The first book in a new series by the author of the "Heroines of the Golden West" series. Alena is a confident entrepreneur in a man's world who meets a rancher with a tragic secret in his past. They're both about to find their inner peace, their calling, and romance in Old California.

They were supposed to be living happily ever after. Instead, Martina Swan, daughter of the legendary Wilson and Alena Merced, grapples to find peace in a marriage that is falling apart. Her husband is in Virginia City, Nevada, trying his luck at mining the Comstock Lode. A promise to come home a wealthy man "in three weeks" was given over a year ago. Meanwhile, Martina struggles to keep the family store solvent in Sacramento. And the pressures are mounting as she seeks to raise their child, the bank deviously tries to close the store, and armed outlaws decide she has possession of their stolen treasure. Always living in the shadow of her mother's beauty and her father's valor, Martina finds her one true source of joy is her daughter. But when a stranger shows up with a message from her husband, Martina determines to go and bring her man home. It turns out to be a shocking, toughening experience. In fact, she's about to fight the most difficult battle of her life--learning to forgive and love again. It will prove to be a deep lesson about herself, the nature of love, and God's unwavering concern for her entire family. In a land and a time where reputations were gained ... and lost ... in a matter of weeks, Martina Swan is about to discover whether she has the faith and courage to survive. She's about to fight the most difficult battle of her life as she learns to forgive and love again. Follow the romance and adventure of the years beyond the Gold Rush in the continuing saga of Old California.

She's not the first woman in her family to strike out on her own. But it sure seems like she's the only one whose life hasn't fallen perfectly into place. Her grandmother is the legendary Red Dove of Monterey. Her mother is the queen of Stockton society. Now it 's up to Christina Swan to find her place, her man, her calling.

At age 24 she has none of these. Even a college degree hasn't helped her find her way or prevented a series of bad choices. Instead, her life is ruled by a relentless past that forces her to retreat into the great San Joaquin Valley. There she will oversee some newly acquired family property. And maybe there she will find what she is seeking.

The land is barren, hot, and almost impossible to cultivate. In other words, no place for a woman. And she has only a toothless vaquero for a hired hand and one neighbor--an intimidatingly strong and rude farmer with his own tormented past--for company. As a woman of faith in a family with a legacy of strong faith, Christina struggles to be obedient to God--and true to her own heart as she battles the harsh heat and unwelcome wildlife, expanding railroad and ditch companies, and most of all, her father's shameful past... and her own.

The saga of Old California--full of the romance and adventure of the years beyond the Gold Rush--continues in this final series tale by Stephen Bly.

Nobody steals Stuart Brannon's cattle...not even a military man with his own private army. Stuart Brannon battles cattle rustlers, befriends Apaches, and feels his heart stir for a beautiful woman he much admires. Will she get Brannon to lay to rest the ghost of his dead wife? Or will he continue to mourn? This time Brannon heads south of the border to buy cattle for his ranch. But he finds the cattle rustled and their owner murdered. Brannon comes up against something a lot bigger than just a band of small-time rustlers. But he should have picked someone else's cattle to steal. Army or no army, Brannon is not about to let the thief walk away with his livestock. Written in the tradition of Zane Grey, Luke Short, and Louis L'Amour, "Final Justice at Adobe Wells" recreates the tumultuous old West where good battles evil.

A knock at the door interrupts Stuart Brannon's fortieth birthday party. Standing on the doorstep is a twelve-year-old Indian boy with a shocking announcement: Brannon is his father! The boy also brings the sad news that his mother, whom Brannon befriended at Broken Arrow Crossing, is dying in a Navajo camp. Brannon determines to bring her back to the ranch, but decides to wait and see her before telling Littlefoot the truth about his parentage--that his real father was an outlaw. Danger stalks the trail to the Utah border. A desperado Brannon once sent to prison closes in on him, determined to get revenge. A gun battle breaks out. Brannon captures Trevor again. However, the outlaw tricks a gullible sheriff into letting him go and locks Brannon up instead. This Stuart Brannon adventure pits the famous ex-lawman against the shrewdest outlaw of his career, takes him into perilous situations, and again puts before his heart a crucial question.

