Bücher von Linda Sealy Knowles

The SecretNews spread like wildfire throughout the whole county that the most eligible bachelor was getting engaged to his young beautiful, spirited sister. How could a brother and sister get married? Everyone knew that they weren't blood relatives but they had grown up together since Hope was only a small child of three. They had shared adventures and took part in each other's struggles as they tried to follow their dreams.WillA young, rugged rancher with coal black hair and crystal blue eyes, he had always been bossy, over-protective, and affectionate at times when it came to Hope, his young shadow and later the one to whom he confided his secrets. Will was ready to settle down, fall in love and start a family. But who would have thought that he would have chosen the spirited young beauty with big brown eyes sparkling with mischief? It was rumored that he had waited for years for his young side-kick, Hope, to grow up.HopeA young beauty with golden hair and big brown eyes, Hope had loved Will all of her life-as a big brother. He was her best friend, protector, enemy, and hero. She had loved him and looked up to him all her life. Will challenged her ever inappropriate behavior for a young lady while she fought him with all the stubbornness that she could command. Why would this feisty, exquisite young woman want to settle down with Will, who was more like a real brother to her than a lover?

After two years away from Limason, Texas, Jess Maxwell is eager to get home. Unfortunately, he knows two mean men-who won't be happy until he's dead-are trailing him. Mary Beth is home for the summer from nursing school and has known Jess her whole life. Imagine his surprise that, at the age of nineteen, she's grown into a real beauty.Jess and Mary Beth are reunited, and this time, sparks fly. Within days of Jess's return to Limason, the bad men show up and terrorize anyone who gets in their way-including Mary Beth. Jess had planned to court and eventually marry the smart young woman, but the attack leaves her paralyzed with fear, unwilling to trust a man ever again.Is seeking revenge against those who hurt her Jess's only way to prove his dedication? Is it possible a wise old woman could help Mary Beth trust her feelings of love? With honesty and compassion on his side, Jess might be able to convince Mary Beth of the gentle affection he has had for her-always.

Hannah Hopkins is on the journey of a lifetime. As part of a small wagon train heading to California in 1897, she and her father know that their new life will be ¿lled with adventure, new horizons, and hardship. When Hannah is the victim of unwanted advances, she is callously shunned by their traveling companions. Worse, her beloved father, a respected physician, dies along the trail after a brief illness.Heartbroken and afraid, the grieving daughter is forced off the wagon train and abandoned to a nightmare. She ¿nds herself the prisoner of an old couple who rob and abuse her. But one day when her captors tie her to the back of the wagon and leave her unattended in town while running errands, a guardian angel in the form of a ¿ve-year-old boy comes to her rescue.In this small town, Hannah meets Dr. Tim O'Riley, who treats her injuries- only to be forced into a marriage of convenience by uncontrollable circumstances. A de¿ant Hannah vows that she will never allow any man to dominate her again. Her new husband, a good man, only wants to love her and care for her. Tim respects her hesitations and keeps his distance until his new bride is ready.To the eyes of the world, theirs is a marriage made in heaven, but to Hannah it still seems that she has lost her freedom. Can she lower her guard to ever trust again, or will the scars of her past keep her alone and never allow her to have her way?

To escape the unthinkable, twenty-year old Rae Rodgers does the impossible; she disappears into the night with only a few meager belongings, even fewer dollars, and her three-year old sister, Hope. Leaving the only home she'd ever known was the hardest thing she had ever done in her twenty years, but she had no choice. She has to get her sister and herself out of the home of her stepfather before it is too late.With only her strong will and determination, she and Hope travel on a stagecoach as far as her last dollar will take her-Limason, Texas. With the last of her coins depleted and without means to purchase food, she faints at the feet of another passenger, the striking cattle rancher Jesse Maxwell.Jesse takes an immediate liking to the young woman and offers her a job at his ranch. Rae, instantly attracted to Jesse, leads him to believe she is a young widow traveling with her child. But her new life is threatened when she sees posters in town that offer a reward for Hope's return. Grimly determined, she devises a plan to keep Hope safely concealed, even at the risk of losing her own life.

The luck of a gambling hand had changed his fate and now the young cowboy was ready to start a new life.BudAfter serving time in the Louisiana State Prison, Bud Downey spent many months winning a small fortune as a gambler. Feeling confident that he had won enough money, he packed up his stake to begin his journey to Limason, Texas-Home. After his last winning hand at the gambling table, a couple of disgruntled cowboys were angry that they had lost all their money to the smooth-talking young man. As Bud traveled near the border of Lafayette, Louisiana, he was ambushed, shot and left for dead in the swampy waters of the bayou.RosieRosie Jourdian never dreamed at the young age of eighteen she would have the sole responsible for caring for her two young siblings. With one friend in the world, an old black Creole Voodoo woman, she was abandoned by her mama and left to raise a six week old baby boy and an eleven year old brother.While fishing in the bayou river, she discovered a bloody cowboy in the swampy waters. With Justice's special herbs and potions, they nursed him back to health.Once well enough to travel, Bud Downey's luck had ran out. The men who were looking for him discovered his whereabouts and burned down Rosie's shack leaving her family homeless. With their situation changed could Bud ride away and leave Rosie alone in the Bayou-now homeless?Would this independent young girl go with him and leave the only home she has ever known?

