Showing results by author "Kimberly Grist" in All Categories

A baker abandoned and overlooked due to a childhood injury, she's longing for love and acceptance. A reclusive blacksmith who prefers horses to people. Can they find a way to co-exist or, even better, forge a partnership of the romantic kind? Abandoned as a child, Georgia knows first-hand the results of chasing rainbows, searching for the proverbial pot of gold. That same lure called her father to California, leaving her to grow up in a children’s home. Even though she knows that there is little value in depending on anyone but herself, buried in her heart is the dream of her own happily ...

A delightful mail-order bride in reverse that’ll melt your heart. A blacksmith in need of a miracle, a livery stable owner requiring rescue- Will an arranged marriage bring more than either bargained for? A widowed blacksmith, Joseph Evans, is hardened, hard-pressed, and weighed down by the needs of his unusual family. If only he could find a housekeeper. But they’re in short supply, and Joseph needs one with the patience of Job. “I don’t want a wife. What I need is a miracle.” Livery stable owner Birdie Murphy needs another pair of hands to save her family home and business. In ...

A woman running from her past, a confirmed bachelor determined to protect his heart, and a town committed to sharing the Christmas spirit. Can a Christmas quilt be the spark that ignites their love, melts their stubborn resolve, and uncovers their hidden desire? Twenty-one-year-old Olive is sick of living her father's lifestyle as an itinerant preacher turned peddler. The latest tar-and-feather incident has made her desperate enough to enlist in a matchmaking venture, of all things—anything to escape further humiliation. Olive accepts a job as a seamstress in Carrie Town, Texas, where ...

Choosing to participate in a matrimonial agency as a mail-order bride, Magnolia proceeds methodically and uses her skills as a cook to create the perfect recipe for a husband. A successful businessman, the idea of putting another person’s needs in front of his own is foreign. He’s shocked when a young cook from an orphanage intrigues him. Can he measure up?

Twenty-year-old Meriwether Walker enjoys the challenge of teaching her varied group of students in the one-room schoolhouse. What she doesn't like is the nomadic lifestyle that comes with it as she rotates boarding with families in the community on a month-to-month basis. Meriwether longs for a home of her own, but since single female teachers have to follow so many rules, she doesn't see any end to her plight, until the letter from the attorney handling her uncle's estate arrives.

Mathematics teacher Daisy Murphy agrees to participate in a new matchmaking service organized by her pastor and the matron of the orphanage where she has spent the last 15 years. Romantic, yet practical, she's systematically eliminated all candidates but one and anticipates getting to know him better through months of correspondence. Time is not on the side of David Taylor. He has a nephew and niece to think about, and his attorney has warned him he will lose custody of both to their rich grandfather if he doesn't have a wife.

A potter in need of a home, a businessman thirsty for the inheritance his marriage will bring; and a proxy marriage that will mold and reshape them both. Since her parents' death; Elly Emerson handles the household and the pottery business to help support the family farm. Left out of the will Elly is faced with homelessness when her new sister-in-law makes it difficult to remain in the family home. Alston Pike, Engineer, and Millwright believes hard work is the cure to mend a broken heart. Enticed by his grandmother's offer to fund his new project, he agrees to marry within three months. Is...

Two brides, a teacher, and an imposter. If anyone can sort out the truth, shouldn’t an experienced sheriff be the man for the job? His true bride is quickly losing confidence. "Typical man, so easily bamboozled by a dimpled smile, flash of an ankle, and twisting skirt. It will serve him right if he marries the wrong woman."

Twenty-two-year-old Garnet Adams longs to marry and have a houseful of children. Forced to support her widowed mother, she embraces her role as a teacher, although the Carrie Town board of education's rules for female teachers leave no opportunity for a social life. She contents herself playing the violin at church. Tall, bearded, and rough around the edges, Deputy Noah Scott would rather hunt than socialize. Garnet thinks he’s a rude, insensitive drifter, and Noah's sure the last person he'd want to court is a schoolmarm - especially with her unladylike sneeze.

