Showing results by author "Johnnie Burns" in All Categories

Lydia Hartman, orphaned young and raised without a home to call her own, boards a train bound for Sacramento as a stowaway chasing a new beginning. But the iron rails carry more than dreams westward, and not everyone on board will reach California alive. Jack Callahan, a former gunslinger turned businessman, thought he had buried his past a long time ago. On his way to purchase a seaside hotel, he discovers that some ghosts refuse to stay buried, and this time they have found his trail. As secrets unravel and the miles roll by, Lydia and Jack are drawn into a deadly web of deceit and ...

Erika Muller finds her abusive husband murdered in their living room one morning. She feels only relief that he is gone, but even in death, he can still destroy her. She will be the main suspect in his murder, and if she’s hanged, her small daughter will be an orphan. Unfortunately, her problems don’t disappear with the death of her husband. The discovery of a hidden fortune in their home shows her that Karl was involved in something dangerous, and when another man is murdered on her doorstep, she takes her daughter and flees. Now the local sheriff blames her for Karl’s death and vows...

Nel Cassidy is running for her life. She escaped a vicious gang with her young son, Adam, but the New Mexico desert offers no mercy to a woman with no supplies and nowhere to go. Unless she finds help fast, the desert will finish what the gang started. Harry Swann is the young sheriff of Copperhead, a town carved out of lawless territory and kept safe by his steady hand. He has known loss and violence, but his days are quiet until Nel and her son stumble into his life. When he chooses to protect them, he does not yet understand the storm riding hard for his town. Harry vows to stand between...

Pat Coleman, a renowned bounty hunter, brings down one of the most wanted men in the country. The small fortune he earns becomes the crowning reward of his long career, and he retires early to enjoy some well-earned peace. But powerful enemies have marked him, and after a brutal attack, he returns to his hometown a broken man. Pat soon discovers the attack was only the beginning. His enemy has crushed his hometown under his heel, terrorizing innocent people and targeting even his elderly father and sister. He will not stop until everything Pat loves is reduced to ashes, and Pat himself is ...

Thomas Ward is a man haunted by his past. The town he once swore to protect was destroyed by a ruthless gang of outlaws, leaving him with nothing but the bitter taste of failure. Now he earns his keep as a wagon train guide, finding solace only at the bottom of a whiskey bottle. Guiding his final train to Oregon with dreams of retirement, Thomas believes his troubled days are behind him. But the trail ahead forces him to ride once more into danger he never imagined, and he must summon every ounce of courage to survive. Years of weakness and dependence have taken their toll. When the moment ...

Cole Dalton is a notorious outlaw on the run from his own gang. When he stumbles across a terrified family, he learns their town is held hostage by a ruthless villain hunting for a legendary cache of gold. Against his better judgment, Cole is drawn into a fight thick with danger and deception. Lila Byrne is the blacksmith’s strong-willed daughter and the leader of a secret resistance against the outlaws’ rule. When Cole arrives in her dying town, she sees in him something she thought was gone forever: hope. Cole and Lila must push aside their misgivings and fight together for their own ...

Caleb Hart, a seasoned stagecoach driver, roams the vast Arizona desert, his life a journey of relentless change and adventure. Known for his unwavering determination and skill, he's the embodiment of the rugged, restless spirit that defines the Wild West. When tasked to replace a fallen driver after a brutal ambush, Caleb stumbles upon a chance encounter that could anchor his wandering heart. Will he embrace the call to settle, or will the thrill of the untamed land keep him in its grasp? After rebuilding her life in Arizona, Molly Bennett's determination is put to the ultimate test when ...

Jacob Hardy shouldn’t be alive. Left for dead by the outlaw who burned his adoptive family’s ranch and slaughtered everyone he loved, Jacob miraculously survived. Now the only thing keeping him going is the vow he made over their graves: that man will pay in blood. Clementine Carter is alone in the world and drowning in grief. She watched her brother die for crossing the same man Jacob hunts. With only a retired bounty hunter for company, she’s on her way back to her hometown when fate throws Jacob in her path. Both Jacob and Clementine want justice, but the man they’re after is no ...

After years of war and months in a prison camp, Jed Markum returns to Dry Gulch with hope in his heart. But his hometown is dying, the land scorched and the people broken. What was once home now lives in the grip of a ruthless man. Mary Beaumont has lost everything to a villain determined to claim what little she has left. Desperate and alone, she plans to fight, though deep down she knows it is a battle she cannot win. Then Jed walks back into her life, and for the first time in years, she dares to hope. Bound by a common enemy, Jed and Mary join forces against the man who destroyed their ...

Roddy Crippman is a seasoned hunter who has chosen a life of solitude after the tragic loss of his wife. Nature is his only companion, offering an escape from the pain of his past. But when he hears a woman’s desperate cries for help, he can’t ignore them. Roddy rescues her, only to discover that her troubles are far from over, and now they’ve become his as well. Can Roddy let someone back into his life, after being a loner for so long? Zadie Smallwood is on the run, having escaped from slave traders who planned to sell her to the highest bidder. Her narrow escape leaves her ...

