A Vow for Christmas

Weekenders Romance Watch

Spinster Mail-Order Brides Series Book 7

Author:  Linda Carroll-Bradd
Genre:  Historical romance
Buy: Amazon
 

Blurb:
Against his better judgment, Chad Rutherford advertises for a mail-order bride to take care of his household. As a widower, he’s had his great love and she died, so now he only wants companionship. But vivacious new wife Vika brings light and laugher back into his life until he’s ready to consider more for their relationship. Then a stranger threatens to rip away everything.

Enchanting Excerpt:
Mister Rutherford straightened. “We’d best collect your luggage. Come along, children.” He urged them forward.
 
She was left staring at the back of the three people who looked like a self-contained unit. Did room exist for her in any of their hearts? Shoulders drooping, she trudged behind them, wishing for a strong arm to lean on. On the platform near the freight car rested the trunk holding all her clothes, accessories, and valuables. Next to it were two wooden crates packed with kitchen items, linens, blankets, and her mother’s porcelain tea set. On top of the crates sat the wicker basket holding her beloved pet.
 
The baggage clerk lifted a hand. “Ah, Miss Vika. She’s been whimpering the last few miles.” He lowered the basket to the platform and worked to loosen the rope knot.
 
“Thank you, Mister Frederick, for all your good attention.” She reached into her reticule and pulled out a dime for his tip. Maybe extravagant but the clerk took good care of her Biscuit. Then she leaned down to drop her carpetbag before lifting the lid with one hand and slipping the other into the slim opening to grab Biscuit’s collar. “Calm down. I’m here.” Once she was sure the dog wouldn’t escape, she slid in her other hand to grab the leather leash and clipped it on. With a shove, she flicked back the lid.
 
Biscuit jumped out then shook herself before running her nose along the platform boards.
 
“What in blue blazes is that thing?” Frowning, Mister Rutherford pointed.
 
“She’s my dog, Biscuit.” Vika hurried to the platform edge and let her pet run down the four steps to the dirt to take care of her needs.
 
“You wrote nothing about bringing a pet.” He scoffed and waved a hand in the air. “And a scrawny dog, at that.”
 
After a moment, Biscuit hopped back to the platform then trotted toward the children, tail wagging like a flag in a stiff wind.
 
Her stomach rolled.
 
Both children looked at the dog then glanced at their father’s frown.
 
Would the presence of this surprise pet invalidate their agreement? Tiredness swamped her. “You never wrote that I couldna.” Needing the comfort of a warm being who loved her, she scooped up the dog, hugged Biscuit to her bosom, and kissed her furry head between her pointed ears. “Actually, you never wrote much of anything.”




Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/linda.carrollbradd
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/lindacarroll-bradd
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/linda-carroll-bradd

A Rancher's Woman

Weekenders Romance Watch

Author: E. Ayers
Genre: Mainstream Romance
Buy: Amazon


Blurb:
Coddled and protected from the harsh realities of life, Malene runs away from a bad marriage by posing as a chaperone to her younger sister. A series of events soon prove she's capable of standing on her own two feet. However, she's not prepared to follow her heart and accept marriage from the one man who truly loves her.


Enchanting Excerpt:
Mark jumped inside the moving carriage. Angelina screamed, which set off Clara and Sophia.

"This is the welcome I get?" Before Malene could open her mouth, Mark covered hers with his. Her fingers clawed at his shoulders as she took his breath. He whispered in her ear, "I have missed you, my beautiful woman of the sun."

Brownie snarled, and Mark held his hand for the dog to sniff. "It is good, my furry friend. No one else gets to do this to Malene. You understand that?"

The dog settled down as if he used to Mark to being there, but little Clara was curled into a tearful ball in Angelina's lap, and Sophia wailed.

He picked the toddler up and cuddled her in his arm. "Have you forgotten me?" He ran his finger over the child's cheek and over her bright reddish curls. "I brought you into this world, my darling. Your memory is too short."

Sophia looked up at him. Her tear-filled expression turned to a grin. His heart swelled. He had his child and his woman. His gaze turned to the pretty woman traveling with Malene. "You must be Angel-enna."

Malene giggled. "An-gel-le-na."

He rolled his hands palms up and repeated the name.

"Yes." The woman nodded as she spoke.

"Pleased to meet you." He reached over and tickled Clara, but the child screamed at his touch.

Malene pulled Clara into her lap. "This is Mark. He is different, but that is no reason to fear him."

Mark took the little girl's hand in his. "Yes, I am different because I am Apsáalooke, or of the Crow tribe. I am a man. My skin is darker than yours, but it is only skin."


