Showing results by author "Susan Leigh Carlton" in All Categories

When a desperate wish sends them across time, a mother and daughter discover that sometimes the greatest magic is finding where you truly belong. Sarah Harper has reached her breaking point. Fleeing her abusive ex-husband with her five-year-old daughter Lacey and nowhere to go, she finds herself sleeping in her car in a Walmart parking lot on a cold November night. With no money, no hope, and a custody battle she's destined to lose, Sarah makes one last desperate wish at a mysterious wishing well—for a place where they can be safe, where she can be strong enough to give Lacey everything ...

A widow’s desperate journey west. A rancher’s guarded heart. A Christmas miracle that changes everything. When Clara Bennett arrives in Silver Creek, Montana Territory, she carries little more than hope. Widowed, nearly penniless, and seeking a fresh start, she accepts a position teaching in a one-room schoolhouse on the edge of the frontier. But she never expected Wyatt Carter—a brooding rancher hardened by a tragic Christmas Eve that left him bitter and unwilling to open his heart. Wyatt has turned his back on Christmas and love alike. With his ranch on the brink of loss and old ...

She came back to save lives. She never expected to risk her heart. Dr. Lacey Bennett has fought for everything—her education, her place in medicine, her right to heal. Returning to Three Rivers, Wyoming, she's determined to prove that a woman can be just as capable as any man with a medical bag. But earning the trust of a frontier town is only half the battle. The other half? Ignoring the handsome Boston lawyer whose sharp mind and quiet integrity make her pulse race. Andrew Callahan came West seeking opportunity and independence. What he found was a gray-eyed physician who challenges ...

When science fails her, only faith—and love—can save her. Dr. Claire Donovan has built her life on reason, precision, and control. But when a freak lightning strike during a total solar eclipse hurls her from 2025 Chicago to the wilds of 1870 Montana, everything she knows about the world—and herself—comes undone. Stranded in the rough-edged mining town of Silver Run, Claire's advanced medical skills make her both a miracle and a menace. After she saves a dying man using "impossible" techniques, whispers of witchcraft spread, led by the town's relentless marshal, Will Carver, who ...

Letters, Lies, and Longings She promised him honesty… but one hidden truth could cost her the love of a lifetime. Widowed Mary Robbins dreams of escaping the whispers that follow her through Oak Grove. Answering a mail-order bride advertisement feels like her one chance at a new beginning—for herself and her spirited five-year-old daughter, Annie. But after a cruel rejection branding Annie a burden, Mary makes the decision she fears most: she keeps her daughter a secret. Out on the Wyoming frontier, Buck Jennings wants more than a housekeeper or a convenient arrangement—he wants a ...

The Thornton car was washed down a creek during a flash flood near Independence, Missouri. Their only child, a seventeen year old daughter was still clinging to the top of the car when they last saw her. After an air, land, and water search for four days without a trace, the search was abandoned. Allie and Barry Thornton learn their missing daughter was transported back in time one hundred and fifty years to 1866. A research team at the most prestigious university in the country, offered them the opportunity to join her and her family. Do they dare take the risk? Can Barry survive what ...

A Letter to Santa A Novel of Faith, Miracles, and the Power of Believing When all hope seems lost, one child’s faith dares a town to believe again. Comanche Springs, Texas, 1887. After a tragic accident leaves fourteen-year-old Thomas Caldwell in a deep coma, doctors offer little comfort and even less hope. As days stretch into weeks, his family—and the entire town—begins to brace for the inevitable. Everyone, that is, except Thomas’s nine-year-old brother. While his mother keeps a weary bedside vigil and neighbors quietly prepare for loss, young Eli Caldwell refuses to give up. ...

I Wish I May A Time-Travel Romance Novel When love defies time itself, which world would you choose? Cardiac nurse Lainie Rosewood thought she had the perfect life planned—until her fiancé abandoned her at the altar for another woman. Devastated and humiliated in front of three hundred wedding guests, she flees to the church's rose garden where a desperate wish upon a shooting star changes everything. Awakening in 1872 Montana Territory, Lainie finds herself thrust into the role of frontier healer in the remote town of Sutter's Creek. Armed with modern medical knowledge she can't explain...

How did an iPhone sold in Missouri in 2014 wind up in a grave in Oregon that had been undisturbed for over ninety years? Angie and Jed met in Missouri over 1,800 miles from Oregon. How can she convince him she is telling the truth? Will he believe the strange story? Would anyone believe it? Can their love for each other survive the incredible tale she relates?

When Sarah Mitchell's world crumbles, she discovers that the greatest gift isn't being rescued—it's finding the courage to open her heart again. Six months after losing her husband in a tragic accident, Sarah is barely holding on. Working double shifts at a department store while raising two young children alone, she's down to her last twenty dollars with Christmas just days away. Desperate and out of options, she swallows her pride and applies for help from the local fire department's Toys for Tots program. Enter Ben Cole—a widowed firefighter who understands loss all too well. ...

