love is leaving him, and it's all his fault.

Doc Tyler Morgan can't heal himself. He was madly in love with his fianc e, but she died from a mysterious illness, and he couldn't save her. He couldn't save his parents, either, when they were injured in the crossfire during a bank robbery. Now he is alone, except for his sister Allie, who is about to marry and move to Montana.Juliet Monroe works in a dead-end, hateful factory job in Boston. She knows midwifery and herbal healing, but she was lured to the factory job with false promises of good money and golden opportunities.Allie doesn't want to leave her brother alone in Colorado, so she secretly places an advert to get him a Mail Order Bride. Juliet answers the ad only to discover Tyler is completely in the dark about their impending marriage. Juliet fears she's just traded one unbearable situation for something even worse...