When Krissy Hancock and her best friend Vicki decide to open a bookstore café in their new town of Pine Hills, they decide to call it "Death by Coffee," after Krissy’s father’s most famous mystery novel. Little do they know how well the name fits…On their very first day of business, Brendon Lawyer huffily takes his coffee…to the grave. It seems he had a severe allergy to peanuts…but how could there have been nuts in his coffee? And who stole his emergency allergy medication?Fortunately, Krissy’s love of puzzles and mysteries leads her not only to Officer Paul Dalton, but also to many of her new neighbors, who aren’t terribly upset that the book is closed on Brendon. But one of them is a killer, and Krissy needs to read between the lies if she wants to save her new store—and live to see how this story ends… Views: 68
A remote lodge in upstate New York is the perfect winter wonderland getaway . . . until the bodies start piling up.It's winter in the Catskills and the weather outside is frightful, but Mitchell's Inn is so delightful! The cozy lodge nestled deep in the woods is perfect for a relaxing—maybe even romantic—weekend away. The Inn boasts spacious old rooms with huge wood-burning fireplaces, a well-stocked wine cellar and opportunities for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing or just curling up with a book and someone you love. So when the weather takes a turn for the worse and a blizzard cuts off the electricity—and all contact with the outside world—the guests settle in for the long haul. The power's down but they've got candles, blankets and firewood—a genuine rustic experience! Soon, though, a body turns up—surely an accident. When a second body... Views: 67
Sheriff Jake McCall is about to break the law. To find a bone marrow donor for his ailing baby girl, he'll hack into WITSEC to track down Maggie Gallagher—the only person who could be a genetic match. Yet by doing so, he is jeopardizing not only his badge, but Maggie's life, as well. Expecting to have to force Maggie against her will, Jake is unprepared for her willingness to help—and for the desire and hunger she arouses in him. Still, those forbidden feelings could make Jake reckless, and losing focus now isn't an option. With time running out and a killer on their heels, Jake has to keep Maggie alive—and give his daughter a Christmas miracle.About the AuthorUSA Today bestselling author, Delores Fossen, has sold over 50 novels with millions of copies of her books in print worldwide. She's received the Booksellers' Best Award for romantic suspense, the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award and was a finalist for the prestigious Rita ®. In addition, she's had nearly a hundred short stories and articles published in national magazines. You can contact the author through her webpage at www.dfossen.com. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.Sheriff Jake McCall knew what he was about to do could put a woman in grave danger. Maybe even get her killed. He wasn't certain he could live with that, but he sure as hell couldn't live with the alternative, either.Risking Maggie Gallagher's life, and his, was the only choice he had.He pushed the stallion hard, its hooves chopping into the frozen ground. The icy wind whipped at him and burned his eyes and hands. But he rode harder. Away from the ranch house and away from what was waiting for him there.It didn't help.Jake had known that when he saddled up, but he couldn't face what was inside. Not yet. Though delaying it didn't change the fact that he'd have to do things he had sworn he'd never do.Like see Maggie again.He hated her more than he wanted her. Far more. And he hated himself for still wanting her after what had happened. That settled like a deadweight in Jake's gut, and he figured that particular feeling wasn't going to get better anytime soon.Cursing, Jake pushed that thought aside and rode the half mile to the creek, not stopping, not slowing until he got to the ice-scabbed water's edge. He reined in the stallion, put his thumb to the brim of his Stetson to ease it back a bit, and he sat there, his forearm on the saddle horn.He stared out at the glassy black surface of the creek and at the cottonwood trees, all veiny and bare. In the thin white moonlight he glanced down at the silver star badge pinned to his denim shirt pocket and felt a pain of a different kind. The badge meant something to him. Always had. It was his anchor. His cause.Him.Yeah, that was a sappy cliche that he'd never admit aloud. Not here in rural Texas where the only acceptable feelings for a real man to show were anger, appreciation for good-looking women and love for animals and small children.But it was true.People didn't call him Boy Scout for nothing.The stallion snorted, its breath mixing with the air and creating a milky haze around them. He looked back at Jake with a judgmental dark eye and snorted again.It was too butt-freezing cold to be out on this December night trying to ride off his troubles. But he'd wanted one last look at the place, just in case he never saw it again.Jake gathered the reins, maneuvered the stallion around and headed back. No gallop this time. He kept the stallion's gait easy and slow, but each step still took him home.There were twinkling lights around the windows. A holly wreath on the door. A plastic Santa and his sleigh perched on