Western Womens Fiction

Her perfectly controlled life falls apart when a kitchen fire lands young widow Elle Brooks in the muscled arms of handsome rancher and veterinarian Brody Tate. The fire forces Elle to move in with her friend Bryn and her motley collection of rescue horses and other animals on the Heaven Can Wait Horse Rescue ranch, where she volunteers. Spending time with the hunky cowboy and his spunky 10-year-old daughter, Mandy, as they rehabilitate the beautiful horses, reminds Elle of all she lost in a car crash years ago. She can't deny the feelings that being close to Brody is stirring in her.

The West was not so wild for Janie Fitzhugh. Living with her rancher husband, Abe Lawson, in rural Wyoming nearly broke her spirit, so she left. But eight years later, she returns to Muddy Gap to take a job at a new resort. When an unexpected danger arises, Abe seizes the chance to protect Janie and prove he's a changed man. Janie's employer at the Split Rock Ranch and Resort, Renner Jackson, has gotten himself tangled up in a devil's bargain trying to finish the construction. His new partner's daughter, Tierney Pratt, is a spoiled daddy's girl and off-limits-no matter how drop-dead gorgeous she is.

Teddi Whitehall longed to escape her hectic life as a New York model, and a summer in the wilds of Canada with her best friend's family sounded perfect. But arrogant rancher Kingston Devereaux seemed intent on making her feel anything but welcome. Teddi knew King was convinced she was nothing but a glamorous city girl. She also knew that the truth wasn't about to change his mind. So why did she feel so alive when he was near? Giving her heart to a man who despised her was bad enough. But why did she have to go and fall in love with her best friend's brother?

Sheltered from her own desires for so long, Hayley Thompson wants to experience life. A new job at Gray Bear Construction is a start. The work she can handle. It's her boss - reclusive, sexy Jonathan Bear - who's scrambling her mind and her hormones. No matter how successful he becomes, Jonathan's reputation will always precede him. And his type of woman is usually nothing like prim, innocent Hayley. Yet he can't resist unleashing the fire beneath her pent-up facade - even if seduction means losing his heart.

Maverick Austin Davis is forced to return home after a 10-year career as a rodeo star. After one too many head injuries, he's off the circuit and in the horse farming business - something he's never taken much of a shine to, but now that it's his late father's legacy, familial duty calls. How will Maverick find his way after the only dream he ever had for himself is over? Enter Leighton Elizabeth James, an ugly duckling turned beauty from Maverick's childhood - his younger sister's best friend, to be exact.

Thomas McCabe is on his way to a brilliant career as a lawyer when, in 1837, he gives everything up to take a job with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Sent to live with a tribe in the wilds of Missouri, McCabe soon saves the life of a young brave. Subsequently, yet grudgingly, he is accepted by the Cheyenne, until he falls hopelessly in love with the beautiful, and betrothed, Night Bird Woman. Determined to marry her, McCabe must prove himself to the tribe.

Sierra McKettrick feels like a fraud. She might be moving to her family’s ancestral ranch with her son, but being a McKettrick by blood isn’t enough to make her fit in. To make matters worse, from the moment she met the Triple M’s ranch hand, he’d gotten under Sierra’s skin. With his rugged body and tender compassion, Travis Reid was a temptation she didn’t need or want. But as Sierra begins to form a connection to one of her ancestors, Hannah McKettrick, she starts to realize there are some bonds that even time can't break.

She's just one of the boys, but with a new business in Copper Ridge, Anna Brown needs to change that. Her brothers bet she can't land a date for a fancy charity event. So Anna turns to her best friend - the hottest bachelor in town - for advice. Rancher Chase McCormack wants in on that gala. If Anna takes him, he promises to turn her into a lady. But the makeover reveals what he's long suspected - Anna's irresistible! Is his best friend prepared to be taken - heart, body, and soul - by her very own cowboy?

After spending years traveling the world with the military, Rose O'Malley is ready for a change. Heading back to Texas to hold down the fort at her aunt's bed-and-breakfast will give Rose just the break she needs. But while she may speak seven languages, she can't repair a leaky sink to save her life. When Hudson Baker strides in like a hero and effortlessly figures out the fix, Rose can't help wondering if the boy she once crushed on as a kid could now be her saving grace. Hud has always been rock-solid and dependable - a quintessential cowboy to his core.

