AustLit

'For only child Neve Fitzpatrick, family is everything. When she loses her mother, she heads to the bush to rent a farmhouse near her grandmother's family home. To keep herself busy and her grief at bay, she offers to look after two little redheaded cowgirls and adopts a sassy pony and shaggy donkey in need of a refuge.

'Drover and horse trainer Tanner Callahan may have just found his mother, but he's resolved never to let anyone too close. Abandonment has cursed him all his life, and he won't let it happen again. Only two things unnerve him: children and small–town matchmaking. Then he meets occupational therapist Neve. Warm–hearted and unforgettable, she represents all that Tanner feels will forever remain out of reach.

'But when an old iron key unlocks family secrets from the Second World War, Neve needs help only Tanner can give. As the threads of the past unravel, and locusts threaten to suffocate the land, Neve and Tanner must make a choice. Will fear keep them running or is the home each yearns for already within grasp?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Marietta home town girl Kendall Dixon knows who she is and what she wants, even if the stubborn and slow-smiling cowboy who owns her heart is long gone from Montana.

'Rancher Brent Ashton returns to Marietta to care for his sick mother. Haunted by the death of his father, he must save his derelict home and resist rekindling the romance with the only girl he's ever loved. He can’t let her sacrifice her dreams for him.

'But the shy and sweet Kendall he left behind has become a strong and determined woman. A woman who won’t let her cowboy walk away for a second time.' (Publication summary)

'Working cowgirl, Payton Hollis, has no time for hairdryers, heels and helplessness. She must save her home, Beargrass Hills Ranch. She also has no time for men. She already is boot-deep in blue-eyed cowboy trouble.

'City-boy, Cordell Morgan, isn’t who he seems. His fancy suit and slow smile hide dark secrets. Secrets as to why his hands are callused, why he never stays around and why he has really come to Marietta, Montana.

'Between a shrewd old rancher, a cantankerous rodeo horse and a stud bull called Trouble, Payton and Cordell have no chance to lead separate lives. No matter how much their futures may depend upon them doing so.

'Can a sassy cowgirl lower her guard for a man who will soon be gone? And can a man who believes emotions are nothing but a liability take the ultimate risk?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.