Lockets and Lace Series by Linda Carroll-Bradd

Socialite Mercia Saunders got evicted due to a touchy situation--which she feels was justified because it was for the sake of her art. Now her Philadelphia landlady has shipped her belongings to the family’s Newport, Rhode Island, home. Her father is livid and demands she choose between being courted by the hand-picked sons of prominent Newport business owners or live scandal-free with her oldest brother on a Texas cattle ranch... moreSocialite Mercia Saunders got evicted due to a touchy situation--which she feels was justified because it was for the sake of her art. Now her Philadelphia landlady has shipped her belongings to the family’s Newport, Rhode Island, home. Her father is livid and demands she choose between being courted by the hand-picked sons of prominent Newport business owners or live scandal-free with her oldest brother on a Texas cattle ranch. To a young woman raised with society, the ranch sounds like boring banishment, but she refuses to let her father choose her beau. Pinkerton Agent Dominic Prentice is on the trail of a jewelry thief when he first meets the enticing Mercia—too bad he’s wearing the disguise of an elderly Southern gentleman. Then he’s assigned the task of keeping the art student under surveillance on a west-bound train to Texas. He can’t resist a railroad flirtation as himself, and the two draw closer than Mercia’s chaperones know. His allegiance to the Pinkerton National Detective Agency is tested when Dominic is forced to decide between tracking the jewelry or wooing the maiden. less

Raised a tomboy on a central Texas ranch, Emmaleigh Wallache returns from a year’s visit during which her Bostonian aunt introduced her to a life of culture—fulfilling her late mother’s wish. Her is intent on marrying her off to the son of a wealthy meat distributor to guarantee the success of his cattle business. Happy for her time spent in society, Emmaleigh struggles to discover where she truly belongs... moreRaised a tomboy on a central Texas ranch, Emmaleigh Wallache returns from a year’s visit during which her Bostonian aunt introduced her to a life of culture—fulfilling her late mother’s wish. Her is intent on marrying her off to the son of a wealthy meat distributor to guarantee the success of his cattle business. Happy for her time spent in society, Emmaleigh struggles to discover where she truly belongs.Foreman Brett Haynes, who has waited until Emma turned eighteen so he can reveal his caring feelings, can’t believe the changes a year made. Gone is the spunky girl who raced him through fields or swung from ropes over the swimming hole. He has nothing in common with this sophisticated young woman and despairs she is unreachable. Can he remind her of life’s simpler moments and win over the heart he has always thought of as belonging to him? less