Nora Taylor was the little girl who followed Jim Brooks around the fields asking too many questions. So when his brother, Henry, announces Nora’s return from a trip to Boston along with his intention to court and marry her, Jim thinks he’s joking. Until he sees for himself how much Nora’s grown up. Suddenly staying out of his little brother’s way doesn’t seem so easy. The man Nora loves thinks she deserves better. Can she change his mind? Or will his brother change hers? Ribbons and Beaus is the prequel novella for Kathleen Denly's Chaparral Hearts series and is exclusively available to Kathleen's Readers' Club Members.

She doesn’t need his help. He doesn’t need another delay. But God has other plans… Eliza Brooks’s worst nightmare has come true—her father is missing. Now she’ll do anything to find him, even if it means taking a chance on who she must trust. But once aboard the steamship bound for San Diego—her father’s last known whereabouts—she finds herself in far more danger than she imagined. Daniel Clarke is a man of his word. Though he never imagined he’d be in California for four years, at least he’s finally earned the money he needs to get married. Now he just has to get back to his fiancée in Massachusetts…the sooner the better. Especially since she’s stopped replying to his letters. When he boards a ship bound for San Diego, the first leg of his journey home, the last person Daniel expects to meet is his boss’s niece. What could Eliza be thinking, traveling with no escort? With the lecherous captain determined to ruin her, Daniel has no choice but to offer his protection. From shipwreck to cavalry outpost to the Southern California mountain wilderness, Daniel’s entanglement with Eliza forces them—and their hearts—to face a future neither of them ever dreamed.

Richard Stevens isn’t who he thinks he is. Neither is the woman who now claims his last name. Disfiguring scars stole Clarinda Humphrey’s singing career, her home, and her family, but she refuses to let her appearance steal her future. While attending The Young Ladies Seminary in 1858 Benicia, California, she finds a man who promises to love and cherish her. Instead he betrays her, leaving her with child, and Clarinda must take drastic measures to ensure her child doesn’t suffer for her foolishness. Richard Stevens’s life hasn’t turned out as he expected, and when a shocking letter turns even his past into a mystery, he travels to San Francisco in search of guidance. On the way, he encounters a mysterious young woman hiding beneath a veil. That night he experiences a dream that sends him on a quest to find the bride God has chosen for him. He never imagines she’s already told everyone they're married. Unwilling to lie, nor accept a marriage of mere convenience, Richard wants the real thing. Yet Clarinda's not interested in love, only a chance to save her child. Can he help her rise above the pain that runs deeper than her scars to accept a love worth every risk?

Her calling to change the world may be his downfall. On the heels of the Great Rebellion, Margaret Foster, an abolitionist northerner, takes a teaching position in 1865 San Diego—a town dominated by Southern sympathizers. At thirty-seven years of age, Margaret has accepted spinsterhood and embraced her role as teacher. So, when Everett Thompson, the handsomest member of the School Board, reveals his interest in her, it’s a dream come true. Until her passionate ideals drive a wedge between them. After two decades of hard work, Everett Thompson is on the verge of having everything he’s dreamed of. Even the beautiful new teacher has agreed to his courtship. Then two investments go south and a blackmailer threatens everything Everett has and dreams of. As Everett scrambles to shore up the crumbling pieces of his life, Margaret unwittingly sets off a scandal that divides the small community and threatens her position as teacher. With the blackmailer still whispering threats, Everett must decide if he’s willing to risk everything for the woman still keeping him at arm’s length.

Will love survive when truth takes aim at their secrets? Sharpshooter Preston Baker has spent a lifetime confronting danger head-on. So when a heartfelt letter arrives from his big sister asking for help, he doesn’t hesitate to put his traveling show career on hold and journey to her remote desert ranch, determined to make amends for past failures. What he doesn't expect is to discover his long-lost little sister and her best friend, Lucy, are both hard at work on the ranch. Unbeknownst to anyone, Lucy Arlidge’s decision to travel to a remote desert ranch was born as much from desperation as friendship. Fleeing San Francisco may have saved Lucy’s life, but the decision left others in danger. To thwart the evil plans of those who pursue her and her family, Lucy must keep her new gem-mining operation concealed and her secrets safe. Preston is drawn to the mysterious woman, despite her plans to marry the neighboring rancher. Lucy’s quiet strength and undeniable beauty beckon him like a campfire in the wilderness, offering light amidst the dark memories and deepest fears resurrected by the presence of his sisters. But as danger closes in, Preston and Lucy must confront their pasts to save not only their own futures, but the lives of everyone they love.