This is a story of the early days when... An intense, red-haired young man named Rusty Shannon rides into Fort Belknap on the Brazos River and joins the Texas Rangers. Years before, Mike Shannon rescued Rusty from a Comanche war party and became his adoptive father. Not long ago, Mike Shannon, was bushwhacked and killed, and his death still haunts Rusty. Rusty thinks he knows the identity of Mike's killers. But with Texas now in the throes of seceding...

Sheriff Hackberry Holland protects the citizens of a small Southwest Texas border town and relies on his job to distract him from his grief over the loss of his wife and the mixed feelings he has for his young deputy, Pam Tibbs, but when a report is made that a man was tortured to death in the desert, Holland follows a lead to the home of Anton Ling, a Chinese woman who reminds Holland of his wife and is known for sheltering illegals.

In a small Texas town, what starts as a little festive Halloween fun ends in a brutal murder. And lawyer-turned-herbalist China Bayles is even more shocked when her friend Ruby, a New Age expert in tarot and astrology, becomes the prime suspect after a minister accuses her of witchcraft. Now it's up to China to unmask the real killer…

"Branding Iron, Texas, is Travis Morgan's last resort, and the abandoned ranch he inherited isn't much more welcoming than the prison where he spent the last three years doing time for a tragic accident. Travis finds celebrating Christmas is the last thing on his mind until he meets the town's sweetly stubborn mayor, Maggie Delaney"--

"...Margaret O'Brien prides herself on her competence as a rancher. But her father believes she's made for more than just dawn-to-dusk work. He wants her to have the love of a good man, to raise children, to build a life. But Margaret gave up such dreams years ago..."--p. [4] of cover.

Carny Sullivan grew up in the zany world of a traveling carnival. Quaint and peaceful Serenity, Texas, has given her a home, a life, and a child. Logan Brisco is the smoothest, slickest, handsomest man Serenity, Texas has ever seen. But Carny Sullivan knows a con artist when she sees one-and she's seen plenty, starting with her father. As far as Carny Sullivan can tell, she's the only one in town who has his number. Because from his Italian shoes...

Billie, matriarch of the Coleman family, is dying and tries to heal the rifts that separate her family.

Another unforgettable heroine! Like a dandelion in the wind, Hope Ladley blows from one farm to the next, helping cook for the field hands during the harvest. Illiterate and often twisting cliches and Bible verses into mind-boggling observations, Hope leaves widower Jakob Stauffer baffled by her unconventional ways. But her sunny disposition and unstinting love make changes of a different kind around the place. His little daughter and the pregnant...

"The oldest and boldest O'Malley brother, Long John takes on the challenge of riding shotgun on a wagon train across the hostile Nebraska Territory. But the real test lies in the journey ahead--to the Rocky Mountains, Sante Fe, and home to Texas--with perils that will either make him a living legend . . . or a dead one"--