Westward Dreams

"End of the line!" The stagecoach driver's shout sent a chill down Holly Lambeth's spine. What an ominous sound! Was Riverbend, Oregon, to be the end of the line for her? She had come West to escape the swirling gossip about her broken engagement. She had come to escape the humiliation of being jilted. She came here to find a welcome new life, but her cousin's chilly reception tells her she has made a terrible mistake. Here in Riverbend, 2,000 miles from Kentucky, in a town barely more than a mining camp, Holly faces the fact that she is unwanted and unwelcome. Knowing this unhappy truth, Holly reaches another conclusion. Only she can change her situation. Both the sophisticated editor of the local newspaper, as well as the town's dedicated doctor, are attracted to the pretty newcomer. But Holly has more than romance on her mind. An unforeseen opportunity presents a challenge that brings Holly to a decision that will not only change her, but alter her own vision of her future.

When Southern-born Adelaide Pride follows her Yankee employer to California, she faces a private civil war and re-examines her values of love and honor. Twenty-six-year-old Adelaide Pride stepped out of the horse-drawn buggy to gaze one last time at the charred remains of her childhood home. Six generations of Prides had lived and entertained there under warm Southern skies. That was before the Civil War- robbing Addie of her youth, her parents, and the man she would have married! Fortunately, an aunt and uncle had taken her in, but they could scarcely afford to feed themselves. Not wishing to remain a burden, Addie accepted a position as a companion to a Yankee spinster at a health spa in Napa Valley, California. Addie shivered with a mixture of fear and anticipation. Very soon she would journey by train to the remote land that was untouched be conflict and overflowing with financial prosperity and social opportunities. Did she dare to hope that her dreams of love and belonging were yet possible? Or would she become lost in the world of the sick and aged, ending up a spinster like her employer, Mrs. Amberly?

Free-spirited journalist Independence McClaren follows her heart to a Colorado silver-town-and a test of her fierce commitment to the truth. Mindy's birth name is Independence McClaren-a fitting match for her tenacity and determination. Leaving behind a secure but colorless future in the east, the fiery young woman heads west to Coarse Gold, Colorado, and the opportunity to carve her mark in a man's world. As reporter for the Roaring River Gazette, Mindy not only will ferret out the news but will become the voice of conscience in this rough-and-tumble mining town, its reminder of the biblical principles of truth, virtue, and mercy. Little does she dream how her most prized possession as a journalist-her passion for the truth-will be put to the test. To follow her heart or to retain her integrity? Mindy will have to choose. Bestselling author Jane Peart takes readers to the Old West in the Westward Dreams Series with five novels of excitement, adventure, and romance. From mining camps to California vineyards, you'll meet women who must find a new life for themselves in a difficult, sometimes hostile environment. But with persistence, principle, and a steadfast faith, they not only survive, they thrive.

Perhaps Jane Peart's finest novel--the story of a young woman in the early 1900s who overcomes adversity by embracing faith. Darcy Welburne has seen enough of politics from the long line of judges in her family. So when Grady, her fiancé, tells her he is running for sheriff, she sets off to find the new freedom promised by the American West. She escapes to Juniper Junction, thinking a teaching job is waiting for her. When she discovers the position has already been filled, she resigns herself to becoming a Harvey Girl--a waitress at the chain of restaurants in the newly opened Arizona territory. Ashamed to tell her family that she is "just a waitress," she becomes a "marvel of make-believe," and, ignoring the pinches of her conscience, she embarks on an elaborate deception, sending home letters full of fictitious students, townspeople, and events recreated from the staff and diners of the Harvey House. Her life seems to be going well. She meets Ted, a handsome young architect. But then Grady shows up with a big group of politicians--including Teddy Roosevelt--and recognizes her. Darcy's untruthfulness is revealed. She fights with Grady. She loses face before Ted. She has to return to her family and make things right. But through it all, her faith grows stronger and readers are assured that all will work out in the end.