Alexa Bailey intends to celebrate her one-year divorce milestone at the luxurious Riverwind Hotel in Dallas. Instead, she’s plunged into a deadly hostage situation at the hands of a rogue faction of the Irish Republican Army led by madman Kieran McShane. The roof of the hotel is her only escape from the seething danger below.
Johnny Logan is an undercover cop assigned to protect the visiting British Prime Minister. When McShane takes over the Riverwind, all hell breaks loose and Johnny is badly wounded before he manages to escape to the roof.
But the relative safety of the equipment building offers only temporary sanctuary for Johnny and Alexa, and they soon realize even in that remote haven, they’re not alone. With a small hostile army occupying the Riverwind, and the lives of the hostages hanging in the balance, the only thing they can do is try to keep McShane guessing until help comes.
Has love come too late for Alexa and Johnny? The clock is ticking, and time is running out. In a wager that means life or death for them all, Johnny pits himself against McShane in a “winner-take-all” battle high above the city. Will he be able to save the handful of hostages who are depending on him to CAPTURE THE NIGHT?
School teacher Chera James wants only one thing from rugged forester Kade Morgan: permission to explore the acres of wilderness he owns. Walking the pristine land that holds her own family’s roots stills the restlessness that has long consumed her, but it also holds the key to grant funding that can mean a huge difference to her professionally.
Kade is all man…fiercely independent, and willing to sacrifice everything—even his life—to protect his mountain. Danger lurks everywhere—and Kade realizes they’re not alone in the woods…someone else is there, watching them. It’s life or death—can he trust Chera? Or is she part of the set-up to take everything he’s worked so hard to build?
Every moment Chera spends with Kade makes her blood race and her heart beat like a wild drum. But trust doesn’t come easy. Kade wants the truth, but Chera makes him forget the rules of survival he’s always followed. Now that she’s come into his life, will they both be consumed by SUMMER FLAMES?
In one fateful moment, Marissa Daniels loses everything—her fiancé, her best friends, and her sanity. Everyone in the small town of Cutter’s Bend, Iowa, knows about the many car accidents that happen at MILE MARKER 59…and about the sightings of a huge wolf at that very spot. But what is known as local legend is very real to Marissa—she knows what she saw at the moment her fiancé lost control of the car—the moment everything changed in her life. Strange dreams lead her to only one conclusion: she must discover what really happened that night. With the help of the local sheriff, Michael Morris, and the victim of yet another near-tragic wreck at MILE MARKER 59, secrets are uncovered—and spells are finally broken. Can Marissa face a supernatural danger more powerful than anything she ever could imagine? Asking Michael to help her unravel the mystery of the Sioux curse that exists in that spot could lead to his death—and hers. The occurrences at MILE MARKER 59 are what holds this little town’s secrets in silence—and what could rip Marissa’s life apart…
Fairy tales do exist—just ask Gillian Malone! When rancher Logan Malone drags his feet on finding love, his five-year-old daughter, Gillian, persuades a local matchmaker to help her find a new mother. Enter Delaney Holmes, a Washington socialite fleeing from the press after being left at the altar. Swearing off men, she takes the job as a nanny to a precocious five-year-old in a backwoods Texas town called Indigo Springs. But Logan Malone is a six-foot cowboy hero complete with white hat and a swagger that puts John Wayne to shame. Can he put away the ghost of Gillian's mother to follow the rules of the Fairy Tale Code in order to win Delaney's heart? Or will Delaney's secret past keep him from proposing? With true love at stake, there’s only one thing for sure—in this real life fairy tale, PRINCE CHARMING WORE SPURS—and it’s going to take some powerful magic to ensure a “happily ever after” ending!
Genevieve Beaumont is haunted by dreams of a drowning man and her helplessness to save him. She buys a violin at an estate sale, and when she opens the case, her life is changed forever. The pictures she finds inside the case are of the man in her dreams, and the news clippings detail his death--a death she has witnessed countless times.
She travels to the small town where he died, almost 90 years in the past, searching for answers. When she enters the abandoned homestead where John Douglas lived with his parents and younger brother, she steps through the threshold of time. It's 1927 all over again, and she has only days to prevent John's death--if she's able.
THE VIOLIN has brought Genevieve into the past--but to what end? She must make the decision of a lifetime--whether to return to her life in the future, or stay in the past with John--the man she's already fallen in love with. Either way, she must find a way to keep the dream of his death from becoming a reality...