the roof. It still didn't feel like Christmastime even though it was only three days away.Jake spotted his brother, Royce, on the porch that ran across the entire front of the ranch house. Royce was on the top step, his lanky jeans-clad legs stretched out in front of him while he took a long drag on a cigarette.Since Royce had quit smoking some four years ago, it was a reminder to Jake that he wasn't the only one in for a bad night. Royce flicked the cigarette into what was left of their sister's petunia bed. She'd complain about that come spring when she found it.By then, all of their lives here would have changed.One way or another."Dad's waiting on you." Royce got up from the step, the Christmas lights flickering off the silver deputy's badge he had clipped to his rawhide belt. "You okay?" Royce asked."No." Jake figured a lie would just stick in his throat so he didn't even try it.His brother stopped a moment as if considering that, and then he made a sound that could have meant anything before he strolled inside.Jake dismounted and led the stallion to the barn. He mumbled an apology for the hard ride while he took off the saddle and gave the horse a quick brush down. He hurried now, dreading the delay more than he dreaded the conversation that was about to take place, and Jake made his way back to the house.The moment he opened the door, he spotted them in the great room that sprawled out in front of him.Family.His brother, Royce. His sister, Nell. His father, Chet.Royce had already taken the chair near the fireplace where a stack of mesquite logs were crackling and spitting. Chet was in his leather recliner that was positioned like a throne, the toes of his black snakeskin boots aimed at the ceiling. Jake spared him a glance before he went to the room across the hall. It'd once been a guest room, but these days it was more of a home-hospital for his daughter.Sunny Lynn McCall.She owned every bit of Jake's heart.Jake didn't go in. He watched from the doorway as the visiting nurse, Betsy Becker, gave his daughter another injection. His little girl barely moved, didn't even open her eyes, despite the needle being jammed into her hip.That nearly brought Jake to his knees.Three years old was way too young to be immune to pain. Too young to die. It was up to him now to make sure that didn't happen.Betsy took off her surgical mask, came out of the room and dodged Jake's gaze. "I'm sorry. I'll be back in the morning." She gave him a pat on the arm.Betsy didn't linger, didn't speak to the others. She was a fixture now, appearing at the ranch every morning and leaving every night. She grabbed her things and let herself out. Jake had no doubts that come seven in the morning Betsy would be back to shove more needles into his baby.Sometimes life just plain sucked, but it was easier to take a kick in the teeth when he was on the receiving end of the pain. Watching Sunny suffer like this was a special form of hell that he wouldn't wish on anyone.Well, maybe there was someone.He pulled in a long breath, went into the adjoining bathroom so he could scrub up and put on a surgical mask. He wasn't sick, but they couldn't take any chances with Sunny.When Jake walked to her bed, Sunny didn't wake up and probably wouldn't, because lately she was more tired than not. He leaned down, kissed both cheeks, ran his fingers through her dark hair. He lingered a bit despite hearing Chet impatiently clear his throat.The room was as cheerful as Jake had been able to make it. The floor-to-ceiling Christmas tree in the corner was decorated with lights and angel ornaments that Sunny had picked out from an online catalog. Her stuffed animals and dolls were nearby. Coloring books, too."You gonna make us wait all night?" Chet snarled.Chet always sounded as if he was picking a fight. Except when he talked to Sunny. Jake's baby girl had wrapped her grandpa around her pinkie and vice versa. And that was the reason that Jake could still love his dad.Of course, Jake didn't like him much, but that wasn't likely to change.Jake gave Sunny another kiss, gently squeezed her hand and took off his mask so he could face his family."I'll stay with Sunny while you talk," Nell whispered. His sister didn't know what was up, but Jake knew she would always step in to take care of her niece.He was counting heavily on that."Well?" Chet, again. Another snarl. "Did you find her?'"Jake waited until Nell had closed the door to Sunny's room before he answered Chet's questions. "I found her. More or less."Royce knew where this was going, and that was no doubt why he cursed and probably wished he had another smoke or two. "She's in the Witness Security Program.""She's where?" Chet snapped."WITSEC, witness security," Jake supplied, though Chet had no doubt heard him the first time. The man was sixty-four, but there was nothing wrong with his hearing. Or his mind. "She was placed in the program after, well, just after," Jake settled for saying.Chet cursed. "The marshals won't tell you where she is." It wasn't a question, and it was followed by more cursing.Royce took up the explanation since he'd been at the sheriff's office when Jake had gotten the news. "We sent a request all the way up to the head of WITSEC, but our request was denied."Chet got to his feet and started to pace. "If I could get my hands around her neck—""She probably doesn't know Sunny's sick," Jake