In the lawless borderlands of the American West, young Diego Baca survives on instinct, hunger and the ‎fierce will to stay alive. Fleeing the brutal man who raised him, Diego drifts from town to town until a ‎chance encounter in San Bernardino puts him under the wing of Virge, a stagecoach driver who sees the ‎good in him. Through hard work, steady guidance and the first kindness he has ever known, Diego begins ‎to believe he might build an honest life.‎ But his past shadows every step he takes. As he travels across deserts, boomtowns and frontier outposts—‎from New Orleans to Arizona Territory to New Mexico—Diego must confront the fear, guilt and violence ‎carved into him since childhood. When he finds an unexpected refuge in a ruined house near Las Vegas—‎and meets Hannah, a preacher’s daughter with secrets of her own—Diego discovers something he never ‎imagined possible: a future worth choosing.‎  

  Traveling west on their honeymoon, Bill and Caitlin stumble across a guest ranch whose name piques their interest. Investigating, they are introduced to an old man who spins for them stories of a family history they never knew about, including the history of Devlin Lachlan’s eldest son, Luke, raised in luxury by grandparents whose resentment of him caused him to grow layers of ice over the good heart he had inherited.  The ice may have helped him deal with abandonment, loneliness and even war, but it left him isolated and alone.  Until he learned the magic word that creates family and overcomes evil, and he took off to find the one person who had ever loved him. As Bill and Caitlin learn more about Luke’s past, they discover secrets that challenge their own heritage. The book touches on themes of family, faith, and forgiveness. Laura Roybal’s storytelling brings the characters and their history to life, making readers think about their own identities and connections to the past. The Patriarch: Luke Josiah Sebastien is a moving story about love and legacy that will stay with you even after you finish reading.  

When he first arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, Devlin Lachlan's dream was to become like "quality folk". But that dream is shattered when his wife dies, his successful business is shut down, and he is thrown into a prison work camp.