Augusta Thompson has lost everything—her parents, her husband, her home…and now, her only child. Then, a legal notice arrives asking her to travel across the country to claim an inheritance from an unknown relative—a grandmother she never knew she had. There’s only one catch: she must share her grandmother’s beautiful old home with handsome Olympic contender Charles “Web” Webster—the only other person named in the inheritance—for one year.
Web finds it difficult to believe Augusta never knew about her family in Maine, the family Augusta’s mother turned her back on. As time goes by, he realizes Augusta was mentally and emotionally abused by her ex-husband, and her heart and soul are wounded.
Can Augusta learn to trust in others once more and make a new life for herself? Can Web’s love for Augusta heal her broken heart and allow them a future together? Will the conditions of the inheritance prove to be a help or hindrance for these KISSING COUSINS?
Kelsy Bowen takes life seriously, and she’s got it all: Family, Fiancé, Future...until she meets tall, dark, handsome--and dangerous. Fox has secrets and demons of his own. With Kelsy in his forest, the Indian logger's job just got a lot more interesting--if he can manage to keep his mind on what he's doing. Kelsy’s loyalties are torn. Becoming an environmental spy will ensure her rise within the workplace, but there's a price. From their first meeting, Fox manages to blur the lines between Kelsy's mission and desire. In the forest, everything changes...and the certain future she's planned is on rocky ground. The dangerous heat of temptation threatens to consume them both. Destiny leads her headlong into the world of the Indian logger, and the dreams she's held tight to begin to fade. For Kelsy, searching for the Timberbeast becomes more than a mission as a spy--it becomes everything. Will she return to the corporate ladder she left behind--or will she embrace the unexpected life she's found within the forest?
EXCERPT
His heart thumped faster. The painful words and truths were buried in the rhythmic pounding like a drum fighting to burst from his aching chest, sending painful pressure into his head until he thought his eyes would go blind and his ears would explode.
Stumbling forward, he tore his way through the broken yard gate and the discouraged citizen firefighters to the burning building. Someone had to walk out of the ruins. But the inevitable truth was delayed as the fire found new fuel in a pitchy rafter. The last section of outside wall fell, bringing down the last rafters with a crash that echoed down the thickly forested mountain and across the valley to shake awake the entire town.
The firefighters moved around the building trying to slow the blaze with the sizzling spray and maybe keep the water on long enough to save the old woodshed and woodworking shop. Robert's knees buckled and he fell to the ground, momentarily resigned, letting the intense heat bite his face with every truth.
B&N Nook Link
SMASHWORDS
On a dark and snowy November night, ER nurse, Celina Gray, takes into her home two little girls after they land in the ER with their mother, who has been seriously injured. Little did she know by taking the girls that it would land her under the protective custody of Detective Brad Palmquist. He was there to serve and protect them, but who was going to protect her heart from him?
EXCERPT
The sound of the school bell split the air.
Celina watched as the two girls walked onto the playground. Despite the bitter weather, they were dressed in flip-flops and shorts. Long, adult hoodies covered their tiny bodies to their knees. Their hands and legs were turning red from the cold.
As they tried to get into line, Celina heard two girls that stood before them call out, “Ooh get away from us! You’ve got cooties!”
One by one, they were shoved to the back of the line. The youngest girl started to cry all over again.
The blare of a car horn had Celina looking into her rearview mirror. The light in front of her had turned green. She flicked on her left turn signal, stepped on the accelerator, and pulled into the intersection. From out of nowhere, a car burst through the intersection at a high rate of speed. Celina slammed on her brakes and fish-tailed. She gripped the steering wheel tightly, fighting for control as she cut a cookie in the middle of the icy street. Her eyes widened in fear and her heart pounded in her chest as the car careened toward her.
Pete Cochran, a war veteran with both visible and invisible scars, is mostly a loner. Then a special woman with a young son walks into his life as he works at his father's Christmas tree lot–a woman with problems he can't ignore.Maria Sanchez and her son Miguel eke out an existence on her part-time earnings, but share an abundance of love, except when terrorized by her drug addict relative. When she meets Pete, she sees him not as a frightening man, but a wounded hero returned from war. Her son seems immediately dra to the unusual Christmas tree vendor.
Will a special tree–a wishing tree–contain enough magic to fulfill all their Christmas desires?
