Showing results by author "Janice Hopkins" in All Categories

Milton Cauley had tried marriage, and it didn’t work out so well. Now a widower, he has no intention of ever marrying again. He’ll devote his time to being the best barber he can be. But a misguided friend orders him a bride from the matchmaker others in Pinyon Falls have used, and Milton is furious. As far as Milton is concerned, the man can just handle the problem himself since he’s responsible for it.

Sophie Zimmermann and her father leave Illinois after her mother dies to make the long trek on the California Trail to Genoa, near Lake Tahoe in Utah Territory, to join her aunt’s family. Sophie finds men interested in her for the first time, and she ends up taking her aunt and cousin’s advice to let Baxter Cobb court her. Baxter is a wealthy businessman that any woman should appreciate, so why can’t Sophie forget Abel Boles, the first man she meets in Genoa. Things come to a head at a baking contest.

Faith Allen went to live with her aunt and uncle in the Kentucky mountains after her parents died. They hadn’t been cruel, but they hadn’t been loving and kind, either; and they expected her to work hard. When their son strikes it rich in the California gold rush, they pack up to head to California via the Oregon Trail.

When her family situation worsens, Aileas Douglas runs away, but she’s unprepared for the Wyoming mountains. A friendly dog leads her to safety, but his master just might pose the most dangerous of all, especially to her heart. Wounded in the Civil War and deserted by his betrothed, Ian MacGregor becomes a recluse in a remote cabin in Wyoming Territory. He thinks Aileas might be an angel when she appears beside his sickbed, but even later, he’s drawn to her in ways he doesn’t understand.

Emma has high hopes when her family moves to the North Carolina mountains. Her father appears to have finally quit drinking, and he plans to settle their family, once and for all, near the Linville River. Here, Emma meets Edgar Moretz, an intelligent, passionate, and godly young man. Things are looking up for Emma, but when she is captured by a Cherokee raiding party, her problems have just begun.

Marshall Walker has built his successful ranch over years of hard work. He hasn’t had time to seek a wife. But when his brother dies, leaving him the custody of two nieces, he decides now is the time–after all, he’s 31 years old. So he contacts a noted matchmaking service to speed the process since the girls are on their way, and he needs a wife as soon as possible.

Mrs. Barkley talked Zoe into traveling the Santa Fe Trail to tutor her children, but Zoe had no idea it would be such an adventure, that a handsome Army officer would provide an escort, or that she would take an instant dislike to him. However, between apologies, new friends, teaching, kidnappings, Indians, and Santa Fe itself, there’s plenty of excitement.

Dan Proffit mistakenly thinks the niece of the town’s busybody will be a young girl. Instead, Hannah York turns out to be a beautiful young lady with remarkable musical abilities. However, she is also shy, overworked, and under her two aunts’ thumbs. As his attraction grows, so do the problems.

When Emily Rose Howard took in four goats, she didn’t know she was getting more than she bargained for. However, life gets even more complicated when her neighbor’s son brings his army friend home for a visit after the Civil War ends, and her former art professor shows up too. But life in the Appalachian Mountains has never been easy, and Emily Rose is determined to face her problems with faith and determination the way she always has.

Noah Elder gets lonely in the logging camp, and now that he’s a crew boss with a cabin, he could get married, but what woman would want this rough life? Still, he writes to his sister who’s been known to do some matchmaking. He’s pleased when she finds a young woman for him, but he soon learns that Meleah Baldwin, through no fault of her own, has problems too. In addition, trouble comes from an unexpected source. Can they work together to overcome the obstacles?

Willa Markoe had to deal with too much misfortune in her life. First, her parents die. Then she and her brother need to sell the farm. They buy a cottage in the city, but her brother dies. Willa can’t find a job, and the bank starts foreclosure proceedings on her house. Finally, she meets a matchmaker who helps, and Willa agrees to travel to the Dakota Territory to marry a stranger.

Andrea Little couldn’t hide her dismay. She looked at the woman in disbelief. “We are partnering with a pastor and his wife in Robinsville, near Grand Rapids, Michigan,” Mrs. Vaser told her.

Judith Johnson takes her younger brother and moves from Western Virginia to Kansas as a mail-order bride after their parents die. Her husband, although handsome and charming, turns out to be a womanizer and has a drinking problem. Judith is determined to make her marriage work, however, and she keeps telling herself her situation could be worse. At least Calvin's older brother is stable and responsible, providing a home for them on the farm. But farm life on the prairie can be hard in 1850, and Calvin’s attitude makes the struggles even worse. Does God have a plan in all this?

As a teenager, Jeannie MacGregor ran away from her brother’s remote mountain cabin in Wyoming and went back to live with her aunt in Baltimore. She needs some sort of social life to meet her future husband. When the first man she finds interesting rejects her, she turns to the next man who shows her attention. Is Linden Olsen everything he seems to be - suave, gallant, wealthy, and from high society, or will she just end up returning to Wyoming in a series of events that leave her reeling?

Gage Bradford met Allison Johnson soon after he graduated from law school. Theirs was a whirlwind romance. He fell hard and fast and wooed her with all the charm he could muster. In a month, they were engaged, and six weeks after that, they were married. Moving to Washington, DC, he set up his law practice and soon moved up the ladder to success.

Ingrid Palmer doesn't intend to ever marry. Her cruel father has taught her not to risk such misery. Instead, she helps her mother in her dress shop, volunteers at an orphanage, and does as much as she can to help the women's suffrage movement in Kansas City. However, when a brilliant newspaper reporter wants to write about women's rights, Ingrid's world begins to gradually shift.

Joanna Dobson comes to stay at the King Ranch because Magnolia, her mother, was Abby King’s cousin. Joanna is immediately interested in Grayson Fox, but the recent death of his parents has him questioning if he ever wants to marry. In the meantime, Adele Mead is caught in a rough situation in Maryland. When she rescues a hurt man, she falls hard for him, but she has a difficult time convincing him he’s the right man for her. When she does, they must flee. Can they all find the happiness they so desperately long for in the aftermath of the Civil War?

Laura Holt goes home to Cactus Creek to care for her ailing father whose health is failing after years of drinking. She’s longed for her desert home for 14 years. To her surprise, her childhood infatuation with Logan King has not faded as much as she thought. But Logan is struggling with problems of his own after losing his first wife in a fire, and her father wants her to marry the saloon owner, although Laura doesn’t. As the situation worsen, Laura finds herself going to her favorite fishing spot by the creek to find peace, but it’s still Logan’s favorite place, too.

After his fiancée jilts him for not spending enough time with her, Avery Brown goes to San Francisco as a guest musician. Vowing to avoid such entanglements in the future, he hadn’t expected to meet such a beautiful young lady as Tessa McDonald or be so attracted to her. However, he won’t change his resolve. Astor is the third woman to be jealous of his violin, and he's had enough.

After Aileas rejects him, Brady Shape leaves Wyoming and wanders to Texas. He gets a job at Double G Ranch and becomes their temporary foreman. However, he never feels comfortable in the job, although he’s determined to catch the cattle rustlers before he leaves. He can’t seem to forget Aileas either. When he meets Nora Joseph, she needs rescuing from a desperate situation. He’s determined to see her situated before he leaves Sagebrush, but somehow, she talks him into taking her with him. The only place he can think to take her is back to Aileas in Wyoming.