Sophia Randolph never imagined her life would fall apart so quickly. After her husband Edward was tragically killed in a case of mistaken identity, she was left to raise their twins and run the family ranch. Her brother Kent’s return from the war brings more heartbreak than comfort, as he struggles with a prosthetic leg and the mental scars of battle. With danger looming and no one to turn to, can Sophia hold her family together in the face of relentless hardship? Ben Morgan has spent years haunted by a single, fatal mistake—the accidental shooting that took Edward’s life. Once a ...

In the shadowed streets of Blackthorne, Colorado, Marshal Edward Morgan stands at the edge of despair. The town he's sworn to protect is unraveling at the seams, caught in the tumult of a booming gold rush and a chilling spree of murders, the first in decades. With his back against the wall, Edward's battle-worn spirit faces the ultimate test. Can he marshal his fading strength to defend his town one last time? Samuel Marcus is a young deputy with ambitions as vast as the Texas plains he left behind. Summoned by Edward, his old friend and mentor, Samuel envisions a fresh start and a chance ...

Michael Hilburn, a former newspaper writer, is hunting the Baltimore Butcher, the man who killed his sister. In the trail of revenge, he disguises himself as a priest. As he works to outwit his deadly opponent, innocent victims continue to die one after the other... Can he uncover the killer's identity before time runs out? Clara Daniels came to Chicago with her father to build a church, but his death and a harsh winter slowed her progress. Desperate for help, she wired for a pastor and received a priest instead. This mysterious newcomer, skilled in both the pulpit and in a fight, stirs ...

Carter is running for his life. Three men are hunting him, and the only thing they want is the key hanging from his neck. Injured and alone, Carter releases his horse and disappears into the desert. With no supplies and the sun rising fast, he makes it as far as the side of the road before everything goes black. Mabel Dawson is used to standing her ground. When the mayor's spoiled son storms into her father's store with a marriage proposal, she shuts him down—and runs him off with a pistol. Wanting space from the fallout, she joins her father on a supply run. But when they find a wounded ...

Wes Callahan leads the Frontier Express stagecoach, a hard and dangerous job he does well. But behind the reins, he wrestles with the bottle and doubts his own worth. Only Carla Monroe, a resilient widow, makes him believe there might be more to life. On his final run for the company, Wes carries a ring in his pocket and a proposal on his mind. Riding alongside him is Greg, the boss’s son and Wes’s childhood friend. But what starts as a routine journey soon turns into an onslaught neither man is ready for. When dangerous outlaws target the stagecoach and kidnap Greg, Wes takes it upon ...

In the gritty heart of the Old West, Katherine "Kit" Carson, a fiery redhead known for her unyielding spirit and masculine garb, faces the greatest trial of her life. Following the merciless killing of her beloved brother Amos by cattle rustlers, Kit is driven by a relentless quest for justice. Raised in the shadow of men on a rugged cattle ranch, she has become as tough and capable as any cowboy, yet her path is fraught with danger… Can she navigate the perilous journey that lies ahead? Alongside Kit stands Lee, a rugged Texas Ranger, driven by his vendetta against the same gang that ...

Sheriff Caleb Hartman, orphaned young and hardened by life, marries a mail-order bride purely for companionship. When a murderer with a vendetta against him breaks out of prison, Caleb’s life is about to get more dangerous than he ever imagined. With nothing left for her in the East, Rose Bennett becomes a mail-order bride, hoping to find love with the town’s sheriff. But when she arrives, she quickly realizes the life she envisioned may never come. As the vengeful killer kidnaps Rose to lure Sheriff Caleb into a deadly trap, her only hope lies in her husband’s courage. Can they ...

Matt Duncan, raised in an orphanage, is a former outlaw trying to live down his past. A botched kidnapping earned him two years on a railroad gang and sent his partners to prison. Now working as a ranch hand in New Mexico, Matt’s trying to start over, but trouble is catching up fast. Rosa Mitchell, daughter of a legendary bounty hunter, has a score to settle. Matt was the one who slipped through her father’s fingers, and she’s determined to finish the job. When fate throws them back together, Rosa, armed with her father’s skills and a deep hatred for outlaws, is ready to bring Matt ...

Molly has spent years enduring a brutal marriage to wealthy cattle rancher Garrett. When he raises his hand against her, she fights back—plunging a knife into his chest. Now a fugitive, she flees, boarding a train bound for New Orleans, desperate to disappear before his men catch up to her. Branded a murderess, she knows one thing for certain: if they find her, she won’t live long enough to plead her case. Determined to reclaim what he sees as his property, Garrett’s family hires Cole, a relentless bounty hunter with a reputation for finding what’s lost and erasing what’s ...

John Clark, known to his friends as Trooper, is a Civil War veteran turned drifter, searching for a place to call home while expertly navigating the perils of survival. When he encounters the spirited young widow, Yvonne, he offers to help her claim her late husband's silver mine. However, the town's most powerful miner covets both the mine and Yvonne, and Trooper suspects he's the one who murdered her husband and will stop at nothing to seize his prize... Can he protect Yvonne from a deadly foe? Yvonne Owens Toole has traveled from Houston to Boulder to claim her late husband's mine and ...