2014 RONE Award Finalist Philip Grant--overcome with regret for what he couldn't foresee and memories of what he couldn't prevent--abandoned all to live the solitary life of a fur trapper. Years spent roaming ridgelines and riverbanks in Montana Territory left his body weary and his confidence weak, so he decides to turn in his last bundle of furs and await the inevitable in a cabin. Alone. Then a body-shaped lump wrapped in a quilt changes everything. Philip discovers a battered woman and her infant son, on the run from a ruthless abuser with a penchant for whiskey. Seventy miles of snow-covered mountain peaks and windswept flatlands stand between them and safety--the woman's aunt's house. Can Philip trust in his newfound faith to lead the way?
Montana Territory, 1867 Graham Patterson, an accomplished veterinarian, is leaving Seattle and heading east to start a new life for himself. Opportunities abound for men who understand how to make the land work for them, rather than work the land. But after he overhears two scoundrels plotting to take advantage of a lonely spinster, his well-laid plans go awry. Willow Bennet lives with only her beloved dog to keep her company. It's a predictable life, until late one night when she foils an attack and her dog is wounded as revenge. Can she trust the mysterious stranger who insists he can help?
2015 Laramie Award Finalist Sometimes, the end justifies the means... Kate Davis arrived into Oregon City transformed from a pampered daughter of fortune into a determined woman with a plan--fulfill her father's dream of starting a horse ranch in Oregon Territory. She quickly discovers a harsh truth--even thousands of miles from home, on an unsettled land America doesn't yet own or govern, gender still takes precedence over ability. Refusing to be ruled once again by the stifling laws and societal norms she'd escaped by leaving Virginia, Kate begins creatively claiming what is rightfully hers. Until a visit to the land office changes everything. Jake Fitzpatrick guided Kate across the Oregon Trail, and fell in love with her along the way. Now he wants to marry her and build a life together, but a ruthless man from Jake's past threatens to reveal a dark secret, and destroy everything he's worked so hard to achieve.
2014 RONE Award Winner, Best American Historical 2014 Laramie Award Winner Kate Davis is intrigued when her father reveals his dream of starting a horse ranch in Oregon Territory. Settlers out west value a strong woman, and though she manages the financials of her father's mercantile her competence earns her ridicule, not respect, from Virginia's elite society. Jake Fitzpatrick, an experienced trail guide, wants land out west to raise cattle and crops. But dreams require money and he's eating dandelion greens for dinner. So when a wealthy businessman offers double wages to guide his family across the Oregon Trail, Jake accepts with one stipulation--he is in complete control. Departure day finds Kate clinging to her possessions as Jake demands she abandon all he deems frivolous, including her deceased mother's heirlooms. Jake stands firm, refusing to let the whims of a headstrong woman jeopardize the wages he so desperately needs--even a beautiful one with fiery green eyes and a temper to match. Trail life is a battle of wills between them until tragedy strikes, leaving Jake with an honor-bound promise to protect her from harm and Kate with a monumental choice--go back to everything she's ever known or toward everything she's ever wanted?