Showing results by author "Amelia Smarts" in All Categories

Times are hard in Montana in the mid-1800s, and when Nettie finds herself impoverished, desperate, and alone after the death of her husband, she flees the town of Helena to escape the clutches of the local saloon owner. But living off the land quickly proves much more difficult than she'd hoped, and after days without food she resorts to stealing from Jack Abrams, a gruff mountain man and trapper who lives a secluded, uncomplicated life in the woods.

As soon as she steps off the train into the hot western sun, Charlotte Rose wonders if she has made a mistake. Leaving Boston to take a job as the schoolmarm of the small town of Weston, Arizona had seemed like a good idea, but the man sent to fetch her from the station almost changes her mind. The handsome but uncivilized brute who introduces himself as Max Harrison not only calls Charlotte by her first name, he even demands that she change her outfit.

When the two meet, Adam's commanding presence makes a startling but good impression on Susannah. The attraction between them is undeniable, but that is soon followed by wariness. Susannah had planned to marry a man who would do her bidding, not take over everything. It's her ranch, after all! Equally befuddled, Adam thought he'd be marrying a woman who knows her place, not a temperamental brat who could benefit from some time over his knee. Will Susannah learn to accept Adam's firm leadership and expectations?

Eighteen-year-old orphan Abigail Jones has been doing her best to survive while also saving money to put her younger sister through college one day, but when she takes up residence in an abandoned bunkhouse at a ranch she quickly ends up in trouble with the ranch's owner. After he catches Abigail trespassing, Clay Ashton scolds her thoroughly. He also makes it clear that she'll be coming back to his house for a proper meal, whether she likes it or not, and when the beautiful, sassy girl refuses to accept his charity he doesn't hesitate to take her over his knee for a sound spanking.

Widowed rancher Heath Wolfe worries he's making a big mistake by bringing Willow McAllister home to his ranch. A known troublemaker around town, she can't seem to keep a job or avoid skirmishes with the law, so the town marshal implores Heath to help. While Heath agrees to employ Willow, he certainly won't allow misbehavior, and he's even prepared to take the willful young lady over his knee for a sound spanking if warranted.

Jackson Kane has always had a special place in his heart for Lydia Morgan. After her father's death leaves her alone in the world, Jackson provides her with room and board in return for help around his ranch. But his generosity is met with one act of petulant rebellion after another, until she finally pushes him too far and he decides it is long past time to take her over his knee. As embarrassing as it is to be spanked with her panties down like a naughty little girl, it is when Jackson makes her call him daddy that Lydia's cheeks truly blush crimson.

18-year-old Betsy Blake yearns for love and romance, but the unattached men of Virginia City are all ill-mannered ranch hands without the gentlemanly qualities she desires. When her friend Susannah finds a husband by writing a mail-order groom advertisement in the paper, Betsy decides to pen her own ad specifying her wish for a well-dressed, mannerly husband from the East, and she excitedly awaits a response from the man of her dreams.

He's prepared to tame her using painful and humiliating discipline. Fearless, tough-as-nails cowboy Frank Bassett gets thrown from a bucking bronco and injures his leg, leaving him with a severe limp. Not to be defeated, he moves to a new town with plans for a slower-paced life. There he meets a woman more defiant and standoffish than the wildest mustang, and he reckons he's got one more filly to tame before tossing his Stetson aside. Was Frank's quest to tame Tori a foolish venture, or will it pave a path to healing for them both?

Nineteen-year-old Mary Appleton manages a successful restaurant in the small town of Thorndale. Though passionate about cooking, she's naïve about the dangers of the world and innocent when it comes to love and romance. Benjamin Gray, the stern new deputy in town, knows the restaurant is vulnerable to robbers, and his protective instincts ignite when he notices that Mary doesn't safeguard her money. 

Proud and independent, 13-year-old orphan Wade Hunter doesn't want a family. But when the town marshal catches him stealing, Wade's given only two choices: Spend time in jail or become the marshal's ward. Sadie Shaw, the marshal's eldest daughter, doesn't want another sibling. She has enough brothers and sisters, and she's dismayed when her kindhearted pa brings home another lost child. It doesn't help that this one is surly and arrogant. Worse, he thinks that because he's older, he's under no obligation to mind her household rules.

Elsie Fin is hell-bent on revenge against her father's murderer. She develops a successful cattle-rustling operation as payback, but is soon in over her head. That's when she decides she needs a good husband, so she places a mail-order groom advertisement in the paper. While Elsie seeks her groom, she hires Wyatt Parker to help her around the ranch. Little does she know, he's actually an undercover deputy tasked with gaining her trust and verifying the marshal's suspicion of her theft.

For 18-year-old orphan Callie Broderick, going west as a mail-order bride seems to be the only hope she has for a decent husband. But when she sets out for the gold-mining town of Sacramento with nothing more than the clothes on her back and a stagecoach ticket, she quickly discovers that the trip will be quite a bit different than she expected. As a former soldier, Jude Johnson is used to difficulties of all kinds during the arduous journey west, but he has never had to deal with trouble like Callie before.