Blog: http://ayersbooks.wordpress.com
Shared Blog: http://authorsofmainstreet.wordpress.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ayersbooks
 

Sympathy Dance

Weekenders Romance Watch

Author: Sue McConnell
Genre: Mainstream Romance
Buy: Amazon


Blurb:
Can Wyatt prove himself and win the girl of his dreams? A tender western romance proving that the course of love never runs smoothly.


Enchanting Excerpt:
"You could have said no." Cheyanne looked up at him with a pout on her pretty coral lips.

He looked down at her but quickly diverted his eyes when he couldn't ignore her cleavage peeking out of her silk top. He had never noticed how busty she was before. He swallowed hard and prayed she couldn't hear his heart pound.

She blinked her long lashes and he nearly groaned. These feelings weren't supposed to be happening. He had only agreed to come with Cheyanne because her big brother had laid it on thick begging Wyatt to take her to the dance. She had just returned home before the holidays and didn't have a date to the Red Reef annual New Year's Eve dance. Jess wanted to enjoy it with his bombshell girlfriend but if Cheyanne didn't have a date, his mother would have hounded Jess to take Cheyanne until his father grew sick of it and demanded the same. So Wyatt in a weak moment had agreed.

"I could have stayed home with Windswept." Cheyanne swept a wispy curl from her eyes.

Her hair smelled like vanilla and was pulled into a loose bun that let tendrils of curls frame her face making her big dark chocolate eyes pop. "Your horse? Am I that bad of a date that you'd rather be home with your horse?" He covered his heart. "I'm hurt."

She grinned. "There's the Wyatt I know and love. For a minute there I thought I was going to have to carry the whole night."

"Sorry." Was she wishing she hadn't come? "You could have said no."


Website: http://suemcconnell.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SueMcConnellauthor
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sue44mc/ 

 

Her Savage Heart

Weekenders Romance Watch

Author: Chandler Adams
Genre: Mainstream Romance
Buy: Amazon

Blurb:
Margaret knew that staying on the claim alone was not going to be easy, but she needed to stay behind and take care of the homestead while her father made the arduous trip to replenish their supplies. Margaret is forcefully abducted by a savage. Only after freeing herself and eventually helping her abductor does Margaret learn that the savage, Avonaco, had saved her from certain death. Through the course of time, Margaret and she finds herself becoming attracted to the Indian. She is willing to defy territorial law to love and be with him.


Enchanting Excerpt:
She hesitated before going back into the cabin. She had a wounded Indian in her home. She felt that she could comfortably nurse him back to health, but what was she going to do with him afterwards? Did she really want a healthy Indian in her home? She still did not know why he had tried to abduct her and, though she felt that he did not intend to kill her, she had no proof to the contrary. She realized that she may be inviting the cause of her own demise into her home.

Margaret shrugged off those thoughts and began the arduous task of getting the Indian into a bed. He would have to sleep in her father’s bed. Her room was in the loft, and there was no way she would be able to carry the Indian up the stairs to put him in her bed. The words “her bed” made her catch her breath. The thought of the Indian lying naked in her bed excited her in a way she had never felt before.

Finally, the realization struck her like a lightning bolt. She was attracted to the Indian. What a difference a few hours had made. At one point she was loading the rifle, wondering if she would be able to shoot him dead if needed. The next moment, she was fantasizing about having him in her bed, lying next to him, touching every inch of his body.



Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chandler.adams.3701
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ChandlerAdams22

Harmonica Joe's Reluctant Bride

Weekenders Romance Watch

A haunted house, a trunk and a date with destiny.

Author: Sarah J. McNeal
Genre: Mainstream Romance
Buy: Amazon

 
Blurb:
Lola Barton’s life has been chaotic and uncertain. When she inherits a rundown plantation, she believes her life has finally taken a positive turn. But, when she finds a mysterious trunk in the attic, it takes her into the past and to a man with dark secrets—and she’s married to him.

Joe Wilding carries his shame in his pocket in the form of a harmonica. The woman he thought he married to save her life, is beginning to break through his stoic wall and find the secret he hides. Loving her could be his ruin. Only time can tell.

 

Enchanting Excerpt:

Harmonica music floated down from the attic—the last place in this tumble down wreck of a house Lola Barton wanted to go.  Had someone or something taken up residence there?  Lola made her way up the darkened attic stairs measuring each step as the ancient boards creaked in protest under her feet.  Her flashlight beamed a narrow circle of light illuminating the cobweb-covered door at the top of the landing.  Her heart raced and pulsed in her ears.  Hands trembled with the surge of adrenaline as she pressed forward.  She ignored her inner voice that warned, “Don’t go!”