When love isn't enough, sometimes you have to teach someone how to love you properly. Traci Waters thought she had found her happily ever after when she traveled back in time to 1875 Montana and married rancher Sam Waters. Five years later, she's discovered that building a marriage across centuries is harder than she ever imagined. Despite their deep love, Sam's constant questioning of her choices has worn Traci down. Every time he wonders if she misses her old life, every time he acts surprised by her intelligence, every time he treats her happiness like a fragile thing that might shatter,...

Time warps, cowboys and Indians… what are the chances of love? Penelope wanted a cowboy. Charlie wanted to be a test pilot. When his plane goes down Charlie ejects himself just in time only to fall through a time warp. Captured by Indians, and delivered to Penelope, he’s cared for until his injuries heal. When it’s time for Penelope to head back east, her train is derailed, and this time Charlie is the one saving her. Is it love or mere circumstances that brings them together? Can Charlie adapt to his new surroundings? Will Penelope open her heart to more than just gratitude and ...

In the aftermath of the Civil War, young widow Rebecca Allen struggles to provide for her four-year-old son Eddie in their small South Carolina town. Desperate to escape the unwanted advances of wealthy landowner Jeremiah Blackwood and create a better life for her son, Rebecca answers a matrimonial advertisement from a Montana rancher seeking a wife. Upon arriving in Baker's Creek, Montana, Rebecca discovers she's been deceived by Frank Dawson, a violent drunk whose promises of prosperity were lies. Fleeing his cabin in the night with Eddie, Rebecca finds temporary refuge at the local ...

In 2025, Captain Eva Sinclair is at the top of her game—an elite fighter pilot testing the most advanced stealth jet ever engineered. But when a catastrophic malfunction sends her aircraft into an uncontrolled dive, she braces for certain death. Instead, she awakens in 1870 Montana Territory. Injured and disoriented, Eva is discovered by Colt McAllister, a rugged rancher with a troubled past and a deep distrust of outsiders. As she struggles to adapt to a world without modern technology, Eva must hide her true identity while fighting the growing attraction between them. But Eva isn't the ...

Some scars are carved by war. Others by love. Montana, 1870. Elias Mercer, a disillusioned Civil War veteran, retreats to the frontier, seeking solitude and a chance to rebuild. But the land is as unforgiving as his memories, and desperation drives him to place an ad in The Matrimonial News. Abigail Whitlow, a young widow with secrets of her own, answers his call. She arrives with a quiet strength that hides a storm of loss—and a five-year-old son she didn’t mention in her letters. As the harsh winter closes in, Elias and Abigail must navigate their fragile new partnership, learning to ...

The Widow’s War A Post–Civil War Romance of Healing, Hope, and Second Chances When the war takes everything, courage becomes a woman’s only refuge. 1870, Montana Territory. Rachel Morgan arrives in Bitterroot Valley with nothing but a land deed, her six-year-old daughter, and the grit of a Union widow determined to start again. But the valley is a tinderbox of old loyalties, and many—including local rancher Silas Vance—see her as an unwelcome reminder of their defeat. Caleb Ransom, a former Confederate soldier haunted by guilt, is hired to drive Rachel off her land. Instead, he ...

In the tumultuous landscape of post-Civil War America, "Love on the Oregon Trail" sweeps readers into the heart of Steubenville, Ohio, where dreams of new beginnings clash with haunting memories of the past. Hiram Lewis sells his farm, hoping to carve out a better life for his family out West. Along the journey, his daughter, Mandy, faces her own battles: lost love, unexpected encounters with a reckless suitor, and the aching weight of responsibility for her baby sister, Mary. As the Lewis family forges ahead, they find themselves entangled with the Gilleys, whose own struggles of love and ...

When fighter pilot Logan Harris ejects from his F-15 in 2018, he expects a crash landing—he doesn’t expect to wake up in 1888 Montana. Injured and disoriented, Logan finds himself in the care of Anna Bronson, a gifted surgeon with a sharp mind, a generous heart, and secrets of her own. Anna never imagined a man like Logan: bold, mysterious, and from a future beyond her comprehension. As she nurses him back to health, a bond forms between them—one that defies time itself. But Logan, haunted by the past and uncertain of his future, struggles to accept his new reality or believe he’s ...

In the unforgiving Montana wilderness, love is the only currency that matters. Henry Mercer thought he knew everything about survival—until Sarah Thompson rode into his life. With his family's ranch teetering on the edge of ruin and a generations-old land dispute threatening everything he holds dear, Henry must choose between tradition and innovation, revenge and reconciliation. Sarah Thompson left the comfort of Boston for the untamed frontier, never expecting to find a home—or a love—that would change everything. Caught between her refined upbringing and the raw beauty of Montana, ...

Baxter Sims built his empire with cold precision and ruthless determination. As Seattle's most formidable CEO, he has everything money can buy—except someone to share it with. Behind his icy exterior lies a man scarred by abandonment, who has locked his heart away along with memories of his painful past. Laci Carter lives in a different world, running a struggling bookstore while raising her four-year-old son, Jason. Her life is rich with love and laughter, if not financial security. When catering a high-society charity event brought her face-to-face with the infamous Baxter Sims, their ...