This city girl's about to get a dose of cowboy charm. Emily Baker doesn't rough it - anymore. Born and raised on a farm, she's worked hard to distance herself from that life, thank you very much. But when the seniors at the nursing home where she works beg for a ranch retreat, she caves and heads up to the Longhorn Canyon spread. With one glance at the sexy cowboy who opens the door, she's suddenly thinking a week with him might not be so bad after all.

Patience was never one of her virtues. After her SUV runs off the road in the middle of a Texas blizzard and her cell stops working, Claire Mason is about to snap. Getting back home to Oklahoma with her four-year-old niece is top priority. And lucky for her, help comes in the form of a true Texas cowboy....

Twenty-six-year-old Katie Macauley has placed all her hope in Hope Springs, a small town in the 1870 Wyoming Territory. But if she wants to return home to Ireland to make amends with her estranged family, she’ll need to convince the influential Joseph Archer to hold true to his word and keep her on his payroll as his housekeeper - despite her Irish roots. When Joseph agrees to keep Katie on ash is housekeeper, the feud erupts anew, and Katie becomes the reluctant figurehead for the Irish townsfolk.

For Patience Sinclair, leaving the ivy-covered halls of Boston for the wide, open spaces of Texas means a chance to stop looking over her shoulder at every turn. Traveling incognito with the Triple C Rodeo is just what she needs to free her from a past that continues to haunt her. But she can't avoid the undeniable presence of Dallas Kingman. The champion rider has a way of letting her know he's watching her every move that makes her feel wild and reckless.

When veiled threats become real, he agrees to hire a discreet security detail. But Devin is shocked to find that the bodyguard is a hard-bodied woman and that he's attracted to the steely-eyed stunner. Former soldier Liberty Masterson's return to civilian life is wrought with challenges until she lands a job with a prestigious security firm. But when she agrees to provide personal protection during a cross-country tour, she doesn't realize she has signed up to masquerade as the playboy star's girlfriend.

In this first collection of short pieces, including two novella-length works, since his western anthology Tonto Woman, Leonard demonstrates the superb characterization, dead-on dialogue, vivid atmosphere, and driving plotting that have made him a household name.

Tanna Barker is a world-champion barrel racer. But her personal life has been less of a success, and she's feeling adrift. After her mother's unexpected death, her father has remarried and sold the Texas ranch she called home. Now a rodeo injury has left the restless spitfire holed up in Muddy Gap, unsure what her next move should be. Veterinarian August Fletcher has always put his job first. He's never found a woman who could handle his on-the-road lifestyle. But when sassy, sexy Tanna blows into town, he finally finds the woman of his fantasies.

Allie Logan isn't the type to land a hot hunk of cowboy. Truth is, she's given up on dating since shedding her no-good ex. But the new owner of the most ramshackle ranch in Texas might just change her mind about that. He's six-foot-plus of tall, dark, and charming - the kind of guy who could make a girl throw caution to the wind...or the kind of guy who could break her heart.

Quinn Davis prefers to live her life quietly. She's the stereotypical tomboy, with two overprotective big brothers who have always been there to protect her, especially from devilishly handsome cowboys with silver tongues. That is until Tate Montgomery comes riding into town. Their first meeting, however, is far from something out of a fairy tale and only further convinces Quinn that men aren't worth her time.

Elizabeth Margaret “E.M.” Danniher finds house hunting in Cottonwood County, Wyoming difficult, but deadly? That she never expected. In television, a cold open rolls before the credits, pitching the viewer into the news story. That’s how Elizabeth and her cohorts feel after she finds a body in a house for sale. A victim with a hidden history, few suspects, and the sheriff’s department not happy having Elizabeth - and amateur sleuth thorn in their sides - as the closest thing they have to a witness. Mike, Diana, Tom and the rest jump in to dig in.

Cattleman Bran Turner is left shorthanded during busy calving season when a bull tramples his hired hand. Rural Wyoming isn't exactly a hotbed of qualified candidates, and the only applicant for the position is the pampered town beauty, Harper Masterson. The curvy cowgirl gets under Bran's skin at every turn, but with no other options, he reluctantly hires her.