Showing results by author "Cynthia Woolf" in All Categories

Ben Logan fell in love once, to a city girl who left him at the altar to run off with another man. A mail-order bride appears to be the answer to his need for a wife to warm his bed, as long as she loves the country life as he does. He doesn't need much, but he won't risk his heart again. When Emily arrives, her curves tempt him nearly as much as her smile. But his ex-fiancée is back, and determined to have Ben for herself, even if it means murder.

Nellie Wallace is a young widow with two children. In post-Civil War New York, the men are scarce and none want the burden of a wife with children. Her dead husband's family is wealthy, and cruel. Desperate to escape their influence, and eager for a home, a husband, and a stable life for her children, Nellie decides to make a new life in San Francisco as a mail-order bride.

Ed Talbot isn't husband material. He's an outlaw, was forced into his father's gang at the age of 13, and is wanted dead or alive in more than one territory. But now his father is dead, he hates the life, the blood, and his brother's rages. When a stagecoach robbery goes awry, Ed ends up with a satchel full of charming letters from an enticing young miss. Unfortunately for Miss Lizzie Cobb, her betrothed is now dead, and Ed Talbot sees a way out.

When her mother is killed by the crossfire in a gun battle in the city, Emma Rose Murphy has no choice but to accompany her aunt and uncle on their journey to Oregon. The trail is hard and full of hard people, but Emma Rose knows two things for sure. One, she's never going to fall in love and two, she will never be able to trust a man who carries a gun. When the handsome Noah Parker saves her from an unknown attacker in the dead of night, Emma Rose doesn't know whether to kiss him or run for her life. Former Marshal Noah Parker knows all about evil. First a Pinkerton agent, then a deputy ...

Working long hours in a New York City bakery is not at all what Sophia Hayes had planned for her life. When her fiancé breaks their engagement to marry her thinner, blonder, more beautiful sister, Sophia knows it is time to do something drastic, something completely unexpected. All she's ever wanted is to have a husband and family of her own. Agreeing to be a mail-order bride seems the perfect answer.

Cora Jones has a dilemma. She was engaged to be married but her fiancé Asa Woods was killed in the Civil War. She'd never been madly in love with Asa, but she did care for him deeply and grieved his loss. When she stopped grieving she decided she wanted to put everything behind her and became a mail order bride for Harry Belcher.

Jesse Donovan spent the last four years chasing gold, hoping to convince his New York fiancée to join him. He's now rich, successful, and eager for his wife-to-be to make the trip out west. But now that it's time to travel to Hope's Crossing and marry Jesse, the New York socialite sends him a letter informing him of her intention to marry another. Heartbroken and lonely, Jesse contacts Matchmaker & Co. for a mail order bride.

Civil war devastated the country and left Rachel Sawyer stranded in a dead-end job as a seamstress with no prospects for marriage. Men are thin on the ground in Massachusetts, so Rachel and her best friend travel west, to Seattle, with the handsome Talbot brothers. Jason Talbot, the eldest brother and wealthy owner of a lumber company, is so far beyond her reach that falling in love with him is the most non-sensical thing she could do. So, of course, she does. But after one sensual midnight encounter, Jason pushes her away.

Annie Markum grew up with a Bible in one hand and a disapproving father holding the other. At 22 she dared to dream of a different life and risked everything to become a mail order bride. One year later she finds herself on a friend's doorstep, penniless, pregnant, and a widow. Her husband was an honorable, churchgoing man, and she believes her father will allow her to come home. To get back to her father in New York will take money she doesn't have. She's got no choice but to accept work as a cook in a local saloon.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, so when Hannah Granger's little sister takes off for Oregon with a group of mail-order brides to meet her new husband, Hannah has no choice but to follow. She expects her sister to find trouble, and she does. But what Hannah doesn't expect is to fall for the hired gun traveling with the wagon train as they make their way along the treacherous Oregon Trail. The bounty hunter is tall, dark and dangerous, everything she's avoided her entire life. But when she begins to suspect criminals are riding just four wagons back, she'll do just about anything...