Would winning a cook in a poker game be a good deal for Luke Tyler, a gold mine owner, especially when the cook is a reluctant, beautiful young gal?LukeWith the charm of a lazy smile, the dark-haired gold mine owner, joins in a poker game. His opponent is the owner of the saloon-café, who has a daughter that prepares the food for his establishment. Luke Tyler's gold mining camp is in desperate need of a good cook. His opponent holds a sure hand to win the big pot, but he doesn't have money to continue. Luke encourages him to put up his daughter as collateral. Confident that he can't lose, he agrees. Unfortunately, his lady luck has ran out.Mary GraceMary Grace Winters is the picture of beauty with the heart of a tiger. She works her fingers to the bone for her pa as housekeeper and cook at his café. When she overhears that she's been put up as collateral for a bet in a poker game, she swears she'll hate her pa for the rest of her life and she'll never be owned by a total stranger.Linda Sealy Knowles weaves a heart-warming story filled with humor, enduring family ties, and romance.

"You want me to be a mail-order bride to a total stranger?"Abby Mills knew she had to leave her home, but to go and live with a total stranger-for life?Sheltered for eighteen years, Abby makes a promise to her dying mother, the madam of The Red Dog Saloon, to leave the only home she had ever known. The saloon wasn't a safe place for a beautiful young girl to live without the protection of her mother. With the help of an old friend of her mama's, Abby finds herself having to make a crucial decision about her future.The offer of a new home with wide-open spaces, fresh air and freedom were too much to resist, but to marry a stranger might be asking the unthinkable.After Mason Waters and his uncle struck it rich in 1851, Mason's uncle opened a bank in San Francisco, but that wasn't the ideal life Mason had in mind. Feeling smothered and unhappy in San Francisco, Mason bought a ranch in northern California. After several years of hard work, Mason had everything he needed and wanted on his ranch-but a wife. After requesting that his uncle choose him a mail-order bride-one who was of good character, hardworking and easy on the eyes, he patiently waited for her arrival.Before his bride-to-be showed up, several men spread indecent rumors about his new bride's past. Uncertain of the truth, upon meeting Abby, Mason made several offensive remarks to her. How and why he would believe those remarks about her, she wasn't sure. But one thing was clear to Abby. Her new husband didn't trust her to be of good character, having believed the lies that she worked upstairs in the Red Dog Saloon.Abby knew the truth, but she wasn't about to force it on him, so she accepted her fate. For better or worse, she was here to stay as his mail-order bride, but would Mason ever fully accept her as his wife?

Sarah Sullivan is forced to live all winter in an isolated mountain cabin with a total stranger.Sarah Sullivan leaves home to marry her fiancé in Fort Laramie, Wyoming, although she has not seen him in a year. In route, the stagecoach is robbed and one of the passengers is killed, leaving a small child, Penny, who becomes Sarah's responsibility.Seth Jenkins, a trapper living on a mountain, witnesses the robbery and scares the bandits away. He carries the woman and child to his mountain cabin and takes care of them until they're able to travel. As he prepares to take them down the mountain to Fort Laramie, an explosion blocks the main pathway, trapping them for months.Sarah works beside the mountain man and Penny to survive the cruel winter months, and the attraction for each other grows. Her fiancé is waiting on her arrival, but can she marry one man when her heart is trapped by another?

Joy Carlstrom had just received an answer to her prayer, a miracle in the form of a young cowboy.The western sun beat down on Joy Carlstrom's young body as she lay sprawled across a pile of dirt that would be her pa's resting place. With no one to help, she cried out to God. With only a rusty shovel, she needed help to bury her pa. She prayed for a miracle.When the uneven clip-clop of a horse's hooves sounded behind her, Joy sprang to her feet. A young man stood nearby staring at her. With a tear-streaked face, she waved the rusty shovel like a weapon while demanding, "Who are you? What do you want?"The tall man removed his hat to show copper-hued hair and kind eyes. "Ma'am, don't be afraid. We just need a little water, and I'd be grateful if you could lend me a tool to remove the stone from my horse's hoof."Joy's eyes widened as realization struck her. Was this man God's miracle?