Memphis Rose Griffin loves teaching at Counting Stars Children's Home. The girls and staff are like family and working here ties her to her mother, whose last wish was for Memphis to take her place as teacher. But something's missing. Now at the age of 28, her teenage dream of having her own family has all but faded. Her pastor and the orphanage founder presents her with a proposal that will change her life forever. Should she become their first candidate for their new matchmaking venture?

After the deaths of her mother and stepfather, 20-year-old Carol Stone finds herself in reduced circumstances with two younger siblings to care for. The suggested marriage of convenience is out of the question, so she stalls for time. When Carol learns she is the sole heir of a small home in Carrie Town, a newly expanded railroad village, she throws caution to the Texas wind and packs her bags.

Twenty-year-old Maggie Montgomery is a petite young woman ahead of her time. She's had a wonderful childhood and enjoyed spending time with her father and five brothers and is happiest working in the smithy with them. A competent cook and housekeeper, as a favor to the local doctor, she moves in to assist his wife, who is struggling to recuperate from a bout of pneumonia.

Two men in competition to capture the heart of a cautious cook. Is this a recipe for disaster or true love? Alice Connelly agrees to participate in a new matchmaking project organized by her pastor and the orphanage's matron. She can find no peace accepting a role as a mail-order bride and instead becomes the first volunteer to accept a job in a local restaurant and relocate to Carrie Town, Texas. She hopes the experience will help her to discover what she wants in life. But in a town where single men outnumber women thirty to one, she’s more confused than ever. Thrilled to put her skills...

Bethany Phoebe Brady loves assisting her grandfather with his bee farm and volunteering at the Counting Stars Children's Home. A tall woman, she’s always felt awkward and unattractive, and now at the age of 27, she’s given up on the dream of a family of her own. Until her grandfather and the orphanage founder come with a proposal that will change her life forever.

Lois Weaver has been schooled to be polite, ladylike, and honest, to clean, cook, and sew, so at the proper age she would marry. As an adult, she surpassed her father’s expectations with her skills and beauty only to shatter them when she opens a dress shop. She risked everything to open a dress shop. Now the handsome bank owner has come calling. So why isn’t she happy? And why can’t she forget about a certain farmer with big brown eyes?

Mercy Fairchild, a pastor’s daughter, is ready for adventure. She’ll comply with her late father’s last wish—to obtain the help of a matchmaking service and find her a young pastor out West to marry. Yes, she wants God’s perfect plan for her future, but she hopes it will be an exciting plan...perhaps a missionary in a new territory.

Telegraph operator Willow Graham benefited from a unique lifestyle growing up with her grandfather. She’s independent and loves spending time riding and training animals. With her 21st birthday approaching, her family pressures her to return to the city and take up the lavish lifestyle her uncle has planned for her. But another option piques her curiosity –a matchmaking agency’s recommendation that she begins a correspondence with a handsome farmer.

A marriage made in Heaven between a bootlegger’s daughter and a hard-hearted sheriff, they go together like moonshine and bad decisions. Will Abilene find a way to penetrate the barriers of the sheriff’s heart? A hopeless romantic, Abilene is on the run again, dreaming of her happily ever after- an understanding husband, a house in the country, and peace. Sheriff Mark Joseph learned the hard way that love only leads to heartache and is not worth the risk. The last thing he needs is a wife. Long work hours with a healthy dose of danger are the best antidote to a broken heart. Will ...

A harsh, scar-faced, rancher, An impulsive, whimsical teacher go together like dandelions and daydreams. Well, she thinks so anyway… Carrie Ann Dixon’s impulsive nature has cost her a teaching position. Destitute, she agrees to seek the help of a matchmaker. She believes there’s a happily ever after within reach for everyone, and she’ll work hard to make her dream come true. Casting her past failures aside, she’s thrilled with the idea of moving west and requests a match with someone who embraces adventure and will be enthusiastic about building a romantic relationship. Gabe ...

Faith Fairchild is destitute and has no other choice but to comply with her late father’s last wish—to find a husband through a matchmaking service. As a pastor’s daughter, she trusts his advice but believes hard work and commitment combined with a bit of romance will give her the desired goal of "happily ever after". Ranch owner Audie Harris has one single goal—to make the family ranch a success and secure it for future generations. He needs a wife who understands that the isolation and hard work of cattle farming are necessary to achieve his goal.