When newly widowed Hattie Rommel chooses a second husband, she doesn't expect him to fulfill her most secret dreams. She just wants him to take her to Oregon.Emmet Lachlan marries Hattie with the understanding that he will be free to leave her behind, once she is safely in Oregon. He is a wandering man, not a settling-down farmer. Then an old trapper bequeaths them a map to a valley where gold lies on the ground for the taking.While Emmet and Hattie gather the gold, they also discover each other. Even lost in love's magic, they both know it cannot last. When they run afoul of murderous renegades, they must flee across untamed mountains to the hidden valley Hattie calls Cherry Vale. In the home she's always longed for, Emmet discovers a peace he's never sought. The end of summer means they must resume their interrupted journey. Can Hattie leave the only place that's ever felt like home? And if she does, will Emmet give up looking for what's on the far side of the hill?

Silas Dewitt, newly arrived in an Idaho gold camp, saves two Chinese boys from a mob of drunken miners. But one of them turns out to an independent, stubborn, lovely woman who decides her role is to protect him.Soomey, shaped by poverty and sexual slavery, sees Silas as her means to freedom and independence—until she falls in love with him. Knowing that she is assisting in her own heartbreak, she guards his back as he searches for a cache of gold nuggets.A vicious killer stalks them both, hating Soomey for her race, Silas for his wealth. Silas faces him in a desperate knife battle, but is too late to save Soomey from painful torture. Scarred in body and soul, Soomey tries to leave him. Can Silas holds her with passion, tenderness, and a promise of eternal love?

A Behind the Ranges StoryLuke and Katie Savage, newly married and at the end of a danger-filled and arduous journey, finally reach Boise City, where her family awaits them. They both are tired and ready to rest. Katie is excited because Christmas is next week and they'll spend it with her family. Luke isn't sure he's ready for a family celebration, especially when everyone—perhaps even Katie—is a stranger to him. Holidays should be happy events, but when you're odd man out, it's hard to get into the spirit of the season. But Katie loves him, so Luke will do his best.

In all his wanderings, Buffalo Lachlan has only once before seen eyes winter-sky blue like Siri Trogen's. He promised a dying man he'd find a lost twin, and he's been following nebulous clues and vague rumors halfway around the world ever since. His search leads him to Astoria, Oregon, the cold, rainy winter of 1873.Could Siri be the lost sister, heiress to a barony? Before Buff can find proof, he becomes caught up in her hunt for her stolen children. Inexplicable accidents and unexplained disasters complicate their efforts. Is someone trying to prevent Siri from finding her children, or him from finding the missing heiress?Shared danger drives them into each other's arms. Shared adventure teaches them that they each have a streak of recklessness, a core of courage, and a heart full of love to share. But before they can make any decisions about the future, they have to find Siri's children, prove she's the lost baroness...and stay alive.

A marriage of convenience. How dreadfully inconvenient...Lisanor needs a husband willing to marry her immediately, but he must agree to an outrageous condition. Guillemot is all but bankrupt and Clarence, the new marquess, has no choice but to marry for money. She is trained to manage a great estate, he to command a regiment, and neither is willing to give an inch. One of them must yield if they are to work together, to live together, perhaps even to love together.

Independent Katie Lachlan has caught the eye and heart of a rich suitor who won't take no for an answer. Luke Savage killed a man in a gunfight and swears he'll never carry a handgun again. A strong attraction and mutual dependence link them together for a journey along the brand new transcontinental railroad, as she flees the suitor who stalks her and he runs away from his past. Instead of safety, they find new danger as they are forced to travel on foot across a wintry landscape. While Katie learns that independence is no match for force, Luke discovers that saving Katie is more important to him than the vow he made. Striving together against wilderness, gunfighters bent on retribution, and a frontier town on the brink of riot, they find their strength, their convictions, and their very love tested by adversity and danger.

Two sisters, one Season. Chloe won't be content with her first Season unless she catches the eye--and the heart--of the ton's most wealthy, most handsome, most interesting bachelor. And she has no intention of sitting around waiting to be noticed. Phaedra just wants the Season to end so she can return to the country, unburdened with anything so useless as a husband. The only thing interesting about London is its cultural treasures, which she intends to sample liberally. The men in the sisters' court aren't quite sure what to make of them. Lord Wilderlake is intrigued, Mr. Dervigne intends seduction, the Earl of Everingham is enchanted, Mr. Martin wants a big sister, and Reggie Farwell is merely amused. Faced with such an assortment of suitors, how can Chloe and Phaedra realize their dreams? Only time--and the course of true love--will tell.

