This book was lacking in too many ways to rate it any higher. Probably the single most annoying part was the secrets that were referred to time and time again that came out in little bits and pieces toward the end. It was like little kids playing the game, I've got a secret, but won't share. We u...
Aubrey had expected to have to press herself into shadows and hide in alcoves to avoid being discovered. But by the time she and Jack snuck up the dark stairs to the High Tower, most of the servants had gone to bed and neither Buxton nor Crispin had been seen for hours. The lack of opposition set...
At least, there wasn’t enough of it to keep him tied down to Paradise Ranch all day. He was more than happy to leave the last bit of inspecting the part of the herd that hadn’t been taken to market back in the fall to the others. He had more important things to do, more charitable things to do. T...
Joanna was hiding there somewhere. His body itched with the memory of what could have happened to both of them if her mad plan at the Tower had been a success. When he didn’t find Joanna in the stalls he scrambled up the steep, narrow stairs to the cramped loft that served as his room. The sight ...
His muscles tensed, ready to fight or take Honoria and run if he had to. The last time he’d felt such a hard urgency to act was when Martin Postern, his master’s son, had whisked him off in the middle of the night to make a run for the North. As Martin had protected him then, so Solomon turned to...
Gunn had provided for them, Wendy was a ball of nerves. The confidence that she’d had going into the competition had been slowly chipped away until all she could see were the pricks and callouses on her fingertips and the mountain of work that she still had to do. “Mrs. Ga...
He shifted uneasily, rubbing the back of his neck. His wide eyes narrowed to a wince. “Rachel Korpanty? Not from Korpanty Enterprises, by any chance.” Something hot and prickly shot up Rachel’s spine. How dare the snake have the audacity to look…was...
Ever since the soiree and Howard’s bold suggestion of a race, her heart had flown wildly between despair and elation, hope and doom, excitement and dread. If anyone could win such a grueling race as the one that had been suggested, Howard could. But Jonas was a tough competitor, and if Howard did...
Joanna’s shout echoed along the dungeon hallway. “I mean I don’t like them!” Ethan shouted back. Even from the other end of the hall Toby could hear the teasing in his master’s voice. He sent Tom a wary sideways glance and picked up his pace. “Well pears is what you’re going to eat or you’ll eat ...
Whoever that man thought he was, he’d hurt Libby. Mason didn’t believe for a moment that the situation his wife had found herself in after Teddy’s death had been as cut-and-dry as she claimed it was. No man worth his salt would make those kinds of advances on a new widow—or any sort of good woman...
From Independence, they had crossed the miles and miles of flat grassland that made up the northeastern corner of the Kansas Territory. The bustle of the city quickly gave way to the monotony of trail routine. Wake up, walk for four or five hours, stop to rest and eat during the heat of the day, ...
Athos had had a hard time sleeping. His thoughts refused to settle throughout the night. What if the judge sided with the dreadful Mrs. Lyon and the Bonnevilles? What if his dear, sweet, amazing children were taken away permanently, split up, and placed in institutions, or worse, with families wh...
The Paradise Ranch boys would argue later that they were just there to enjoy a pleasant evening of cards in the company of the girls from Bonnie’s place across the way. They had no idea that Rex Bonneville’s rough and tumble employees would be there too, celebrating the deal Bonneville had just s...
That was all there was to it. Her muscles ached from the bruises she’d sustained sliding into home as Franklin drove back to the ranch, she was covered with dirt and dust from head to toe, and her best dress was torn in several places, but her heart was so light it threatened to float right out o...