Brides with Grit Series
Introducing the Brides with Grit series, sweet, clean romances featuring strong pioneer women finding love on the Kansas prairie in 1873. There are twelve book in this series.
Rania Ropes a Rancher – Book 1
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She can ride, rope, handle livestock and children—and he wants her as his ranch wife. But will danger rip them apart, or rope them together?
Rania Hamner and her family emigrated from Sweden fourteen years ago to work on a Texas ranch, working cattle and herding them up the Chisholm Trail. Something in her life on the trail caused her to doubt her worth, and her ability to trust a man enough to become his wife. Once the family buys a homestead in Kansas, she meets a rancher who begins to make her believe she can trust and fall in love after all.
Rancher Jacob Wilerson noticed Rania last year when she rode drag behind a herd of longhorns—right down Main Street of Ellsworth, Kansas. He’s been waiting for her family to return this spring with another Texas herd to the booming cowtown, because he hopes to rope her into staying permanently on his ranch—the way she had already roped his heart.
When Rania’s past attacks with new danger, she decides to fight for all she’s worth because she realizes she wants to be with Jacob forever.
When Jacob realizes Rania is in danger, he rushes to save her, whether or not she still loves him, hoping to rope Rania—his heart—once more, as she has roped his.
Millie Marries a Marshal – Book 2
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This mail-order bride arrives to find out her groom has died! So, she moves into the town marshal’s house—and into his heart.
Mail-order bride Millie Donovan was looking forward to meeting Sam Larson, a Kansas homesteader, who she is sure, from reading his heartfelt letters, will provide her with the love and safety she wants and needs. Millie arrives on the train, not realizing that her husband-to-be was killed in an accident, until Clear Creek’s town marshal informs her of the situation.
Town Marshal Adam Wilerson never plans to marry due to his dangerous job. After reading letters found at his friend’s home following his untimely death which were sent from his friend’s mail-order bride, he can’t help thinking of the woman, and believes he may be in love with her himself. But instead of sending Millie on the train back to her former home, he finds himself welcoming her—and her two-year-old charge—into his house, and into his heart.
When danger threatens, Millie faces it head–on to protect the people she loves, including the town marshal.
Can Adam keep the peace in town—and his house—or will the man following Millie cause an uproar that will endanger them both, and ruin their chance of a life together?
Hilda Hogties a Horseman – Book 3
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She brought his homestead claim out from under him with her horse race winnings…and he wants it back.
Ranch woman Hilda Hamner spent her youth traveling with her Swedish immigrant family as they drove cattle from Texas up to Kansas cow towns in the 1870s. Hilda decided to get off the cattle trail and bought an abandoned homestead in Kansas with her horse race winnings. She plans on raising horses—and finding a husband that doesn’t mind her tall, lanky body that’s usually dressed in men’s clothing.
Noah Wilerson planned to bring his intended bride from Illinois back to the Kansas homestead he started for them, but found out his fiancée had already married someone else when arriving at her father’s doorstep. After traveling back home, Noah finds a woman has taken over his claim, leaving him homeless and jobless.
Hilda realizes she needs help to make her horse ranch successful, and decides that Noah is the right man—to promote from horseman to husband on her ranch—if he’ll treat her as a special woman, and not just a ranching partner.
Noah wants his homestead back, and the woman that has transformed the simple soddie into a family home. Between family dramas, outlaw danger, and butting heads, which one will hogtie the other to get to the church altar first?
Cora Captures a Cowboy – Book 4
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She has four days to talk the cowboy into marrying her…or it’s back to Boston as another’s man’s bride.
Dagmar Hamner and his family emigrated from Sweden to work on a Texas ranch, working cattle and herding them north over the Bostonian Cora Elison arrives unannounced at her family’s ranch in Kansas, after her fiancé changed her status from bride to bridesmaid—at her own wedding. But after a few months, Cora thanks her lucky stars that he did because she has found a set of loyal friends, a way of life she relishes, and a cowboy she has become to love.
Dagmar Hamner and his family emigrated from Sweden to work on a Texas ranch, working cattle and herding them north over the Chisholm Trail. After his family decides to settle permanently in Kansas in 1873, he is hired for the foreman’s job at the six thousand acre Bar E Ranch.