It took a personal request from the President of the United States to put Stuart Brannon back in action. In 1905, at 58 years old, legendary lawman Stuart Brannon--now a rancher and widower--had no intention of leaving his beloved Arizona Territory to attend the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland, Oregon. Then the telegram came: "Stuart, I need you in Portland. Tom Wiseman is missing. I think there's a cover-up going on. Tell folks you're going to the Exposition. Nose around. Find out how a U.S. Marshal can disappear and no one knows why. I'll contact you there. T.R." No way could Stuart Brannon refuse a personal request from Teddy Roosevelt! Filled with humor and heart, adventure and romance, Stuart Brannon's Final Shot is the story of a man who embodied the Code of the West.

It took a personal request from the President of the United States to put Stuart Brannon back in action. In 1905, at 58 years old, legendary lawman Stuart Brannon--now a rancher and widower--had no intention of leaving his beloved Arizona Territory to attend the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland, Oregon. Then the telegram came: "Stuart, I need you in Portland. Tom Wiseman is missing. I think there's a cover-up going on. Tell folks you're going to the Exposition. Nose around. Find out how a U.S. Marshal can disappear and no one knows why. I'll contact you there. T.R." No way could Stuart Brannon refuse a personal request from Teddy Roosevelt! Filled with humor and heart, adventure and romance, Stuart Brannon's Final Shot is the story of a man who embodied the Code of the West.

A Horrific Blizzard Was Only the Start of Stuart Brannon's Troubles. For a man who didn't need another disaster, the fierce winter at Broken Arrow Crossing couldn't have come at a worse time. Stuart Brannon had just abandoned his Arizona ranch, sick with grief after losing his family and his cattle. That's when the vicious Colorado blizzard struck. Half frozen, Brannon stumbles into the isolated stage station at the Crossing. There he finds a wounded prospector and sets about to nurse the man back to health. Winter storms bring other stragglers to the station- an abused, pregnant Indian girl and naïve gold seekers. Drawn into their desperate plights, Brannon plunges into a dangerous mission to rescue a boy from the Indians, and then himself becomes the target of an outlaw band. Written in the tradition of Zane Grey, Luke Short, and Louis L'Amour, "Hard Winter at Broken Arrow Crossing" recreates the tumultuous old West where good battles evil.

Stuart Brannon is back. And he's found gold! But the struggle to keep it could cost him his life. After months of digging in the mountains of southwestern Colorado, Stuart Brannon and Englishman Edwin Fletcher finally hit the mother lode. But someone else is after their claim. Under attack, they fortify the mine and ally themselves with three Ute Indians. Soon they find themselves fighting both a professional gunman and the powerful Colorado Southern Mining Corporation. Stuart Brannon finds himself dealing with both the threat to his claim and, much to his surprise, with his own greed as he comes to terms with his newfound riches.

Only Stuart Brannon can overthrow the tyrannical mayor of an isolated western town. But will he be too late? Stuart Brannon rides again--this time into the booming mining supply town of Paradise Meadow, and into conflict with Dixon Rutherford, its self-appointed mayor. Rutherford has tyrannized the entire town--jailing Brannon's friend Peter Mulroney for a murder he did not commit, running down and killing Mulroney's wife for standing up to him, and now trying to drive Cherokee schoolteacher Rose Creek out of town. But finding courage to stand up to a corrupt politician is only a first step. Now the town faces another kind of struggle. Can a violent, lawless collection of citizens avoid mob rule and choose to govern themselves in an orderly way? Written in the tradition of Zane Grey, Luke Short, and Louis L'Amour, Last Hanging at Paradise Meadow recreates the tumultuous old West where good battles evil.

Will Stuart Brannon lose his beloved ranch to the Casa Verde Land Corporation? At long last, Stuart Brannon hits the homeward trail to his Arizona ranch. But if he has hopes to settle down to the quiet life of a cattleman, he has miscalculated. Much of what he holds dear is in terrible peril. Riding into his spread, he finds it occupied by gunmen sent by the Casa Verde Land Corporation, which claims to hold a Spanish land grant on his property. Enraged, Brannon drives off the intruders. Before the gunmen return with reinforcements, some of Brannon's friends and neighbors descend on the ranch. When the gunmen reappear--this time with a cannon--Brannon and his friends hunker down to defend the ranch. Written in the tradition of Zane Grey, Luke Short, and Louis L'Amour, "Standoff at Sunrise Creek" recreates the tumultuous Old West where good battles evil.

Reba’s scary stalker is locked up in jail. She finally snatches a rancher fiancé. Her runaway mother returns home. Reba has everything she ever wanted. But Grandma Pearl has disappeared! Is Reba about to lose it all? ...