Short Westerns

Hadleigh has known the Bishop twins all her life and they’ve never crossed the lines…until now. Admitting what she feels for Knox wouldn’t be so difficult if her childhood best friend Kane hadn’t confessed his feelings for her, too. Now she’s wedged between two brothers—one she could break and one who could break her.

Stranded on the side of a country road with a broken-down car, Rorie Campbell is grateful when horse rancher Clay Franklin comes to her rescue. Stuck in the quirky small town, Rorie gets to know Clay, and she quickly starts to fall for the gruff, tough cowboy. Can a city girl make it work with a country man? Kate Logan is understandably devastated when her former fiancé marries someone else instead. At the wedding, after one glass of champagne, she spontaneously—foolishly—proposes to her longtime friend Luke Rivers. And Luke agrees.

Available as a value box amazon.com/dp/B07Y2B5HJG (copy and paste the link into your browser) Join Emily from Marshall Manor as she prepares for a wedding she doesn’t want to go through with and find out what happens when her entire life changes in a span of a week. It’s a crisp autumn evening and the weather in Chicago is not the only reason for the chill in the air. Promised to an older man when she was just a young girl, Emily has now come of age and is forced to face a long-delayed reality. Living in Marshall Manor has been an exceptional blessing for Emily and her fellow orphan ...

A pampered daughter on the run, a rogue with an elaborate plan, and a relationship neither of them saw coming. Vivian Humble can’t believe her father has arranged for her to marry his business partner. The man is nearly as old as her father and just as shrewd. He’s played on her father’s good nature to convince him that he’ll take care of his daughter. Vivian knows he can’t because she’s heard the rumors of him sneaking around with numerous women of ill-repute. She can’t tie herself to a man like that, so she secretly plans to run away as a mail-order bride. Riker—just Riker...

A remarkable collection of stories, Bad Dirt is filled with the vivid characters for which Annie Proulx has become known. In every story in this book, Proulx displays her wit and her knowledge of the West, of history, and, most of all, of characters who must use sheer will and courage to make it in tough territory.

A rejected bookworm seeking a new life, a Pinkerton Agent wanting revenge for his brother's death, and an investigation that ties them together. Nadine Bradford's brother has turned her out, claiming he can't afford to take care of the bookworm spinster a moment longer now that he's married and has a family of his own. With nothing left to lose, Nadine answers a mail-order bride advert by the Pinkerton Agency. The only problem, they expect her to marry a man to work her first case. Josiah Bell is a seasoned agent, and he's avoided the preposterous mail-order marriages that have been thrust ...

A runaway Russian princess, a copper mine owner, and a secret baby that could ruin their chance at a happy marriage. Miriam Novikoff leads a sheltered life as a princess until her husband is killed and she is blamed for his death. In order to keep from losing her head, she flees to America, with only a handful of jewels to pay her way to freedom. On her trip out West, she realizes she’s pregnant, a complication she never planned on. Mark Bennett owns half of the largest copper mine in all of Arizona. He enjoys running the family mine and spending time with friends when he isn’t working....

A rickshaw driver dreams of being a Bombay movie star; Indian diplomats, who as childhood friends hatched Star Trek fantasies, must boldly go into a hidden universe of conspiracy and violence; and Hamlet's jester is caught up in murderous intrigues. In Rushdie's hybrid world, an Indian guru can be a redheaded Welshman, while Christopher Columbus is an immigrant, dreaming of Western glory. Rushdie allows himself, like his characters, to be pulled now in one direction, then in another.

Some people dream of a gentle retirement enjoying crochet or cricket, but for two sexagenarians, a more cadaverous future awaits… Newly retired teachers, Etta and Dora, take a walk along an old mule track connecting their mountain-top villages, each hoping to soothe the distress she feels at the paltry pension she will receive. Meeting at the fabled Witches’ Cave, they put aside their woes – the naked body of Sibilla, Castelmezzano’s beautiful witch, lies dead at the foot of the old oak tree. Did she plummet from the sky during a Sabbath flight as the superstitious locals are ...

Are you ready to unlock the secrets of their destiny from Bestselling Christian Historical author Katie Wyatt?In the enigmatic world of Teresa Milligan's unquenchable curiosity and an elusive adventure, a fateful correspondence with lawyer Pete Wentworth sets the stage for an enthralling journey. Teresa's insatiable quest for knowledge has led her down countless paths, yet adventure has remained a distant dream. Serendipity takes hold when her letters connect her to Pete, who resides in a town shrouded in legends of buried treasure. Their union promises not only love but also the allure of ...

