A NEW LIFE, A SECOND CHANCEInheriting a practically derelict sheep ranch in Montana wouldn't be considered a windfall for most people. But for Harriet Allistair, it was perfect. The exact challenge to prove to her family and herself that she wasn't a failure, that she could be someone.And she didn't need help, particularly from Nathan Hazard. He might be charming and handsome and a successful sheep rancher in his own right, but Harriet didn't trust his motives. Yet facing the house falling apart, the business in bankruptcy, the land and animals needing attention and her own heart betraying her, could she really do it without him? Did she want to?

Raised by her father as the son he never had, Sloan Stewart coldly pursues a materialist destiny and scrupulously avoids affairs of the heart, but an encounter with Cruz Guerrero leaves her and the hot Texas Plains even hotter.

Meet Hawk's Way's sexiest cowboys! From New York Times bestselling author Joan Johnston comes a story of a cherished member of the Whitelaw family as she finds the life she's always wanted. Adventurous and stubborn Tate Whitelaw has had enough of her three overprotective brothers. After growing up under their watchful eyes, she can't live up to the expectations everyone seems to have for her. To prevent them from further meddling in her life, she leaves the only family she's ever known—and runs straight into the arms of hardened rancher Adam Phillips. Adam has had enough experience with misfits and strays that he knows a damsel in distress when he sees one. He's in no mood to deal with the spirited women, but he can't seem to keep her out of his heart...or his bed. But when Tate's brother track her down with shotguns in hand, Adam will have to wrangle her heart, before he loses her for good. Previously published as The Rancher and...

A lavish summer wedding is being planned at Bitter Creek ranch. In one month, Clay Blackthorne will wed socialite Jocelyn Montrose. But when she hears stirrings of a corporate takeover by the family's archrival, North Grayhawk, Jocelyn covertly heads to North's ranch to offer a valuable commodity -- herself -- if North will call off his plans. Striking a deal to spend the summer with the steely, seductive North, Jocelyn fails to see that her sacrifice to protect the man she loves may have dire consequences. Stunned by his fiancee's rejection, Clay, a newly appointed federal judge, begins presiding over an incendiary terrorism trial, which brings him face to face with his first love, Libby Grayhawk. As tensions mount, forces beyond Clay's control threaten the women most precious to him in the past and the present. And only in a daring act of sacrifice will he know which woman will become the next Mrs. Blackthorne.

New York Times bestselling author Joan Johnston brings to life an unforgettable love story between two strong-willed people from different worlds in her thrilling new novel featuring the Blackthornes of Bitter Creek, Texas, and their formidable rivals, the Grayhawks of Wyoming. Juggling single motherhood and her job as deputy sheriff of Teton County, Sarah Barndollar hasn't lost hope of solving two cold cases of missing young women. When a third vanishes, all hell breaks loose -- because she's the illegitimate daughter of Texas scion Clay Blackthorne and the granddaughter of his mortal enemy King Grayhawk. The crisis pits the two powerful families against each other in a race against time. Playboy Drew DeWitt, a Blackthorne cousin, insists on taking part in the search -- putting him on a collision course with Sarah. Her cop instincts tell her the sexy Texan is trouble. But when evidence emerges of a conspiracy against the U.S. government, Sarah accepts...

From Library JournalIn a prequel to her best-selling The Cowboy, Johnston sweeps us back to the Republic of Texas in the 1840s and into the lives of the early Creeds. Texas Ranger Jarrett Creed and Creighton "Cricket" Stewart (another strong heroine, incidentally) fight for their new republic and struggle to forge a lasting marriage in the process. First published in 1988 as part of her "Sisters of the Lone Star" trilogy and out of print for some time, Frontier Woman will be of particular interest to fans of Johnston's current "Bitter Creek" series, which continues the story of the Creeds into the present. Johnston is a New York Times best-selling writer and lives in Florida. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. ReviewAlso by Joan Johnston ? two sumptuous bestselling novels that feature the proud, passionate Texas ranching families, the Blackthornes and the Creeds: The Cowboy The Texan Available from Dell And look for the next two books: Comanche WomanTexas WomanComing soon -- Review

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Joan Johnston has captivated readers with her irresistible Hawk's Way series. Discover the book that started it all! Sometimes love needs a helping hand... Honey hasn't been the same ever since her husband, a Texas Ranger, died on the job. Juggling the ranch, raising her two teenage children, and nursing a wounded heart has left her at the end of her rope. So when cowboy Jesse Whitelaw turns up on her doorstep looking for work, he seems like the answer to her prayers. But Honey is used to working on her own terms, and isn't ready for the feelings he's stirring in her heart. Jesse longs to be the man in Honey's life, but he'll do anything to keep his secret hidden. She doesn't know he's really a Ranger himself, and is undercover investigating a cattle-rustling ring. But as they grow closer, it becomes tougher for Jesse to pretend. Can he and Honey obey the law of their own hearts?...