interrupted. "And we don't know if it'll be worth it to even find her."That was the hardest part of all. This could all be for nothing."I don't know how much the Justice Department is telling her because—" Jake had to pause and breathe "—it could be dangerous if anyone found out her new identity and her location.""Damn right it's dangerous," Chet snapped. "It's dangerous for Sunny, too. And if she can help, then I don't care about compromising her identity. Hell, I don't care if somebody guns her down like—"Thankfully, Chet had the good sense to stop. Jake already had enough bad things to deal with tonight without the memories of his late wife's murder. Of course, the memories of Anna were there.Always.Even though she'd been dead and buried for over two and a half years now, since Sunny was just a baby."Are we just going to keep calling her she and her?" Royce asked. He huffed, but Jake didn't know if he was just riled about the situation or the pronoun use. "Because she's got a name, you know?""Yeah, and it's a name not welcome here," Chet insisted.His father wasn't the forgive-and-forget sort.Neither was Jake in this situation.But Sunny needed her. And that meant Jake needed her, too."Maggie Gallagher," Jake said aloud. It was the first time that name had crossed his lips in two years, eight months and five days.Maggie, his former sister-in-law. Or would that be his late wife's sister? Or how about the woman who'd gotten Anna killed? Yeah, that was the label that fit her best.Maybe Chet had the right idea about not saying her name.... Views: 67
From the grit of the Australian bush to the tangled traditions of cultivated English society, Under Two Skies is truly a lost literary treasure. The contrasting communities in these collected short stories of Ernest William Hornung, are also intrinsically intertwined. They take place equally in the Australia and England of the late 1800's, when Britain still ruled that far-flung and distant land of heat, hope, and heartache. Disgrace drives men to start new lives in the hard world of the colony, whilst life goes on in the green fields they have left behind. A Whim driver hides from a hidden past, a convict father threatens to cast a shadow on his son's achievements, an English lady longs for her love seeking his fortune on the other side of the world. Hornung paints vivid scenes with wonderful characters you will fall for again and again.Under Two Skies was first published in 1892. Views: 67
Following their Academy Award wins, the film careers of Elizabeth Sutton and Aidan Evans reach stratospheric heights. Now bona fide superstars, the Hollywood press and throngs of starstruck fans await them at every turn, and the pressure to maintain their luminary status for the benefit of Starlight Studios escalates. Away from the spotlight, Beth and Aidan's forbidden romance intensifies. Passionate nights spent together in secret stoke their mutual desires, each experience more extraordinary than the last. Beth is thrilled with the breakthroughs in both her professional and personal lives, but perpetual feelings of guilt and self-doubt cripple Aidan's happiness. Slowly, the burdens brought on by the fame he neither courted nor craved unleash his inner torment, releasing the demons Beth's love and support helped him cage. Aidan must embark on a final journey to move on from his traumatic past once and for all, but the outcome is anything but certain. It leads him down an unexpectedly dark path, from an explosive showdown with studio head Luther Mertz, to a jarring revelation about his mother’s death that could hold the key to his salvation or exile him from everyone he loves forever. Stardust is the powerful conclusion to The Starlight Trilogy, a story of love and redemption set against the backdrop of the final years of Hollywood's Golden Age. Five Reasons To Read The Starlight Trilogy: 1. A sweeping technicolor tale of forbidden romance. 2. A detailed homage to the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. 3. Cameos from many of your favorite classic film stars. 4. Transformation of a small town girl to silver screen starlet through Hollywood’s unforgiving lens. 5. Close-up of a 1950s bad boy channeling a tragic past and the stress of sudden super stardom through the art of Method acting.** Views: 67
They say it’s
better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
Finn McGraw
disagrees.
He was just
seventeen when he had a torrid summer affair with the girl who stole his
heart—and then inexplicably turned on him, just before being sent to boarding
school. Finn may have moved on with his life, but he’s never forgotten her.
Now, ten years later,
he’s got more than his lost love to worry about. A horrific accident turns his
life upside down, resurrecting the ghosts of his long-dead family at the same
time it takes the lives of the few people he has left.
Finn always
believed his estranged brother was responsible for the fire that killed their
family—but an unexpected inheritance with a mystery attached throws everything
he knows into doubt.
And on top of
that, the beguiling daughter of his wealthy employer has secrets of her own.
But the closer he gets, the harder she pushes him away.
The Seacrest is a story
of intrigue and betrayal, of secrets and second chances—and above all, of a
love that never dies.
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