EXCERPT
Her eyes met his and she smiled. It was a smile he'd not been expecting; a genuine greeting so sincere he wondered if he may have known her from the past. She seemed familiar to him, somehow.
But if he'd known her, he never would've forgotten. She was too beautiful–inside and out–for him to have misplaced that memory. Even with two years in Iraq and the war wounds that separated his normal life before and what passed for normal now.
He smiled back, reflexively, without conscious thought or effort, and her grin widened. A few feet away from him, she stopped and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
Pete's smile faded. He'd been just about to speak when she'd stopped in her tracks like that.
"That's one of the most beautiful scents on this earth," she said, looking straight into his one good eye. "I've always loved the smell of Christmas."
There was no rejection in her face–she looked at him the way people used to–before the war. When he'd had both eyes, and no eye patch.
Jennie Graves Howell has a secret, including being thought of as a loyal wife to her husband serving in Afghanistan, a husband who has demanded a divorce.
Jennie’s family do not want her to delve into the past. Grandpa Mike refuses to talk about his experiences in the Vietnam War and the aftermath. He wants the biggest mistake he ever made to remain hidden in the past, including family members Jennie never heard about until hints of their existence begin to seep through the cracks of secrecy.
Her new friends at the Golden Oaks Family Ties club are willing to teach Jennie the skills she needs to unlock her family’s secrets, but is she willing and emotionally strong enough to learn what her family has kept hidden?
EXCERPT
Jennie smiled, and hoped her face did not reveal the sadness inside. She wished her warrior husband was favorably impressed by her.
Then Jennie snapped her focus back to Quinn. She realized that he had shared something with her that was not common knowledge.
“So, Quinn Armitage Jacobson is your full legal name, huh? I fig-ured the “A” stood for Andrew or Allen or something like that. But Armitage! That is such an interesting middle name.”
“Interesting, huh?” he grimaced. “You are too kind.”
“But Quinn, that is a great name. I mean, Quinn is a pretty neat name in and of itself, but Armitage? How distinguished!”
“I’m happy you think so. The whole time I was growing up, if I ever told someone my middle name, they found some way to ridicule me.”
“Oh, that sounds like something little kids would do. They poke fun at anything out of the ordinary.”
“It’s supposed to be some family name,” he shrugged. “I don’t remember the details.”
“Would you try to find out? I’ll bet there is a great story behind it.”
The corner of Quinn’s mouth turned up in a half-smile.
Since her divorce, busy ER nurse Carlie Thomas has been only too happy to spend Christmas on duty. This year, however, she’s decided to take a much-needed break. What she gets instead is an unexpected houseguest, courtesy of her Uncle Rick.
Derek Pierce, a fireman with no family, needs some special care after being injured in a fire. As Christmas approaches, Carlie discovers that she has more in common with Derek than being alone. But Derek’s wounds are more than just skin deep. Will they spend the holidays haunted by the ghosts of the past, or could this Christmas spark a new, beautiful friendship…or even something more?
EXCERPT
Carlie had been on duty that night. The two firefighters' equipment malfunctioned and they barely made it back outside the burning home before they collapsed. Carlie had taken a keen interest in them, since they'd been under her uncle's command. He'd been sick with worry.
"Kevin's back home with his wife and kids."
"Great!"
"But Derek—" He broke off, and Carlie knew he was unsure as to how to proceed.
She smiled. "I know he was supposed to be released today or tomorrow. He was a little more severely affected." I know because I checked up on him.
"Yeah, they're gonna release him this afternoon. But he needs someone with him. I mean, he has to do the breathing treatments every four hours— I know he won't do that on his own."
"Typical man," Carlie teased.
Rick laughed, then sobered. "There's more to it than that, though, honey. A year ago, he lost his brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces to a Christmas fire. It's coming up on the first anniversary of their deaths, and he's alone. He's recovering from the smoke inhalation, and by the way, you were right. He did have a couple of busted ribs. I know your team was the first to see them when they were brought in."
Carlie's mind went back to the night when Derek Pierce and the other firefighter, de la Rosa, had been brought in. Derek had been in worse shape than his buddy. His dark hair was matted with sweat and grit from battling the flames. Soot and grime smudged his face, layering on his olive skin across his cheekbones. He had been handsome, even in that condition. She remembered the tingle that ran through her when his eyes cracked open and met hers.