Her cynical mind told her the rumors that Misty Oaks Plantation had ghosts weren’t true.  The tales of murder and betrayal had to be the overactive imagination of the local townspeople.  A homeless vagrant had to be the most logical explanation for the disturbance. 

Once she gained the landing, she blew the cobwebs from the door and leaned her ear against it to listen for any movement on the other side.  Wisps of harmonica music lifted in the air.  Perhaps someone left a harmonica lying around and the wind blew hard enough through the cracks in the walls to make it sound as though someone played the instrument.  Just the wind.  No ghost.

With her courage bolstered by her logical conclusion, she grabbed the doorknob and turned it.
 


Harmonica Joe’s Reluctant Bride is also part of a 5 novel set from 5 western writers for the crazy price of 99cents. I’m not kidding—99 cents for A Cowboy’s Brand
Smashwords: 
http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=harmonica+joe 
Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Cowboys-Brand-Western-Romance-Novels-ebook/dp/B00QE9YJYE/



Website: http://www.sarahmcneal.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Starcriter

A Long Trail Rolling

Weekenders Romance Watch

Author: Lizzi Tremayne
Genre: Mainstream Romance
Buy: lizzitremayne.com

Blurb: 
She didn't expect to become a target, but she is one now!
Seventeen year old Aleksandra, trained in the Cossack arts from infancy by her father, finds herself alone and running to prevent her Pa's killer from obtaining a secret coveted by the Russian Czar, one which could alter the forces of power in Europe. Disguised as a Pony Express rider in 1860's Utah Territory, she finds herself in even deeper trouble when she rides full speed into the middle of the Indian Paiute Wars. Her Californio boss Xavier has a strength to match her own, but can they overcome their differences before the ever-increasing odds overtake them?


Enchanting Excerpt:
'Sguir! Aleksandra, stop!' Aleksandra heard Scotty bark, and then continue in a low, steady voice. 'Wouldn't move, 'f I was you, Xavier. Her da's Cossack-trained and it 'pears she is too.' Scotty chuckled.


She felt Xavier ease his hold on her, but he didn't let go, despite the blade at his neck.


'Now a nighean,' Scotty admonished her, 'Xavier's a charaid, a friend. He's been watchin' over ye for the best part of the afternoon.' 

She relaxed the death-grip on her shashka, removing its tip from Xavier's throat. Her gaze met his smooth cocoa eyes fringed by long, black lashes, crinkles of laughter showing at their corners. Aleksandra's bronze-skinned benefactor had the look of a dark Spanish lord.


'The vixen has teeth,' Xavier said with a grin.
Aleksandra gave him the ghost of a smile, then frowned at his hands still upon her. White scars crisscrossed his right one, and his knuckles. He let go of her and stepped back from her side.

'Well Aleks, feelin' better after yer little rest?' Scotty approached cautiously, removing the sword from her shaky grip. 'How 'bout a drink of water?' He reached for the filled mug. 'Ye ready to talk yet?'

She nodded slowly, eyes on Xavier.


'Where's yer da, Aleks?' Scotty's brow wrinkled, his voice tender. 

Aleksandra's heart sank as she struggled to sit up. Reaching for the proffered cup, she drank slowly. The liquid's coolness soothed her cracked lips and parched throat. Handing the vessel back, she wrapped her arms about herself tightly, chin to chest. When she swayed again, she dimly noticed Xavier moving closer, and was surprised to recognize that she didn't mind his all-too-familiar closeness.


'Papa is at rest,' she said haltingly, so softly they had to move in close, 'with Mama and my brothers.'

Website: http://www.lizzitremayne.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LizziTremayne/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Long-Trail-Rolling/588148927951917
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/lizzitremayne/

Jesse’s Find

 

 

Weekenders Romance Watch

Author: P. A. Estelle
Genre: Mainstream Romance
Buy: Amazon
  

Blurb:
Jesse Mason is bone tired and just miles from home when a strange sound drifting with a Kansas wind catches his ear. 

He spies something hiding in the tall grass.  His temper sizzles at the sight of a horse, dead from exertion, and is ready to string up the cowboy that has done this. What Jesse finds is no cowboy at all, but a woman who has been shot and an infant, both, he fears will not make it to his home alive.


Enchanting Excerpt:
What are you doing out here, little one?  I surely don’t know what to do with the likes of you.  A tiny hand came up to grasp his finger, dredging up painful memories that Jesse quickly shook away.