Joan Johnston transports us to rugged present-day Texas--a place of wide-open prairies and unbridled ambitions--where two ranching families, the Blackthornes and the Creeds, are locked in a bitter century-old feud. Here, Johnston brings to life a breathtaking love story--between the Blackthornes' oldest son and the Creeds' beautiful daughter--a magnificent novel of passion, vengeance, and star-crossed love.Trace Blackthorne was taught from the cradle to take what he wanted. And he wanted Callie Creed. Eleven years ago, the feud between their families had torn them apart. But now Trace has come home, a ruthless hard-eyed stranger, making her an offer she couldn't refuse: marry him and save her struggling family from financial ruin. But the secrets of the past return to haunt them. And Callie is once again compelled to make an impossible choice--between the family who desperately needs her and the only man she has ever loved.From the Paperback edition.

Angela Taylor owes her life to the Texas Ranger who rescued her from a band of no-good renegades. The problem is that he'd pulled her out of danger—and straight into the twentieth century. Now Angela's as far from Texas, 1864, as she could be, stuck with a disbelieving man too handsome from her own good. She's either a woman out of time...or completely out of her mind. Dallas Masterson isn't sure what to believe. From her crazy clothes to her feisty ways, he's almost convinced that this sassy, smart-mouthed woman fought Comanches, buried her fiance, ran from the law and stole to survive...especially when she steals his horse to try and get back to the cave where he found her. Now, both Angela and Dallas are discovering that when it comes to things like the past—and falling in love—there's no place to go but the future.

A DESPERATE DECEPTIONTHE PROMISE OF FOREVERWhen Karl Norwood’s mail-order bride meets an untimely demise on the way to the Montana Territory, Hetty Wentworth steps in to take her place. Hetty has no idea how she’s going to pretend to be all the things she isn’t—including the mother of two kids. She only knows her deception is necessary if she’s going to save two orphans from the awful fate she suffered as a child.Karl smells a rat when a much younger woman than he was expecting arrives with two children who look nothing like her. But his mail-order bride is so beautiful, he doesn’t object—until he realizes that his charming new wife has been lying . . . about everything. Can a woman forced to keep secrets and a man hindered by distrust ever hope to find happily ever after in each other’s arms?**

Haunted by war wounds and the woman who left him, Ex-Delta Army Sergeant Joe Warren is a man scarred body and soul. His life as he knew it is over, and he has no idea where to go from here. When his sister begs him to rescue a young woman in trouble, Joe reluctantly agrees to help—and comes face-to-face with the most beautiful—willful, stubborn, and sexy—woman he's ever met.Lady Lydia Benedict yearns for a life of passion and adventure, one where she's appreciated for her brains as well as her beauty. But she panics when she awakens—still dressed in her ball gown—and discovers that the priceless pearl necklace she'd worn to a charity ball the night before is missing. To make matters worse, Lydia never got permission from her mother to borrow the necklace, and it's her brother, who trusted her with the irreplaceable pearl, who'll be punished if it isn't found.Joe is Lydia's only hope, but the hard-hearted soldier and the British aristocrat find themselves at odds as time runs out....

A story of an unforgettable first love in the heart of Texas . . . from New York Times bestselling author Joan JohnstonDelia Carson was only sixteen when she fled her Texas hometown. She left behind a web of lies that destroyed her family . . . and Marsh North, the irresistible bad boy she'd fallen in love with. Now, eleven years later, a family crisis forces Delia to return home—back to the mystery, back to the shadows . . . back to Marsh.His bad-boy reputation behind him, Marsh is now a respected, prizewinning journalist. And he's never forgotten Delia or the youthful love they shared. Determined not to lose her again, Marsh sets out to prove to Delia that they belong together. But will the dark secrets from Delia's past keep them apart?