When Jack Daniels goes into the local bar for a drink on Halloween, he meets Christian Lightfoot, a demon who shows him the truth about his wife Ashley’s infidelity. Jack learns he’s about to become the recipient of a large inheritance, and his wife has plans for it—plans that don’t include him. Will he live in spite of her evil plot to murder him, or will he choose another path…and walk upon The Darker Side of Goodness?
EXCERPT
Jack struggled to keep the dismay at his own helplessness from his expression. Panic edged his voice. “I just need to…to go home. Ashley will be wondering—”
“Ashley.” Christian spat her name as if it were something foul-tasting.
Jack looked at him in surprise. He stopped struggling.
“It should be clear to you, Jack. It should all be clear, by now. You need to cut your losses. Move on.” He gestured with his hands as he spoke, but didn’t raise his voice.
Panic filled Jack’s chest. Hadn’t he been thinking something very similar just a few minutes before Lightfoot had slid onto the stool beside him? And he hadn’t really ‘slid,’ had he? He had just appeared, with a glimmer and flash.
“Now, don’t be afraid, Jack. I know—I know what you’re thinking. ‘Who is this demon, and what does he want with me.’ Right?”
“Demon?”
Oh, dear God.
Kiera Leslie is all set to welcome Cory Tiger into her home as a foster child. Orphaned and with a learning disability, Cory is looking forward to living with his tutor. Until his uncle shows up...
Sam Tiger returns from military duty to find his deceased brother's son being taken in by a stranger. The boy needs his family and Sam is it. He never expects the tutor to stand up to him and want to keep Cory. Then the worst happens—he finds himself attracted to Kiera.
It’s Valentine’s Day, and Cupid’s got deadly aim!
EXCERPT
Kiera glanced toward the door of the library, catching a glimpse of movement. A tall serviceman stood just inside the doorway in camo pants, a nondescript gray t-shirt and combat boots. His skin was a shade darker than Cory's, but when he met her eyes, she knew there could be no doubt that he and the boy were related.
Her heart jumped. He looked at her without smiling, then started toward the table where she and Cory sat.
Cory looked up, startled at first, then a joyous smile lit his face. “Uncle Sam!” He pushed the chair back quickly and stood, just as the man reached him, engulfing him in a hug.
“Cory!” He went down to his haunches after a moment, looking at Cory, his hands rubbing Cory's arms and shoulders. “Look at you!”
“I'm ten now!”
Sam laughed and came to his feet, ruffling Cory's dark hair. “I know.”
Handsome. My God, the man was handsome. With eyes as penetrating and knowing as if he carried the wisdom of the ages, short cropped black hair, and an easy, killer smile.
At a children's Halloween carnival, a Gypsy fortuneteller predicts a new love for both Cindy and Gage. When the two meet over a poorly carved pumpkin, love flickers to life and the stars begin to align.
But the odds of finding a new love later in life seem insurmountable, and the prophecy seems too good to be true. After all, Gage has been burned before and Cindy doesn't believe in fortunes or second chances.
Will doubt overshadow their attraction or has love already been set in motion? Can the star-crossed pair put their faith in the love that was foretold? Can they believe in each other?
EXCERPT
“Jack!”
He turned at the excited voice, a smile lighting his face. “Star!” He ran forward and grabbed his classmate by the hand. Jack pulled the girl toward her, and Cindy bent low as he introduced them.
“Nana, this is my very best friend, Star Ross. She's the one I told you about that can play the wooden flute, and she makes up her own music, too!”
Cindy looked into the girl's face. Her Indian heritage was evident in the high cheekbones, dark eyes, and her coal black hair.
“And she can dance!”
Cindy couldn't help but laugh at Jack's enthusiasm. “Hello, Star. I'm Jack's grandmother.”
“Wow. You don't seem like a grandmother!” The smile never left Star's face. “You're too young. And pretty!”
Before Cindy could reply, a male voice interrupted. “Hey, where's my girl gotten off to?” Cindy looked up to see a tall, muscular man coming toward them. There was no doubt he was related to Star. His black eyes flashed with the same mischievous glint, his skin the same gorgeous olive color as Star's.
“Hey, Jack!” He reached to shake Jack's hand as he joined them.
“I'm Star's dad, Gage Ross.” He gave Cindy a slow smile, extending his hand to her. She took it, mesmerized, barely remembering her manners at the last second.
“Cindy Taylor. I'm...uh, Jack's—” She broke off, suddenly hating the word ‘grandmother'. There was only one word worse in her book, and Jack chose that particular time to use it.
