Madame Sue Soderburg stopped, her face drawn, a cigarette burning in between her fingers despite the early hour. “They’re framing me for Roberta’s murder.”

On the mantle, a photograph in a tarnished frame showed a stern man, two children, and a woman with a hauntingly blank stare.

The canyon stretched before them under a half-moon. Cattle shuffled along the dusty trail below. Someone was stealing her livestock again.

Her badge caught the sun just as a rider thundered down Main Street, raising a cloud of red clay behind him. Mercy recognized the horse before the man: the gray Appaloosa with a split ear. Wild Rye, Everett Tate's mare.

Harold listened intently, his expression serious. “Those townies are all bluster. But you gotta be careful. Don’t give them the satisfaction of seeing you scared.” He then grinned, his eyes twinkling. “Though I gotta admit, using Maharani as backup was a stroke of genius!”

A rifle shot cracked through the quiet, the bullet slicing past Jed’s ear with a hiss like an angry rattler. He kicked Comet into a hard gallop...

He was 15 when the circus rolled into town one crisp, autumn day. For a week the townsfolk patronized The Greatest Show on Earth...

A splash of color caught her eye near the garden fence; delicate purple and yellow blooms pushing up through the thawing soil. Pansies.

Jed Smith takes his job riding for The Pony Express seriously as he traverses the plains and mountains to deliver the mail.

She had finally unpacked her gown meant for her wedding. Cream and lavender with lace collar and cuffs, she knew she looked pretty.

Eleanor and Henry finally arrive in Thistle Creek, Colorado, to start their new life.

Aboard the Transcontinental Railway, Omaha, Nebraska Dec. 1876   The next morning went smoothly. The tracks had been cleared ahead, and...

Henry and Eleanor continue their journey on the train to Omaha. Will Lord Rutledge catch up or will they eacape?

Eleanor and Henry race off the boat to head off to the train station.

Eleanor and Henry start their adventure together in this week's installment.

"I can't stop thinking about you." The words, penned in a strong yet elegant hand, sent a shiver down her spine.

The tinkling of crystal, polite laughter, and shrimp canapes surrounded Margot Finch as she sipped her sweet pink lemonade.