All goes well for the Swedish cowboy until the absentee owner’s daughter arrives, wanting to learn how to become a rancher. Time makes them best friends, until a telegram arrives saying Cora’s parents are bringing an unknown groom to Kansas for her, insisting she be married when they arrive.
Cora asks Dagmar to marry her, but he balks at her proposal. Between confusion and interference, will Cora be able to capture her cowboy in time to haul him to the altar?
Sarah Snares a Soldier – Book 5
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She leaves her groom at the altar, because there’s a soldier who has snared her heart. But can she catch him as he marches away?
Rancher’s daughter Sarah Wilerson has been engaged to Ethan Paulson, a Clear Creek hotel manager, for two years. Although Ethan is a nice man, Sarah has postponed the wedding twice, unsure whether she can live and work in the family’s hotel—alongside an overbearing mother–in–law.
West Point–trained Captain Marcus Brenner was stationed at Fort Wallace in western Kansas, and wounded in a skirmish with the Cheyenne Indians. He has been discharged from the army and recuperating at his uncle’s ranch in Ellsworth County, Kansas. There he meets Sarah, who helps him recover from his wounds and nightmares. Marcus falls in love with Sarah, but refuses to consider marrying her because of her engagement to another man. And, due to his battle injuries, he may not be able to give Sarah the houseful of children for which she yearns for either.
Unable to bring herself to go through with her wedding on the third date set, Sarah leaves her groom at the altar and rides after Marcus, determined to convince him to marry her.
Fate throws a challenge in their path when they suddenly become guardians of six young children. Can Sarah convince Marcus to become the father the children need, and the husband she wants?
Cate Corrals a Cattleman – Book 6
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This widow is ready to marry her childhood friend, but she has to corral this groom first.
Widowed ranch woman Cate Wilerson’s four children are now all married and she’s enjoying being a grandma. But, she’s only in her forties, so she could be married again for many years. Cate’s ready to tie the knot again and she has already picked her groom.
Cattleman Isaac Connely bought a ring for Cate almost thirty years ago, but Moses Wilerson, a friend to both of them, asked Cate to marry him first. After serving in the Civil War, Isaac followed the Wilersons to Kansas and builds a cattle empire with his inheritance. He respected Cate’s and Moses’ marriage, comforted her through the loss of her husband and remained a friend of the Wilerson family.
Now he’s ready to propose—with the same ring—but someone from his past appears on his doorstep, dredging up a dark secret making him doubt his worth to be Cate’s husband.
Can Cate let go of past hurts and help Isaac realize he is not to blame, so he will finally ask her to marry him?
Darcie Desires a Drover – Book 7
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Can they let go of their past so they can have a future together?
Darcie Robbins fled St. Louis to protect her two children from their bad father. Now divorced, she’s temporarily working on the Bar E Ranch in central Kansas. She needs a permanent job—or a trustworthy husband—to help provide for her family.
Reuben Shepard went home to his family in New York after the Civil War, to find his wife had declared him dead—so she could wed another. In shock, Reuben didn’t contest her claim and wandered south, spending years as a cattle drover on western trails until settling down to work on the Bar E Ranch.
Spending time with Darcie’s toddler, Tate, makes Reuben miss his own son, Gabe. Reuben travels to New York, hoping to visit his son, and ends up bringing Gabe back to the Kansas because the boy’s step-father had just died.
When Reuben proposes marriage to Darcie for their children’s sake, the couple falls in love as they learn to trust and support each other while planning for their future. But their wedding is stalled when Reuben’s former wife arrives, stating she and Reuben are still married.
What’s the truth and what’s best for the children is their concern now instead of a wedding date. How can they clear the past so they can have a future together?
Tina Tracks a Trail Boss – Book 8
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He lost his family on the cattle drive. Can she mind his shattered heart?
Widowed Tina Martin and her two young children were moving from Texas to her brother’s place in Kansas, when their train wrecks near Austin. Suddenly, Tina, soon to be a mother for the third time, loses her children, and is severely injured.
Leif Hamner lost his wife and son in childbirth last year when they were returning home to Texas after driving cattle up to Kansas. He’s back alone in Texas, until finding a tiny newborn baby hidden in the back of his wagon. This sets off a chain of emotions and events as Leif hunts for the infant’s mother—the injured Tina—and nurses them back to health.
