Short Stories/Novellas

When Lisa Archer’s charm bracelet is caught in a mall escalator, she is rescued by a flippant but dashing EMT. Steve Rollins seems to understand only too well Lisa’s mixed feelings toward her escort, Dr. Bryan Cooper, who gave her the bracelet. Lisa and Steve meet again, and the sparks fly. Steve is sure Lisa hates him, and Lisa can’t help comparing vibrant Steve to mediocre Bryan, although Steve makes her furious every time she sees him. This sweet romantic novel has elements of Christian faith.

Amelia Mayberry’s rewarding career as a matchmaker is winding down. She’d like to close shop and spend her sunset years in peace. There’s only one unfinished piece of business—an unsatisfied customer for whom she needs to set things right. Her late husband's friend wasn't happy with the potential bride Amelia sent his way, but she doesn't know why. The question is, will Lennox Bailey allow her to find him a new candidate?

Bat Wilson is a hardworking cowboy who fancies the boss's poetry-writing daughter, Rilla Lane. His coworkers tease him relentlessly when they find his poor attempts at creating poetry. Rilla has seen Bat's heroic side in the way he treats both people and animals, but will he be able to act bravely enough when real danger comes to the ranch?

In 1880 Texas, Abigail's little sister, Ellen, has been kidnapped by a band of ruthless men. Her father was critically injured trying to stop them. When neighbors arrive, revealing that another child was also kidnapped, nineteen-year-old Abigail insists on riding with the men in pursuit of the outlaws. Sam Hardy, 21, is with the recovery party, and from him, Abby learns the captors were sent specifically to kidnap his little brother, Pablo. Now the kidnappers are heading for the border, and Sam and Abigail won't give up until both their siblings are home.

In 1890s Oregon, cook Verity works at a local restaurant. Jack, a young lawyer who eats there almost every day, has become her friend and wants to be more. But just as Jack has worked up the courage to ask if he can call on her, the sheriff arrives and tells Verity she is under arrest for murder. Verity’s brother-in-law is missing, his study in bloody disarray. Could Verity possibly be guilty? And can Jack counter the evidence and win her freedom? This novella was originally published as part of The Captive Brides Collection.

All Sam Cayford wants is to get to Dodge City and find a job on a ranch. Becoming a kidnapping victim when he rides through the Flint Hills is not part of his plan, and the humility of being snatched by a couple of kids makes it even worse. When he meets their lovely mother, Maggie Piner—whom the kids insist he should marry—Sam begins to revise his plans. It seems her dearly departed husband left her with a larger mortgage than she realized. Maggie and the boys are about to lose their home. In a desperate attempt to hang on to the family property, Maggie joined the town's women in advertising for husbands. Can Sam help the Piner family? And might God have a future planned for him that is far different from what he imagined?

Beryl’s father is badly injured, and the wagon train leaves her and her little brother behind and at the trading post. They are at the mercy of the trading post manager, his wife, and their adult son, James. Winter is cruel and fraught with danger, especially when new supplies are needed and the trader must leave for several months. Grieving after her father's death, Beryl sees that James loves her young brother. Soon she comes to care for James too. Young Sam loves Dickens's A Christmas Carol, but he begins to imagine another Christmas story. Come spring, Beryl will have to decide whether she and Sam will continue on to Oregon or go back East. This novella was first published in the Westward Christmas Brides collection, from Barbour Books.

Burned out of their house, Jane and her family move into a cave, where she discovers some hidden money. Neighbor Crockett Hart comes to help them rebuild, and she asks for his help with the mystery of the money's origins. When he learns where it probably came from, will it keep their two families apart? Crockett hopes not, because he's falling for Jane. This novella was first published as part of the Seven Brides for Seven Texans collection.

Rachel Paxton turns down a mail-order proposal, but a few months later she learns the man she rejected has died--and left his ranch to her in his will. To claim her inheritance, she must leave Boston and live on the Texas ranch for a month.

In 1883, Eve Martin arrives in Cheyenne, Wyoming to learn that the man she came to marry is in jail, accused of a violent murder. Should she get on the next eastbound train, or has God brought her here to help save Caleb Blair's life? This story first appeared in the Christian novella collection Mail-Order Mishaps.