World-class bicyclist Stell McCray dreams of riding in the Sawtooth Classic, a women's race as challenging as the tour de France. Sidelined by a serious accident, she concentrates on recovering her strength and her edge. Adam Vanderhook, sportswear manufacturer, thinks she'd be better off modeling and endorsing his new line of CycleWear. He knows what the cost of being best in the world can be. When Adam seeks a place at the center of her life, Stell has to decide whether she wants him more than the dream she's had for so long. If Stell qualifies for the Sawtooth classic, Adam knows he'll lose her. Or will he? Might there be a life for them after the race?

What do an archaeologist from Back East and a cowboy from the empty corner of Oregon have in common? Not much, except the waterhole that Rock McConnell needs for his cattle and Genny Forsythe must approve. First she has to make sure there are no prehistoric petroglyphs near the site, and that could take months of study. Now Rock isn't against preserving the past, but his cattle are gettin' mighty thirsty. Genny's youthful dreams were filled with cowboys, tall, lean, laconic, and Levi'd. Rock is all of them rolled into one gorgeous, virile man. Trouble is, she's had her fill of dominant males, and Rock is about as dominant as they come. Rock knows that delicate, feminine women can't last in the harsh environment of Owyhee Country, pretty women like Genny, with silvery hair and painted fingernails. But his body sings another tune, one of immediate, demanding hunger for her kisses--and more. Love will not be denied. Someone's got to bend, but who, and how much?

Sixteen-year-old Merlin Lachlan dreams of knight errantry, but with only one eye, doubts he'll ever be more than a squire--a knight-in-training. He soon has the opportunity to play the hero when he befriends Calista Smith, a girl-child traveling alone to her father in Montana. Eight years later Merlin receives a telegram from Callie, a cry for help. Her father is taking her to an unknown destination, possibly to a fate worse than death. Abandoned at the depot in Cheyenne, along and virtually penniless, Callie finds work. When Merlin arrives he finds not a damsel in distress but a woman standing on her own two feet. Still, she is Callie, and he has a tender memory of her. As she has of him. Merlin weds Callie to ensure that her father will have no more control over her fate. Thwarted, Lem Smith seeks revenge and ends their brief idyll with fire and blood and terror. Afterward Merlin has no memory of her, beyond what his friends tell him. Callie is captive and helpless. Each believes the other dead. Time heals most wounds, but not broken hearts. Callie escapes from her father and builds a life for herself. Merlin returns home, all of his youthful dreams shattered. Until a child's smile awakens old memories, and a family calls to its own.

Every family is dysfunctional in one way or another, but mostly the Blankenships get along in spite of themselves. Cecile, the family matriarch, has invited (read commanded) everyone to a family reunion at the ancestral ranch near Yellowstone. Annie brings inconsolable sorrow, Hetty dreads her parents' reaction to her latest lover, Evan has a secret, and Serhilda wants to be anywhere else. With four generations living in each others' pockets, everyone expects bickering, spats, hurt feelings, and perhaps a few secrets finally revealed. When the week is over, even Cecile wonders if the reunion brought the family closer together, as she had hoped, or created rifts so great that they'll never be mended.

Seeking to fill a heart left empty by the death of her fiancé, Madeline Pierson conceived twins by artificial insemination. She needed something--someone?--to make life worth living. One foolish night with Erik Soloman brought her both healing and guilt, so she did her best to forget him. Eight years later they meet again, to discover that time has not lessened the fiery attraction between them. When Erik encounters Madeline's son, he sees his own face--the twins must be his. Now Madeline is forced to face her feelings about him--how closely is she willing to let him share in her children's lives? Does Erik, who has never really had--or wanted--a home, have the staying power to be the man she needs? And will he?

Victim of brutal rape, Flower Jones longs for refuge in England, where she believes she will be safe. But she reckons without William King, an escaped slave, who wants her for his woman. Although he could live free in Cherry Vale, where no one will ever whip him again, William follows her as she travels to a seaport, risking capture as an escaped slave. The raw gold they carry excites the greed of outlaws, who force them to fight for their lives. Face to face with death, will Flower realize how precious life —and William—are to her?

Neither Gabe nor Regina was looking for danger...when it found them. Regina Lachlan isn't a good traveler. She's prone to motion sickness. So why does she agree to chaperone two young ladies to England and France? Gabriel King is an agent for a quasi-official organization dedicated to eradication of white slavery and drug dealing throughout the world. His base is Italy, so why is he being sent to Paris? He doesn't speak French. Gabe and Regina have known--and loved--each other all their lives. While he would be happy to carry her off to his Italian villa, she can't imagine abandoning her career and living in an strange land. She likes a placid, uneventful life and can't understand how he can enjoy his silly spy games. When Gabe is betrayed to his enemies, a dreadful coincidence endangers Regina and her charges. What happens next will challenge both of them, and its outcome could break their wills...and their hearts.