Discover the answers in “Sunset Ridge”! A powerful story of love, heart-pounding, swoon-worthy romance filled with redemption, hope, healing, and the strength of a small town overcome the darkest trials? Cole Miles, Sunset Ridge’s most eligible bachelor, has sworn off marriage—until fate brings Irene Lopez into his life. A shy schoolteacher with a past she’s desperate to leave behind, Irene never expected a broken-down car to lead her to someone like Cole. But as sparks fly between them, Irene’s hidden past resurfaces, pulling Cole into a web of danger neither of them saw coming...

Duty and destiny collide on the prairie when lone, bachelor bounty hunter, Silas Jones dared express interest in marriage at his family’s Thanksgiving. Then his mother and his sister each provide him with a bride at the same time! Two unknown brides for one baffled bounty hunter. But when a vindictive outlaw abducts them for profit, Silas discovers one woman’s bravery could capture his lonely heart. An unexpected choice. A defiant stand. The wild frontier will test them all.

Elizabeth Lewis has always been a bit of a romantic. She longs for the day she’ll be swept off her feet and marry – but first, she must wait for her older sister Mary to find a husband. That’s simply the way it should be. When Mary agrees to an engagement with a rancher in Texas, agreeing to a binding contract with a matrimonial agency, Elizabeth has a feeling her own time is near. But disaster strikes at the last minute, when Mary disappears the day she is to travel to meet her prospective husband. Suddenly, in the confusion, Elizabeth finds herself stepping into her sister’s shoes...

She never expected to kiss an outlaw…and like it. While traveling to meet her intended, Kinsley Paulson is faced with a decision: stand up to the outlaw threatening to take all she holds dear or do as he says and kiss him. She does what she must to keep her family’s possessions. Kinsley throws her arms around the man and experiences her first kiss. And she enjoys it more than she should, especially since she’ll soon be saying her vows. Kinsley pushes aside the kiss that changes her life and meets her groom. She knows he’s hiding something. She won’t rest until she discovers his ...

Before he testifies in an important case, businessman Michael "Mikey" Fiore hides out in Jacobsville, Texas. On a rare night out, he crosses paths with softly beautiful Bernadette, who seems burdened with her own secrets. He hears whispers about a life-threatening condition, her solitary existence. This doesn’t stop him from wanting her, which endangers them both. Their bond grows into passion...until shocking truths surface. Plus, a classic story from the Men of Medicine Ridge series, Circle of Gold!

Can his mail-order bride handle the diversity that comes with her husband’s dangerous vocation? Together will they blend their opposing desires to create a recipe for love? Selah Anderson agrees to participate in a matchmaking service organized by her pastor and the orphanage's matron, where she spent most of her life and become a mail-order bride. The man of her dreams will share her love of creating delicious confections and running a successful bakery. People will come for miles to purchase her specialty-shoo-fly pie. Stagecoach driver Emerson Clark isn’t looking for love. But he ...

I was hanging out with some buddies, doing a little caving, when everything went south. When I woke up, I was in some kind of medieval dungeon. Totally naked and in the dark. Luckily, I had a neighbor in a cell near me. One with a decidedly sexy feminine voice. When she explained to me that she was due to be executed and I was in line to be brainwashed, there was only one thing to do. We had to escape.

Marry in haste, repent at leisure… Sadie Fitzsimmons must choose between total destitution and marriage by proxy with someone she’s never met. When Sadie steps off the train to meet her new husband for the first time, life in Nebraska is not at all what she had expected. Torn between honoring the vows she spoke to a stranger, and her desire to be free of all obligations, Sadie must face the consequences of her choices. Hamilton Foster had worked hard for his successes. All that was missing from his perfect life was a family of his own. Sending home to Boston for a wife seemed like a ...

A pampered debutante who's lost everything, a gruff Pinkerton Agent who doesn't work well with others, and a mail-order marriage that could blow up in both their faces. Gwendolyn Whitley was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. The daughter of a shipping titan, she’s never wanted for anything until her father dies and she finds out he only left her with a pile of debt. Now, she has no other option but to find a job to support herself. She remembers her friend, Nadine, wrote to her about her new life as a Pinkerton Agent. Gwendolyn wonders if she could be one, too? Bradley Holmes isn’t...

A collection of twenty-four adventure, western and humor stories by the short story author John T. Watts. This is the first of two volumes. Volume II being comprised of different subjects and genres.