Acts of fate put the two damaged souls together, healing deep wounds as they travel north to join their families in Kansas. But his family has secrets which could ruin their tender love. Can Tina and Leif weather the conflicts, or will they be torn apart?
Lorna Loves a Lawyer – Book 9
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This mail-order bride is in a pickle. Can he get her out of her jam?
Lorna Jantz left Boston looking for adventure, signing up as a mail-order bride for a rich Kansas rancher. But, the groom only becomes rich after taking off with her money, after their twenty-four hour marriage. Which left Lorna in a pickle, stuck in a little town with no money, no home and a growing belly.
Lyle Elison was one of Boston’s worst, a spoiled, rich merchant’s son, until enforced time on the family’s Kansas ranch made him see his purpose in life. After training in Boston, he’s back in Clear Creek, Kansas, as the town’s new lawyer.
Backgrounds make Lorna and Lyle connect, but time spent together makes them good friends, willing to help each other face their respective problems. Lorna needs help tracking down the louse who stole her money and left her in a family way. Lyle needs to be married by his birthday to receive his inheritance from his grandfather’s Will.
In between their capers, each falls in love with the other, secretly wishing they could confess their love and be together forever. But first, they have to find Lorna’s wayward husband before Lyle’s birthday.
Helen Heals a Hotelier – Book 10
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She and her little girls disrupt his life. Can chaos turn into love?
Helen Higby answers an ad for a mail-order bride, but finds out her groom is already married—and wanted by the law—after their wedding ceremony. Now stuck in Clear Creek, Kansas, with her four little girls, Helen needs a way to provide for her family.
Ethan Paulson is in charge of the family hotel while his parents take an extended trip. Ethan’s fiancée, Sarah Wilerson, left him at the altar last summer and he’s had a hard time accepting her rejection—until a beautiful woman and her children take up residence in the Paulson Hotel.
Helen had worked in a hotel in Pennsylvania before traveling to Kansas, so she helps Ethan organize and improve the offerings of the Paulson Hotel, while falling in love with him.
Sparks fly when Mrs. Paulson, Ethan’s mother, returns to find changes, including a family making themselves at home in the hotel, and in Ethan’s heart. Can chaos and drama turn into love and a happy ending for everyone living in the Paulson Hotel?
Faye Favors a Foreman – Book 11
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She knows more tricks than this cowboy, but he’s willing to learn!
Faye Longoria arrived unannounced at her step-uncle’s Cross C Ranch, using cash she stole from…a, uh “customer” to buy her train ticket. All Faye brought with her, was her three-month-old baby and extra diapers.
Confusion erupts because Faye looks like a twin to Sarah Brenner, who lives on the ranch. Turns out they are half-sisters, and the two clash with jealousy and stubbornness when Faye has to live with her sister and help take care of her sister’s newly adopted eight children, which includes triplet newborns.
Rusty Tucker, the foreman of the Cross C Ranch, likes the spunk of the young woman who grew up in a brothel, and he becomes attached to Violet, her baby girl.
Faye sets her sights on the foreman because she wants to move out of the ranch house and into Rusty’s cabin. Rusty wants a role in raising baby Violet, too.
Will Faye’s and Rusty’s goals mesh into love and a happy family of three?
Amy Admires an Amish Man – Book 12
Can past hurts be forgiven to open the path to a new future for the two, or will it block their chance of happiness together?
Rancher’s daughter Amy Sanders escapes her job in a saloon by pretending to be her younger brother Amos and signs on to take care of a rail car load of bulls heading to Kansas. Once the bulls are delivered to the Bar E Ranch, she’ll find a way to survive, even if it means working as a ranch hand.
Eli Fisher, the foreman at the Bar E Ranch, left his Amish community in Pennsylvania after his betrothed ran off with another man. Although he misses his family and home state, he’s adapted to the Kansas prairie and admires the wonderful couple he works for. Now settled, he longs for a woman to share his life and start their own family.
Amy’s and Eli’s upbringing and pasts clash in more ways than one, but once it’s revealed that “Amos” is actually “Amy,” sparks of a different kind ignite.
Can past hurts be forgiven to open the path to a new future for the two, or will it block their chance of happiness together?
Amy Admires an Amish Man is a stand-alone sweet historical romance set in 1874, but you’ll want to read the whole series to enjoy the stories of the Clear Creek, Kansas community.