Website: www.pennystales.com
Blog: www.pennyestelle.blogspot.com
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Penny-Estelle/e/B006S62XBY

One Last Letter

 

Weekenders Romance Watch

Author: Pema Donyo

Genre: Mainstream Romance

Buy: Amazon

Blurb:

One Last Letter is the story of Evelyn Lancaster, a romantic hardened by reality, and Jesse Greenwood, a cowboy returning to what he left behind. The rough, reticent cowboy returns to Texas with new wealth to save his first love's ranch from financial ruin while she hopes for a second chance after she was forced to spurn him years ago. Will one last letter give them the courage to say yes to love on the wild Texas plains?

Enchanting Excerpt:

Evelyn Lancaster wanted to run away as fast as possible.

It was a mistake. It was one colossal, gargantuan mistake. Worse than Athens ordering the death of Socrates. Worse than Persephone being kidnapped by Hades. What did she think she was going to do? Seconds ticked by as she found herself unable to say anything more. Her mouth felt dry. What was she supposed to say?

He’d changed, more than she would have ever imagined possible. The boyish frame was filled out, and extra years working on the ranch had defined the muscles in his arms under his coarse brown shirt. He’d even grown taller—past six feet, she guessed. His shoulders were broader, and his cheekbones seemed more pronounced than before. His face carried even more of an aristocratic air, but his body seemed undeniably more masculine. 

Yet the expression was the same. Jesse Greenwood’s same reticent, admiring expression hadn’t changed as he continued to stare at her like she was hand-blown glass. His brown hair still flopped lightly in front of his eyes, causing him to brush it away. 

“Hey, Eve.”

She cleared her throat. She’d anticipated the awkwardness but not the simple difficulty in forming words. “I returned home a few hours ago. I thought I should stop by and say hello. Is Preston here? Are any of the other ranch hands here?”

Jesse blinked. The adoring expression morphed to one of disbelief. “Eve, did you get my letters?”

She bit her lip. “I did.” Evelyn resisted the urge to embrace him. Doing so would only make it harder to answer his questions with a lie. Instead, she stood rooted to the spot. She wouldn’t move a muscle; there was too much she could regret. “They were nice letters. Thank you. But I burned them.”

Website: http://pemadonyo.wordpress.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pemadonyo

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/pema_donyo

Cecelia's Second Chance

Weekenders Romance Watch

Can love survive betrayal?

Author: Sherrylyn A. Liburd

Genre: Mainstream Romance

Buy: Topazpublishing

Blurb:

Despite the status of blacks in the mid-1800s, Cecelia was determined to have a nice house, fine clothes, and the respect of her community. To have those things, money was needed. She would work as hard as she could, and nothing would stand in her way. If deception was needed to get what she wanted, then so be it.

When Cecelia's greed and deceptions causes her husband to be thrown in jail, Cecelia wakes from her fog of self-indulgence. Will God forgive her? Can she find forgiveness from a husband whose passions have turned to hate?

Enchanting Excerpt:

One week later, Cecelia packed her things.

"Celia?" Ruth called, coming into the room Cecelia shared with her daughter, Angel. "What are you doing?"

"I'm packing." Cecelia avoided Ruth's eyes.

"I can see that. Why are you packing?"

As Cecelia pulled Ruth's hands from the pockets of her apron, she sighed. "Come here, and sit down."

She pulled Ruth to the bed and sat next to her. "Ruthie," she said, in a coaxing voice, "there is nothing wrong with what I'm doing. I just decided this was best for me. Now, you can put the baby back in this room, and then you and Sam's room won't be so cramped."

"Tell me what you did, Celia." Ruth's voice held an accusatory tone.

Before Cecelia continued, she hesitated a second. "I'm moving into the Somers' house."

"What?" Ruth exclaimed, jerking her hands from Cecelia's. "You know how Joshua feels about that. When he finds out, he's going to be so angry. And Sam? What am I going to tell Sam?"

Celia pounded her fists in her lap. "Stop it, Ruth. I'm a grown woman and fully capable of making decisions on my own, contrary to what my husband, or yours, believes." Cecelia stood, and then paced the small area. "Captain Somers offered me a higher salary if I'd take on extra duties."

"And that means you have to live with them? Wait." Ruth raised her palms. "Captain Somers offered you the extra money? I thought you worked for Mrs. Somers. Doesn't he leave the staffing of their home to her? Where does he come in?"

"I don't know, Ruthie. I don't care." Celia stopped in front of Ruth. She placed her hands on her hips. "It's more money, and I'm going to take it."

With a helpless expression, Ruth threw up her hands. "Celia, everyone could use more money. God knows Sam and I could. That's one of the reasons, besides you being my best friend, we took you in."

"Oh, Ruthie…"

Website: http://www.sherrylynliburd.webs.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sherrylyn.liburd