Lazarus County has yet to be tamed. There’s drought, bandits, and natives to contend with. People have moved out there hoping to better themselves, have a chance at the kind of life they could never hope for back East. Of course plenty of the settlers are lonely and willing to take a chance on love, even with someone that they’ve never met. In She Has to Stop Running Sometime: Ellen has to stop … Ellen has to stop running sometime. She’s fled her past all the way across the Atlantic and has given up hope of having the kind of romance she dreamed of as a girl. Bruised, inside and out, she’ll be happy just to find a family she can keep house for.
Nate Harper has been in Lazarus County, NM for years. His younger sister knows how lonely he is has been seeking a bride for him back East. He’s embarrassed but his heart wells up with kindness when he reads about Ellen’s hopes for a new life and invites her to his home as a housekeeper. Neither want to admit to their attraction, and Ellen can’t shake the feeling that no man will ever love her with her dark past.
In Western Redemption: Marlie Kane needs salvation. Not just for herself but for her three brothers, two of which can’t stay sober long enough to pay rent in Boston. When their landlord tells Marlie that her only way to make money is to sell her body, she’s praying for a miracle and willing to try anything to get away.
Graham Evans is the cooper and carpenter of the town of Gilgamesh in Lazarus County. After losing his wife to diphtheria he came to New Mexico to forget his past. He’d long since given up on love but is surprised by the happiness that his friend Nate has found with his mail order bride. Ready to throw the dice, he puts out a matrimonial ad himself.
Graham is hardly prepared for Marlie’s brothers to arrive in Lazarus County as well. The whole town is shocked by the arrival of other outsiders, who think that the family owes them something. Their plans to take it out of Marlie’s flesh lead to a confrontation and a decision by Graham that changes his life forever.
In Western Freedom: Annabelle Feelan is from the upper crust of Philadelphia. Her wealthy father has showered her with luxuries and indulgence her entire life but now is beginning to despair of her. It’s time for her to marry but Annabelle finds every prospective husband who is suitable to her father a complete bore.
She longs for the sort of romance she’s read about in novels. None of the men in Philadelphia could bring her excitement or rescue her from bandits! She finally takes matters into her own hands and puts an advertisement in a newspaper. She never imagined a man like Aidan Killarney would respond!
Aidan is a homesteader in Gilgamesh, New Mexico. He came to Lazarus County with his sister and twin younger brothers. Watching his sister get married and prepare to have a baby has made him realize that his life of hard work in Lazarus County might not be enough after all. He never expects that answering a strange girl’s newspaper ad would be the most important decision of his whole life.
In The Sheriff Needs a Bride: Lazarus County needs a Sheriff. There are Indian tribes and bandits throughout New Mexico and the people of Gilgamesh have gone on far too long without a lawman. The town folk unanimously vote for John Wilkins, the stage coach driver, but he thinks his soldiering days are long past.
Nonetheless, he is beloved by the people of Gilgamesh, including the Kimball family who are just there for a spell while the father, James, works on the railroad. Harriet Kimball finds herself enchanted by Gilgamesh and begins to think of the place as home, going so far as to put out an ad for marriage in the newspaper. She is almost as surprised by John Wilkins’ reply as he was.
John’s passion for Harriet reawakens his old self and before he knows he’s reconsidering the offer from the town and the solitary, lonely future that he’d accepted.
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A beautifully crafted story. Great prose and ease of reading. Easy to follow plot with easily understood language for most ages.
Earlier this year I read all four of these books and enjoyed them a great deal. They are all quick reads. Who is responsible for all the stolen items? What to do when your father is forcing you to marry? Can three people find redemption? These are some of the questions answered in this collection. They are clean stories that I would let my granddaughter read, yet mature enough for any adult. I am really happy I got the opportunity to read them. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it