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“Love never fails.”
― Caroline Fyffe, Evie

“Cooking isn't hard. It just takes a little bit of imagination and determination.”
― Caroline Fyffe, Evie

“I particularly want you to meet Miss Bucholtz.â€�
The very idea made him uneasy. “Why is that,
Ma’am?� he bluntly asked.
Mrs. Morgan hesitated. “Keep this under your hat, mind you.�
“Yes, Ma’am.�
She let out a tired sigh. “I’ve brought Miss Bucholtz to replace Mr. Gabellini.�
Howie pictured a dried up old spinster with the same commanding presence as Mrs. Morgan, a real battle-axe.
“Fireworks are coming. Are you sure a woman is the right, uh, person for the job?�
“Bertha Bucholz is one of the best cooks I know. I guarantee by this time next month, you men will all be sporting five extra pounds.”
― Debra Holland, Mail-Order Brides of the West: Bertha: A Montana Sky Series Novel

“Even through her coat, he could feel the curve of her arm, making him aware of their differences.
Man and woman.
Hard and soft.”
― Debra Holland, Mail-Order Brides of the West: Bertha: A Montana Sky Series Novel

“Don’t be sorry, Darlin’â€�, he said in his best cowboy drawl, “for I’m certainly not. It’s not every day a man like me gets to assist such a pretty lady. Any time you need help in or out of a wagon, you just give me a hollerâ€� he said in a teasing tone, “I’ll be right there, hoping you’ll fall in my arms again.”
― Debra Holland, Mail-Order Brides of the West: Bertha: A Montana Sky Series Novel

“Howie rose and smiled down at her. “I just eat what’s put before me without being picky. I know everything you make will make my tastebuds bless the day you set foot in Morgan’s Crossingâ€� he drawled, waiting to see the adorable look of confusion that crossed her face when he flirted.
Bertha lowered her gaze and looked up at him through her eyelashes.
“Only your tastebuds?”
― Debra Holland, Mail-Order Brides of the West: Bertha: A Montana Sky Series Novel

“Howie brought her hand to his lips. “You stepped in front of me,â€� he said in wonder. “I didn’t need you to. I can handle Prudence Morgan.â€�
“But you didn’t.� She tapped his chest. “You stayed quiet for the longest time before responding.�
“Quiet is how I handle difficult people�.�
“You don’t handle me that way.� Her voice came out sounding breathless.
Howie slipped his arms around her. “If it were up to me, this is how I’d handle you.�
Butterflies danced in her stomach. Not a fearful battering of wings, but a sparkling mating flight, making her heart soar into her throat. “Why isn’t it up to you?”
― Debra Holland, Mail-Order Brides of the West: Bertha: A Montana Sky Series Novel

“What are you doing here?"
He shoved one hand in his pocket. "I need a wife."
"And you came here..." She searched for an explanation for his outlandish statement. "Because you thought a company that sells feminine care products might also have a supply of women available for marriage? I can go to the stock room if you want and see what we have on the shelf. Are you looking for a blonde or a brunette? I guess it doesn't matter whether she likes you or not."
"It's not just for me," Liam explained, pulling his hand out of his pocket. "I need a wife to preserve my family legacy."
"So you want to breed her? Good to know. That takes Margie and Joan out of the running. They're both in their sixties."
He dropped to one knee and held out a blue velvet box. "I want you. Marry me, Daisy."
Of all the things she'd expected him to say, "Marry me," did not even make the top thousand. For a long moment, all she could do was stand and stare.
"I think you have me confused with someone who would even want to be in the same room as you, much less wed you after such a romantic proposal.”
― Sara Desai, The Dating Plan

“Darling' there're things I haven't told you yet either, just didn't know how to broach the subject. We can't know everything about each other by writing a few letters and having dinner once." - Chance Holcomb”
― Caroline Fyffe, Evie

“I miss my mother."
Mrs. Norton touched Trudy's shoulder in silent sympathy.
"She never had a chance to see any of her daughters get married."
Trudy laid the veil on the bed.
"It's hard to completely enjoy your wedding day when your mother isn't with you."
"Your mother did see your sisters wed and I'm sure she'll be with you today."
Trudy looked at the woman, astonished she hadn't received a more pious answer from a minister's wife.
She pointed a finger upward. "I know she's in heaven."
Mrs. Norton gently folded Trudy's hand until her palm rested on her chest, "In heaven and in your heart, love never fails, my dear Ms. Bower. I know it's not the same as feeling your mother's arms around you on such a special day, nevertheless, I'm sure she's sending you plenty of love.”
― Debra Holland, Trudy

