The Bridal Train Series

After debarking from the train, the bride must report directly to the Espousal Alliance Office on Monroe Street, to be appointed lodgings and details about her husband-to-be.   These were the only instructions Anna Winters had received upon getting herself into this mess—or her new life, rather. But the bottom line is she's running, pure and simple, from her warm, protected life as a young woman of upstanding birth in Concord. Now she's about to become bride to a man she doesn't even know, but at least it isn't to that dastardly rake who ruined her for any other good man.   Only, the bigger problem is she's arrived on the wrong date and the office isn't ready to receive her. Also, she has no husband-to-be yet assigned, and there are no lodgings.   William McCoe is the owner of the best saloon in Topeka and he's about to invest in the Santa Fe Railroad as well, which should make him a millionaire by the time he's thirty. His aspirations are larger than his reputation for living fast and loose, so to even things out, he's on the lookout for a woman to toy with. When he sets his sights on a sweet little miss with her nose in the air, his intrigue leads him to open communications, only to discover she's only available if he's in the market for marriage.   Which he absolutely is not. Not ever…

When Mina Fischer boards what is dubbed the Bridal Train to Kansas, she is well aware of her duties to her soon-to-be husband. Though being a quiet girl raised in the country, she knows better how to talk to sheep and horses than men. Still, she must try to be engaging and helpful to her new husband—whoever he may be. Her only hope is that the Espousal Alliance Office will find her a match who does not mind her simple ways. And if he enjoys animals as much as she does, all the better.     George Lawrence is not entirely prepared to be married, but who ever is? His fellow directors of the  railroad he's invested in are encouraging him to take a wife, so as to appear more stable, helping them receive the government land grant they need. Somehow he finds himself with a shy little bride, wondering how to get on with her when he is so social and she seems to have come from another world.     While Mina flounders with her new duties, which are nothing like farm chores back in Virginia, George is taken for a wild ride with his lovely wife who is so full of strange and amusing ideas, including the number of animals that should be allowed to sleep in their bed. She worries over whether or not she pleases George, but unfolding events reveal how resourceful she is—but will she help or hinder him?

The Bridal Train is Grace Nelson's ticket to a new life. After losing her home and everyone she loves, her only recourse is to marry. Now that she's arrived in Kansas, she is thrilled to learn that her groom has a prestigious job as the deputy sheriff. But the wedding can't go on as planned—because he's been dead for two days.   Sheriff Brock Bell doesn't know what else could go wrong this month. Between the stagecoach and train robberies and being down a deputy, the last thing he needs are more complications. So when a woman arrives in his office in tears, claiming she was his late deputy's bride-to-be, he's determined to get rid of her as quick as possible. But as it becomes clear the vulnerable woman's about to get snatched up by the wrong type of man, what choice does Brock have but to marry her himself?   Grace is thrown right into life as the sheriff's wife—hobnobbing with society ladies, trying to learn her busy husband's idiosyncrasies… and fishing bullets out of the big oaf? Brock isn't quite sure what to do with Grace, but she sure does have the prettiest eyes this side of the Mississippi and a sharp tongue to challenge him at every turn. Only when she voices her opinion about subjects dealing with the law, Brock considers locking her in the house. Or maybe he should just kiss her until she's quiet?

Maisie thinks of herself as a tough, resourceful woman, and that's about to be put to the test. After leaving her abusive husband and making off with all the cash she can carry, her only goal is to stay out of sight and survive. Then she learns her husband is six feet under. She should be able to relax, only she fears she will be blamed for his murder. So she hops a train and finds herself as a Bridal Train Bride.   Henry Cartwright loves tending the land, growing crops and raising animals for market, though it's a lonely life. When his family urges him to take a wife, he can't think of anything he has to offer a woman besides hard work, but he settles on a Bridal Train Bride. Maisie is soft-spoken and reserved, leaving Henry thinking of her as a frightened animal, and he longs to set her at ease.   With newfound freedom and peace in her heart at long last, Maisie wonders if she was wrong about all men being the same. Maybe this one deserves a chance—and a bit of the kindness he doles out to her so easily. When problems arise on the farm, they're forced to work together and fight for the life they share. It just might be time for Maisie to dig up that satchel full of money she buried out back.

When she was a little girl, Holly dreamed of a prince coming to take her away from her cold-hearted family and sweep her up into his arms. Well, those dreams are dead, along with her parents. Cut from the will by a cruel uncle, Holly has no choice but to make her own way—and it's West. Maybe her knight in shining armor is at the end of the Bridal Train line and is really wearing spurs.   The last thing Samuel Hollinger is in the market for is a wife. But his family is coming all the way from New York City to see him, and they might be under the impression that he's married. And that just might be his fault. The only way out is to get himself one of those mail order brides, though he has no clue what to do with her once his family returns home.   Samuel makes it quite clear he doesn't want a wife, and Holly is facing yet more loneliness. But then his family comes to visit, and she's embraced by their warmth and exuberance, leaving her feeling this Christmas might be her first happy one. Watching his new bride settle into the frontier has Samuel all mixed up. Now he's wondering why he never wanted a wife in the first place…