Christine Johnson

She Broke His Heart.Now She Needs His Help. Hendrick Simmons despises her. Mariah Meeks doesn’t blame him—not after she rejected the handsome mechanic’s proposal two years ago. She’s certain she’s not meant for marriage. All Mariah’s energy goes to one purpose—her work as an agent of the Orphaned Children’s Society.Now a prodigal father’s return threatens a boy under Mariah’s care. Mariah insists on approving the lad’s future home for herself, even though it requires a cross-country drive that’s...

In the days when fairy tales were first spun, they weren’t the sweet and cheerful stories we tell today. Back then, fairy tales were terrifying. They were a warning to the listener to stay out of the night, to keep away from the mystical and ignore the mysterious. Prepare to open a treasure box of the unusual and the macabre.Grim features some of today’s best young adult authors sharing their own unique retellings of classic fairy tales from around the world. These talented writers, many of them...

A MIDWESTERN CINDERELLAShe dreamed of digging through ancient ruins—but the only exploring Anna Simmons gets to do is in the expensive houses she cleans in Pearlman, Michigan. When Brandon Landers hires her, she’s unsure whether to be furious or thrilled.He evicted Anna and her ailing mother, but she’s heard rumors of hidden treasure on his land. Treasure Anna decides to find. Not just for herself, but for her new employer whose unexpected kindness has softened her heart. Physically and...

Groom Not WantedWhen Pearl Lawson sees an ad for a mail-order bride, she leaps at the opportunity to find a husband for her best friend. But the town’s most dashing bachelor has caught the eye of several aspiring brides-to-be…and even Pearl is drawn to him. Though the schoolteacher has no intentions of marrying, her instant connection with Roland Decker cannot be denied.Roland doesn't know how an ad seeking a wife for his brother found its way into print. But now he has to handle the...

A Mother by ChristmasNursing a broken heart, Amanda Porter had answered a frontier mail-order bride ad placed by Garrett Decker's children—only to find the groom-to-be didn't want a wife. The widowed bachelor she hoped to marry does need a housekeeper, though, and taking the job is Amanda's only option. But his adorable children are determined she'll be their mother by Christmas…His wife's betrayal and tragic death demolished Garrett's life. Now he can't even look at another woman, let alone...

The Husband HuntTheatre singer Fiona O’Keefe is on quest to form the perfect family for her orphaned niece. It’s a shame handsome and musically talented Sawyer Evans can’t support a household on his sawmill manager wages. For that, Fiona needs a respectable gentleman of means. And if she can’t find one in Singapore, Michigan, then she’ll just have to look for a husband in the mail order want ads…Sawyer doesn’t want Fiona to marry a stranger…or anyone other than him. It would be easy to reveal...

Indulge your fantasies of delicious Regency Rakes, fierce Viking warriors and rugged Highlanders. Be swept away into a world of intense passion, lavish settings and romance that burns brightly through the centuriesSmall-town girl Darcy Shea aspires to be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.All she needs is a plane, flight lessons—and the luck to avoid marriage. A husband would never allow her to fly, let alone truly soar. When test pilot Jack Hunter crash-lands practically in her...

Romance Takes Flight Jen Fox won't let anyone stand in her way of joining the first flight expedition to the North Pole. Even if the person trying to take her seat is the dashing world-famous stunt pilot Dan Wagner. Being on that flight crew would fulfill her father's last wish for her. And Dan should know better than to unseat the dressmaker's determined daughter.When Dan arrives in Michigan, he's intrigued by the offer to fly over the North Pole. He needs the money, even if...

Her Heart and Her Business Are on the Line Dressmaker Ruth Fox gave up her dream of a husband and children long ago. Her family's floundering dress shop, her ailing father and her two younger sisters require Ruth's full attention. Though the handsome new stranger in town is intriguing, Ruth is certain he wouldn't look twice at a plain spinster of twenty-six.Sam Rothenburg's connection with the shy young woman next door is immediate, but he knows Ruth will be crushed when she...

From Friends to Sweethearts Minnie Fox's goal is to find a beau who can help support her ailing father and his struggling dress shop. As a working man, her friend Peter Simmons simply doesn't fit the bill. Instead, Minnie's got eyes for Peter's childhood pal–a wealthy Chicagoan. So why can't she stop thinking about Peter?Peter wishes Minnie would see him as more than a friend. As a hardworking mechanic, Peter knows he'll never be able to dazzle Minnie with fancy...

MISSION: CHILDREN Rounding up a gaggle of orphans isn’t Wyatt Reed’s specialty.Still, the bounty hunter is being paid handsomely to bring these children from Evans Grove to the next town. And then he sets eyes on one pigtailed, pint-sized complication, and the beautiful widow who needs his help. Charlotte Miller’s marriage lacked love, but at least it gave her the right to adopt little Sasha.Without a husband now, she can’t be a mother. Wyatt agrees to be her groom-for-hire—only until Sasha is...

A Society Princess—and a Penniless Preacher? Felicity Kensington is preparing for the grandest wedding Pearlman, Michigan, has ever seen. True, her prospective husband is virtually a stranger. But the well-connected engineer her father hired fits all her marriage criteria. Except for one tiny flaw: it’s the town’s new pastor, not the wealthy engineer, who makes Felicity’s heart race….Gabriel Meeks left New York to avoid high society’s foolish rules. Instead, he’s immediately smitten with the...

Mistletoe MatchWorried she might lose her teaching job if funding is cut for her boarding school, widow Louise Smythe must consider marriage. But the only prospective groom in town is lighthouse keeper Jesse Hammond, and he wants children—something she may never be able to provide. While Jesse waits for the ideal woman to make his wife, though, Louise can’t help but long for something more than his friendship.If he wants to be promoted to head lighthouse keeper, Jesse needs to find a wife suited...