“Can't say as when I've enjoyed an evening more. As thanks, can I have this dance?”
― Caroline Fyffe, West Winds of Wyoming

“Where do you prefer to sit, Sir?" (Lady Alexandra to William, the Duke, during her mail-order bride interview.)”
― Lisa Prysock, To Find a Duchess

“The stench of the pigpens made him take shallow breaths. Michael desperately wanted another drink to drown his sorrows…or, more aptly, his angers. He promised himself that once he found the source of the problem, he’d head to Rigsby’s and let alcohol smooth the edge off his ire. Maybe with a few drinks in him, he could better handle Prudence. Nothing else I’ve tried has worked.
“M¾±³¦³ó²¹±ð±ô!â€�
At the sound of his wife’s voice, he stiffened. Speak of the devil. Is there a word for female devil? He couldn’t think of one. He nodded good-bye to Hong and was stepping away when---
“Michael, I want to talk to you!� Her voice rose until the timbre was almost a shriek. She ploughed pell-mell for him, her face red with anger.
Hong ducked into his tent. Out of sight, maybe, but not out of earshot.
The Guans� should stuff cotton in their ears to block out the worst of Prudence’s screeches.
“I need a drink,� he said, beginning to turn away.
“Oh, dear Lord. Don’t tell me you’re a drunkard like that Obadiah Kettering. Is that another thing you omitted to tell me about your character?�
He swung back.
She was inches away, arms flung wide.
“You omitted telling me I’d be marrying a shrew,� he said. “You should have written the word at the top of your fancy stationary in big block letters.� He sketched the word in the air and stated each letter. “S-H-R-E-W.�
“Why…why I never!� Her mouth opened and closed as if she sought just the right words to hurl at him.
“As for being a drunkard. Up until today, I only occasionally sought refuge in the bottle. But I think being married to you, my dear wife, will make me a frequent patron of Rigsbys Saloon. In fact, I might as well take up residence in the place.�
Stepping forward, she brought up her hand to slap him.
He leaped out of the way.
Prudence missed, and her hand sailed past, making her off balance.
Sure she was going to try again, Michael moved away, putting more space between them.
Prudence slipped on a slimy rock and lost her balance, rotating and stepping sideways only to catch her heel in the hem of her skirt. She teetered backward toward the pigpen. Her legs hit the low fence, catching her at knee-height.
Oh, no! Michael leaped to catch her.
With a horrified expression, Prudence windmilled her arms in an effort to right herself.
Michael missed, grabbing only a fold of her skirt. He yanked back, hoping to pull her upright, but instead, with a ripping sound, the fabric tore.
The momentum toppled Prudence backwards into the pigpen, where she landed on her rump in the mire. “Grrrrrr!� She scooped up two handfuls of mud and flung them at him.
Shocked, Michael didn’t dodge until the last minute, and the stinking mud went splat against his chest and face.”
― Debra Holland, Prudence

“For one, Darcy had started out with great contempt for Lizzy and the expectation of an arranged marriage to someone else. Secondly, but of greater importance than those mindful lessons learned from entirely plausible fiction, she was armed with the truth that she had the Lord on her side. She must brave on and hope for the best in spite of how things appeared.”
― Lisa M. Prysock, Persecution & Providence

“Still reeling from the touch of her husband's lips on her, Trudy didn't know whether to feel relief or dread that she'd married Seth Flanagan for better or worse. But from the fireworks of excitement swirling in her middle, she figured on both.”
― Debra Holland, Trudy

“About Nick:
Trudy thanked him, he gave a shy duck of his head and almost ran out of the room.
Trudy smiled after him, liking his blue-green eyes, the brown hair that waved to his shoulders and the slightly crooked, lightly freckled nose. In a few years with more confidence on him, that young man is going to be a lady killer.”
― Debra Holland, Trudy

“A job isn’t ‘till death do us partâ€�”
― Debra Holland, Mail-Order Brides of the West: Bertha: A Montana Sky Series Novel

“Maybe I don't want you to take your time, or keep your distance, Reverend McLane. Maybe I've waited long enough for my Mr. Darcy."--Chelsea in "Persecution & Providence”
― Lisa M. Prysock, Persecution & Providence

“Would the hand of Providence permit such an irony of bleakness to prevail?...If so, to what purpose and end result?...Regardless of the answers, she now found herself in an imperfect union, with an imperfect family. They had real flaws and a myriad of complex emotions... She had little choice but to adjust accordingly if they were each to survive within it.”
― Lisa M. Prysock, Persecution & Providence

“The onlookers had seen not three men in the fire, but four. God hadn’t taken them out of the fiery trial. He’d walked with them through it.”
― Jody Hedlund, A Cowboy for Keeps