Lasting Promise

Editions:ebook, Paperback

Can love survive the secrets buried deep in the plains?

Gus Quaid has endured life’s cruelest blows—none more devastating than the loss of his wife to a Brule Sioux raid. Content with solitude and his work as an Army scout, he avoids entanglements until a bold, city-bred beauty in a Fort Benton saloon catches his eye. Intrigued by her fire and desperation, he makes a daring proposal—and is promptly rejected. But Gus isn’t one to walk away from a challenge.

Tori Barrett has known betrayal and hardship, first by a husband who left her broken, then by a business partner with dangerous demands. On the run and desperate for a way out, she sees in Gus a chance at safety, even if his penetrating gaze unsettles her carefully guarded secrets. With the promise of protection, she boards the Nellie Peck bound for Fort Randall, but Tori quickly learns Gus’s trust is hard-won—and easily shattered.

As the pair journey toward the railroad, the rugged plains strip away pretense, forcing them to confront old wounds and undeniable longing. But Tori’s past has a long reach, and when they arrive in Ogallala, it brings a reckoning neither of them expects.

Faced with betrayal, guilt, and a shocking revelation from Gus’s own shattered past, they must decide if the love growing between them is strong enough to survive—or if the frontier will claim their hearts, as it has so many before.

Published: October 28, 2025

Genres:

Historical, Western

Tags:

historical fiction, historical fiction novels, historical romance, women's fiction

About the Author

Susanna Lane

After a rewarding career as a teacher of science, a visit to the Rocky Mountains led a spellbound Susanna Lane to resurrect stories from history and write about the settlement of the West. As part of absorbing details for the locales of her stories, she learned to ride horses, fit into cattle drives, and hike to remote regions of the Rockies.

Married for forty-three years to an avid gardener and traveler who shares her interest in historical locations, Susanna loves to visit new places, read, and spend time with family and friends. In addition to her spouse, she has two grown sons and their charming wives. Best of all, she has four darling grandchildren who fill her life with delight.

Susanna's debut novel, Imperfect Promise, took home both a Western Writers of America Spur Award and a Will Rogers Medallion Award.

Other Books By Susanna Lane

Stand-Alone Books

Lasting Promise

Series: The Promises

Imperfect Promise

Enduring Promise

Picture This

Sometimes the real story begins in life’s second half.
Ani Stevenson has spent her life lifting others—always steady, always kind—but quietly wondering if she also deserves a hand to hold.
Jesse Peterson has known loss and struggle too. Years of addiction and a broken engagement left him wary of life and love, but now, clean and determined, he’s ready to discover what the world might have to offer.
A decades-old photograph, captured in a fleeting moment neither remembers, suggests a connection they can’t explain. One that refuses to fade.
When their paths cross again, past meets present, and old questions rise alongside new possibilities. Ani and Jesse are about to discover love can arrive later than expected but is more than worth the wait.
From critically-acclaimed author Lee Barber, Picture This is a tender, uplifting story about love that waits, second chances, and the quiet courage it takes to let someone truly see you.

Truthtaker

In a world built on lies, only the truth can break you.
In 1810, the Atlantia vanished from the Atlantic Ocean only to reappear, trapped in a frozen inland sea beneath endless ice and pale skies.
Three hundred years later, the ship’s descendants have built a glittering matriarchy sustained by a strange new magic—one that grants women power and drives men to madness. In New London, tension thrums between those who revere the memory of England and those who would see it buried in snow.
Lillia Pennyworth, a Truthtaker gifted with the power to unearth secrets, lives on the edge of both worlds—useful, feared, and utterly alone. When the Lady Regent summons her to a distant frontier town to conduct an unorthodox trial, Lillia doesn’t know what to expect. She certainly didn’t foresee fleeing through the snowy woods with unlikely companions—a creature born of her own making in relentless pursuit. Nor did she believe she would do so with a man whose very gaze reveals the truth she’s buried deep inside.
As forbidden truths come to light, she must decide what—and who—she’s willing to risk for the fragile warmth of love.

Romancing Rivals

The biggest catch is often the one you aren’t chasing.
Brie Babcock has spent her life on the water, running Maiden’s Bay’s longest-standing whale watching tours. Protecting the orcas and sharing their world with others is more than her job—it’s her calling. But with dwindling customers and rising costs, her beloved business is barely staying afloat.
Then, Aiden Parker lands. Literally.
Known for his high-end helicopter tours from Canada to Seattle, Aiden sees Maiden’s Bay as his next big venture. His flashy arrival stirs up more than the local gossip—it sends shockwaves through Brie’s tranquil waters. His tours promise luxury and excitement. Hers promise harmony and respect. And neither of them is willing to back down.
As competition turns into sparks, Brie and Aiden find themselves caught between pride and attraction. His charm disarms her, her passion unnerves him, and the line between rivals and something more begins to blur. But when protecting the bay means risking their growing connection, both must decide what—and who—they’re willing to fight for.
Set against the stunning coastal beauty of Maiden’s Bay, Romancing Rivals is a heartwarming story of ambition, empathy, and the unpredictable tides of love.

Roan & Weatherford