“This is my granny, Mr. Ross. I just call her Nana, though.”
Cindy couldn't remember ever wanting a roll of duct tape as badly as she did right at the moment. She felt the flush burning her neck and face in record time.
Gage seemed to understand. He regarded her gravely, not glancing at Jack. “You have a lovely Nana, Jack. Thank you for the introduction.”
“Can we go now?” Jack asked. “I see Derek over there.”
“Sure,” Cindy answered softly. She glanced down to give Jack a reminder to be careful, only to find that he and Star were already halfway across the gym floor.
“I've been waiting a long time to meet you,” Gage said. “Seems like forever.”
When bookseller Lindy Oliver and undercover cop Jesse Nightwalker sit down to share a pastry at the local deli, they're strangers. But as breakfast suddenly becomes a heart-stopping life-or-death ordeal, a stolen kiss changes everything between them. Escaped convict, Tabor Hardin, blames Nightwalker for his imprisonment. With Lady Luck on his side, the brutal murderer plans to quickly gain a fortune, then make the cop pay with his life – very slowly. Hardin's gang enters the deli in a hail of bullets, and Jesse shoves Lindy beneath a table to shield her. But as he does, he steals one hot, life-altering kiss that forms an unbreakable bond between them. Now, with someone to live for, survival takes on new meaning for both of them. Secrets and vengeance are bound to crush any thoughts of a future between them. Fate provides a glimmer of hope for true love, but can it last in the firestorm of this Sweet Danger?
EXCERPT
Lindy looked up into Jesse’s face, scant inches from her own. What would he do? They were somewhat concealed here at the back of the deli, but these men were sporting semi-automatic weapons.
“There’s a back door,” Jesse whispered raggedly. “Get the hell out of here. I’m gonna be your diversion.” She didn’t answer; couldn’t answer. He was likely to be killed, helping her go free. He gave her a slight shake. “Okay?”
An interminable moment passed between them before she finally nodded. “Get going as soon as I get their attention.” He reached to brush a strand of hair out of her eyes, his own gaze softening as he leaned toward her and closed the gap between them. “Take care of yourself, Lindy,” he whispered, just before his mouth closed over hers.
The instant their lips met shook her solidly. Every coherent thought fled, leaving nothing but the smoldering touch of his lips on hers, burning like wildfire through her mind. Soft, yet firm. Insistent and insolent. His teeth skimmed her lower lip, followed by his tongue, as he tasted her. Then, he pulled away from her, their eyes connecting for a heart-wrenching second.
“Safe passage,” he whispered.
An abandoned piano, rejected love, and hope...
After her fiancé humiliates and breaks her heart on what was to be their wedding day, Ella Dubois has vowed never to open her heart again.
Nickoli Vesa, a Romanian pianist, has loved Ella for years, but she sees him only as her best friend.
How can an deserted piano heal a shattered spirit and inspire it to sing again?
Excerpt:
There it stood like a brave soldier, silent in its despair and covered in snow. One of the ornately carved legs had rotted away and lie on the ground beside it causing the piano to list to that side. It resembled an old ship that had taken a huge wave and, as the water began to fill its hull, was sinking slowly into the sea. The wooden underside of the keys had begun to swell and dislodge from the smooth white pads. The black keys had eroded into splinters and the top of the piano had caved in on the piano wires.
Ella choked back a sob at the sorrowful sight. How could that awful man watch this happen to such a beautiful instrument? The piano could have brought the joy of music to so many. How much hatred could he possibly have to find delight in watching the destruction of his wife’s piano? What a despicable human being.
Nickoli drove the car to the side of the road and stopped. He turned to Ella and gathered her up into his arms. “You must stop mourning, inima mea. Until you stop longing for things to be different, you cannot change your future. You cannot let happiness in. You understand, yes?”
She knew he was not talking to her about the piano. He was talking about Mark. There was no way for him to understand the pain she still felt from Mark’s rejection. The memory of her standing there at the front of the church with her friends and family all present as her father announced there would be no wedding that day was still sharp enough to cut into her heart. “I need time, Nick. I can’t just let it go like it never happened.” She pushed back from his embrace and met his eyes. “It’s the worst thing that ever happened to me.”
He did not take his eyes from hers. Removing his hands from around her, he moved back into his seat. “All is required, you let go. Stop looking back or you cannot see where you are going.”
