Elise Toussaint Hearne thought her devastating secret was safe—after all, her dark hair and complexion could mean she had French ancestry. But that did little to save her when it was discovered that her deceased mother was a runaway quadroon. Disowned and shamed by the Hearne family, Elise and her baby find themselves on their way to the wild frontier of Texas—as slave. When Elise inadvertently meets Benjamin Sinclair, a fiery evangelist determined to convert the lawless Texans, their lives become intertwined in the midst of tragedy—shattering their fragile existence and forcing them to discover the faith that sustains. This volume also includes the full-length novel Heaven's Road, the story of Micah Sinclair, the reckless but courageous stepson of Elise.

Book 2 in the Lone Star Legacy series. Carolyn Killion comes to Stoner's Crossing looking for her father's legacy and finds the ominous truth.

When James Baldwin takes a new position with the B&O Railroad, he and Carolina decide to move their growing family from Baltimore to a small rural town in the Allegheny Mountains. Carolina's stepdaughter, Victoria, becomes enthralled with handsome Kiernan, an Irish railroad worker. But will the upper-class Baldwins even consider him as a suitor for their daughter? And when tensions rise among the workers, can James stop a destructive plan before it's too late?

He never intended to stay... The women of the Maintown church ladies society eagerly await the arrival of the new circuit-riding preacher—a bachelor, they've been told. To welcome him, they and their eligible daughters decide to make him a "welcome" quilt. The project turns into a fierce competition as each young woman tries to outdo the other in creating a quilt block so exquisite that it—and she—will gain the young minister's attention. Zack Hartley is unlike any preacher the church has ever seen. He bumbles about in the pulpit, and when he visits the sick, instead of praying for them he hangs laundry, washes dishes, tends children—does whatever needs doing. His inexperience and humorous blunders, however, eventually prove endearing and only further encourage the young ladies in their obvious attempts to snare him. But Zack is hiding something, and if his deception is found out, disappointing the Maintown ladies may be the least of his worries.

While the Civil War is raging, Brenton Baldwin has promised to provide a safe escort to California for Caitlan O'Connor. But now that his heart is totally hers, how can he leave her once they finally arrive? Meanwhile, Kiernan and Victoria O'Connor struggle as his work on the Central Pacific Railroad keeps them separated for long periods of time. Then a devastating accident with explosives suddenly changes everything. What will this mean for all of them?

With the loss of her first true love, Carolina Adams finds life at the family plantation nearly unbearable. Desperate to escape, she moves to Baltimore to become a nanny to Victoria, a little girl whose mother has died. After breaking his wedding engagement with Virginia Adams, Carolina's older sister, James Baldwin immerses himself in work for the B&O Railroad, the other passin in his life besides Carolina. But when a shocking business proposal is given to Carolina, James and Carolina seem destined to be apart. Can they dare to dream their aspirations for love might come true?