Sherri Shackelford

Paid to accompany two orphaned siblings to their grandfather in Nebraska, Lily Winter is dismayed to discover the old man has gone missing. And when the children's inheritance makes them a target, buying protection is Lily's only option. Until a handsome gun–for–hire suggests another solution: marriage. 

Undercover US Marshal Jake Elder can't reveal his true identity without blowing his mission. Nor can he leave the town's pretty new arrival unguarded. But while uncovering a plot against her charges is difficult and risky, falling for Lily is all too easy. Especially once their marriage in name only gives Jake a glimpse of how wonderful Christmas–and their future as a family–could be.

Make–Believe Marriage...

When Tilly Hargreaves and her three nieces are stranded at his small stagecoach station in an abandoned town and threatened by outlaws, Nolan West must protect them. And the only way he can do that is by pretending he's married to Tilly. But can the former solider, whose only wish is for solitude, stop himself from growing attached to his temporary family? 

Tilly knows the charade is necessary to keep her and the girls safe, but now her heart is in danger. The longer she pretends the stoic station agent is her husband, the more genuine their union feels. Nolan believes he's better off alone, but Tilly's certain that if he'd only open his heart to his make–believe family, he'd want to claim them as his for real. 

Stand–In Wife

Russ Halloway's mail–order bride never boarded the bride train! In her place is recently widowed Anna Darby Linford, sister of the last woman to jilt Russ. He's surprised to see Anna again – and stunned when he discovers she's pregnant. Marrying Anna seems the right thing to do...especially since love continues to evade him.

Anna hopes Russ will help her find employment – becoming a wife again never even crossed her mind. Yet as she struggles to start over in the small town, Anna forges a genuine connection with Russ. When secrets from her past threaten Russ's future in politics, can they protect their family in the making?

Her life is a mystery…and forgetting the past can be deadly.

Run off the road, investigative journalist Emma Lyons awakens with no memory of who she is or what happened. And researching her own past with Deputy Liam McCourt quickly leads to a killer who wants them silenced. Branded outsiders in a sleepy Texas town full of dark secrets, can they escape an unknown threat dead set on robbing Emma of her past — and future?

The rancher's special delivery! 

The 'package' is addressed to him, but rancher Sterling Blackwell certainly didn't order a baby! More scandalous still, he and the town's pretty teacher are named as parents. With gossip running wild, only a marriage of convenience can protect little Gracie and their reputations until her real family is found. 

Heather O'Connor is content to be the spinster schoolmarm of Valentine, Montana…until Gracie's arrival stirs her heart. She can't keep the adorable child without Sterling's help, though she promises not to interfere with his life. But staying aloof from her handsome husband isn't easy with a tiny matchmaker in tow. A mistake brought them together, but love might just make them a family by Christmas…

He lives by the law. She's running for her life.

After forensic accountant Beth Greenwood uncovers a money-laundering scheme tying her company to the organisation that murdered her mentor, she knows she needs to go into hiding. With ruthless killers in pursuit, she's forced to rely on homeland security agent Corbin Ross's protection – even as his investigation suggests Beth is complicit in embezzlement. Can their uneasy alliance develop into something deeper – and keep them alive?

Instant Daddy 

An abandoned baby is the last thing town founder Will Canfield expects on his doorstep. He's not the father–and the mother's unknown. But the precious little girl needs a protector. And Will never backs down from a challenge, even if it means caring for a newborn…or dealing with spitfire cattle driver Tomasina Stone. 

With her father gone, Tomasina's trail life has ended. Yet becoming a polished city lady feels far out of her reach. All she wants is a place where she'll be appreciated, respected…maybe loved. And the more time she spends helping Will care for the baby, the more she wonders if she's found it. She's never wanted to settle down…but Cowboy Creek–by Will's side–might finally give her heart a lasting home. 

Cowboy Creek: Bringing mail–order brides, and new beginnings, to a Kansas boomtown

Cowboy John Elder needs a replacement crew of cattle hands to drive his longhorns to Kansas––he just never figured they'd be wearing petticoats. Traveling with Moira O'Mara and the orphan girls in her care is a mutually beneficial arrangement. Yet despite Moira's declaration of independence, the feisty beauty evokes John's every masculine instinct to protect, defend…marry?

Moira was grateful for John's help when he rescued her–and she couldn't deny that his calm, in control matter proves comforting.  But she was determined not to let anything get in the way of her plans to search for her long–lost brother at journey's end.   However, could John show her a new future–one perfect for them to share?

Rock–solid and reliable, confirmed bachelor Caleb McCoy thought nothing could rattle him–until he discovers he needs to pose as Anna Bishop's intended groom. After saving her life, his honorable code bid Caleb watch over the innocent beauty. And a pretend engagement is the only way to protect her from further harm.

Raised by a single mother and suffragist, Anna doesn't think much of marriage–and she certainly doesn't plan to try it herself. But playing Caleb's blushing bride–to–be makes her rethink her independent ways, because their make–believe romance is becoming far too real…

Prairie Courtships: Romance on the range

A marriage of necessity 

Gentlemen don't court feisty straight shooters like JoBeth McCoy. Just as she's resigned to a lifetime alone, a misunderstanding forces the spunky telegraph operator into a marriage of convenience. Wedding the town's handsome new marshal offers JoBeth a chance at motherhood, caring for the orphaned little girl she's come to love. 

Garrett Cain will lose guardianship of his niece, Cora, if he stays single, but he knows no woman could accept the secrets he's hidden about his past. The lawman can't jeopardize Cora's future by admitting the truth. Yet when unexpected danger in the small town threatens to expose Garrett's long–buried secret, only a leap of faith can turn a makeshift union into a real family.