Hope Ladley roams the Texas countryside in 1891 as an itinerant cook. When she arrives at Stauffer farm, she knows this is the place the Lord wants her to be. Jakob Stauffer, while grateful for a cook to assist his sister and young daughter, is baffled by Hope's unconventional methods. Yet he can't deny that her sunny disposition is making changes in his own heart.

Woman physician Taylor Bestman receives a cold welcome from the citizens of Gooding, Texas, and especially from Karl Van der Vort, the town blacksmith, who becomes her first patient ... against his will. Though hesitant to believe in Taylor's doctoring skills, Karl finds himself oddly protective of this surprising and determined woman.

"Big Tim" Creighton is determined to turn foppish "Fancy Pants" Hathwell into a man before the boss--Hathwell's uncle--returns home, unaware that Sydney is actually a woman in disguise, running away from an arranged marriage.

As a nanny, Millicent Fairweather poured her energy and talents into the two young charges under her care--only to have them suddenly and without explanation sent to a boarding school. Bereft and unsure of where life will lead her, she agrees to accompany her sister and brother-in-law to America. They board the Opportunity, confident a better life awaits. Widower Daniel Clark determines to begin life anew in Gooding, Texas, operating a mercantile....

A young widow, Lovejoy Spencer has experienced the worst that marriage can offer. Now she is determined to make sure her younger sister and two friends are not about to make the same mistake when they travel across the country, intent on marrying three brothers. Daniel Chance is a surly widower lost in grief over his wife's death years earlier. Even if he were interested in her, Lovejoy knows their friendship could have no future because she must

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"The only remaining woman in Carver's Hollow, Maggie Rose has cared for a ragtag of old men for years, bartering for a living and making soaps, lotions, and perfumes from a special rose recipe passed down for generations. She hasn't wanted to marry--at least that's what she thought. But when a strapping young man arrives on Maggie's doorstep, searching for a doctor for his ailing mother, life suddenly changes for the dark-haired beauty. Todd Valmer...

Anything can happen when four meddlesome, retired Texas Rangers try their hand at matchmaking. After Peony Potter sweeps into Cut Corners, Texas, a crime wave hits town. When the sheriff begins his investigation, he finds that all clues lead to her door. Newcomer Lacey Mather is warming hearts and stomachs at Millie's Diner. But come Christmas, she'll be heading back North unless a closemouthed blacksmith with a will of iron can change her mind. Erik...