Tennessee Dreams Series by Sharlene MacLaren

Mercy Evans has known a great deal of heartache and hardship in her twenty-six years. She lost her mother at a young age and was only sixteen when her father was killed in 1880, in a brawl sparked by a family feud spanning several generations. Yet Mercy never doubts the presence and provision of her heavenly Father. When a house fire claims the lives of her two best friends, leaving their two young sons as orphans, Mercy offers to be their guardian... moreMercy Evans has known a great deal of heartache and hardship in her twenty-six years. She lost her mother at a young age and was only sixteen when her father was killed in 1880, in a brawl sparked by a family feud spanning several generations. Yet Mercy never doubts the presence and provision of her heavenly Father. When a house fire claims the lives of her two best friends, leaving their two young sons as orphans, Mercy offers to be their guardian. It seems simple enough, until the judge mandates that the boys be placed with a married couple. Samuel Connors is a man adrift. Despite the success of the blacksmith business he inherited from his father, he senses a void unaffected by material rewards. His mother keeps nagging him to find a wife, but the only woman who comes to mind is Mercy Evans. What would she want to do with the man whose father is now serving a life sentence for the murder of hers? Mercy is determined to do whatever it takes to win custody of the Watson boys. But marry a mortal enemy of the Evans family? God alone can give her the heart to go through with it. less

A spark ignites between the "scandalous" divorc e and the upright pastor, but Joy's rocky past has made her wary of male attention, and her feelings of failure, not to mention her disbelief in a God of love, drives an even deeper wedge between them. Moreover, Lucas puts the brakes on their budding friendship when his congregants begin to question his intentions... moreA spark ignites between the "scandalous" divorc e and the upright pastor, but Joy's rocky past has made her wary of male attention, and her feelings of failure, not to mention her disbelief in a God of love, drives an even deeper wedge between them. Moreover, Lucas puts the brakes on their budding friendship when his congregants begin to question his intentions. When an unforeseen danger threatens Joy and her daughter, will the tight-knit town stand by and watch? Or will they open their hearts to the God of mercy and allow Him to do an unexpected work? less