Ava Lewis is a jewelry maker, the only woman jeweler where she works or that she knows in the business. Ava opens her door to find her brother who immediately falls unconscious to the floor. When she gets him awake and onto the sofa, he tells her he's dying, wounded by a poisoned blade. He demands that she take his pouch full of jewels and run. The only option she sees is to sign up as a mail-order bride under an assumed name, Jane Smith.

Jake Anderson killed a man defending his fiancée from a brutal attack, but lost her and his freedom in the process. Now he's on the run, tormented by the need for vengeance. Becky Finnegan will do anything to escape her drunken father's fists, including slave away at their mine. Her only hope is to strike gold and make a new life for herself somewhere far, far away from Deadwood. But then Jake arrives and does the unthinkable... forces her to feel, to hope... and to love.

Five years ago, a band of outlaws murdered Josephine Shafter's parents and younger brother. Desperate for vengeance, Jo has spent every day since serving the law as a bounty hunter. But the trouble with justice served is that now that her family's killer has been brought in, she has nothing to do and no one to hunt. She decides it may be time for a new life and a fresh start. She longs for the arms of a strong man around her, and for a child of her own. But the Chicago dandies don't know how to kiss a woman who is tougher than they are.

Isabella Latham's callous father sold her into marriage to settle a gambling debt. Rather than face life with a cruel man more than twice her age, she runs from New York and becomes a mail-order bride. Bella's dreams are simple. All she needs to be happy is a home, children, and an honorable man to love her.

Amelia James grew up performing on the stage. Her stunning voice made her the darling of New York's theater district since she was 15. She's never been more than an asset to her mother, never been just a woman to the young up-and-coming men who want to use her to advance their own careers. Amelia loves to sing, but is willing to give up fame, fortune, and her future on the stage for just one thing...love. Convinced she'll never find what she needs in New York, she makes the decision to leave her life behind and travel to the other side of the country as a mail order bride.

From the day she was born, Rita Baxter's mother encouraged her to follow her heart. Filled with innocent dreams and faith that her hard work training to be a Prima Ballerina on New York's bright stage will lead to fortune and fame, Rita is crushed when she loses her mother and must take a job dancing in a burlesque chorus line to keep a roof over her head. Witnessing a brutal murder is the last straw. The police promise to keep her safe, but Rita has learned to be a realist.

Catherine Evans fell in love when she was three years old, a head-over-heels, forever kind of love. The very first moment she saw 12-year-old Duncan McKenzie, she told God and her pony that she was going to marry that boy. For 13 years, she loved him with every beat of her heart. And on her 16th birthday he walked away from her father's ranch and from her. And from that day forward, Catherine Evans swore off all men. Her heart turned to stone, her will to iron, and her vow to God changed. And she would never, ever love another man as long as she lived.

Julia O'Brien is a practical woman. A nurse and midwife, she was perhaps the most surprised when she fell in love with Dr. Matthew Reynolds and agreed to be his mail order bride. She sets off for Tombstone carrying his letters and a heart full of hope.

Lydia Granger thought she left a life of struggle and poverty behind. As a mail-order bride on her way to Oregon City, a secure future is assured. But when the wagon train arrives in Oregon City, she discovers her fiancé is dead and her dream of a safe future is shattered. Moments after her dream is stolen from her, a gift arrives. Her wealthy fiancé left her everything he had. Life for Lydia should be easy, but the truth is much darker and more terrifying than she could imagine, for her fiancé's death was no accident, and the man who took his life wants everything, all the dead man's ...

All Liam Anderson wanted after the War Between the States, was a little peace. After 17 years in the army, he's tired of fighting and killing. Having lost his beloved wife to influenza, he's tired of hurting. And seeing his baby brother framed for murder, he's tired of injustice. He left everything behind to help his brothers escape, packed up his children and possessions, and took them all to a gold claim in Deadwood.