From the bar stools of the local pub to the wide open plains of the biggest stations in the world, these tales travel the dusty roads to the heart of Australia and the women who understand how to work hard -- and play even harder.In the latest in the wildly successful Secret Confessions series from Escape Publishing, the women of Down & Dusty invite you into their lives -- and their bedrooms.*-*Welcome to the HEART - and HEAT - of Australia …They say that no one has secrets in a small town - these women prove them wrong.Casey Cooper left her husband and the small town of Milpinyani Springs in her dust a year ago, vowing never to return. But a favour to a friend finds her back in town—and back in her husband’s garage, where he offers her a proposition too sexy to refuse. A naked Joel has always been the one thing Casey can’t resist - but can her heart handle the heat?*-*Secret Confessions: Down & DustyBook #1: Casey by Rachael JohnsBook #2: Lucky by Cate EllinkBook #3: Kelly by Fiona LoweBook #4: Brooke by Eden SummersBook #5: Clarissa by Mel TeshcoBook #6: Skye by Rhyll BiestBook #7: Maree by Elizabeth DunkBook #8: Frankie by Jackie Ashenden

    Helens' largest glass works, her whole life is turned upside down. Torn from her poverty-stricken family and forbidden to see her childhood sweetheart, Roddy Baxter, she is forced by her tyrannical grandfather to become a lady. Then Roddy disappears and soon, it seems inevitable that Abby will have to marry her grandfather's chosen successor. Trapped in a marriage where she is little more than a possession, Abby is determined that no matter what else might change, nothing will stand in the way of her steadfast passion for Roddy. But is she prepared to give up everything she has now for a love from the past?

    Here she was, in labor...and the doctor treating her was the father of her child! She and Dr. David Wahl had shared July's one and only one-night stand. But they'd both moved on. So how could she tell the sexy obstetrician the truth?The strapping baby boy David had just delivered couldn't be his son...could it? Because the woman holding him in her arms was the one he'd been unable to banish from his dreams for the past nine months. And she was awakening all kinds of new dreams in David--mainly to grab them both in his arms and never let them go!

    That's all Nellie Tucker wants from Jack Darby. After all, a librarian from a small Texas community doesn't have a lot in common with a cool business guy like Jack. Sure, their week in Las Vegas is wonderful, but Nellie has her real life to get back to.So imagine her surprise when Jack suddenly appears in her hometown. And not only does he appear, but he seems intent on setting down roots--here. Nellie doesn't know whether to jump for joy at getting another shot with him, or run and hide so he can't discover how unglamorous she truly is. The way he's chasing her, however, it seems the choice might not be hers!

    Why she ran to the city and became a workaholic doctor. Why she put off marriage...indefinitely. And that person is now staring her in the face on her first day back in town! Seth Washington is as handsome as ever. Way too available. And wanting to talk about the past--which Kat prefers to leave alone. Seth insists the Lord is on their side and always was. Kat's starting to believe, but will that be enough for love?Originally published in 2008

    She promised herself she was never going back to Townsville. But when a twist of fate lands her in a Townsville army base clinic, she must confront past hurts if she wants to succeed and, just maybe, find love.Captain Aiden Bell is used to the hard life of an army officer. But his career has taken an emotional toll that he hasn't dealt with until meeting Christina stirs memories, desire - and hope.Crystal Creek is the addictive new novel of romance, medicine and drama from the bestselling author of Ryders Ridge, and Iron Junction, Charlotte Nash.*INCLUDES bonus chapters of Iron Junction*'I was enthralled . . . Nash's skilled storytelling will keep you turning the pages until the very end' FLEUR MCDONALD

    She is about to graduate with an Architecture degree and marry her-All American baseball star-fiancé. When she catches him in bed with another woman, her world is turned upside down. Left to pick up the pieces of her shattered life, she takes on a new persona—a promiscuous one. This new role protects her heart from ever being broken again. Andi now lives by a set of rules. The game? Sex with a new pawn every weekend. Every Friday, she sets her sight on a new sexy, successful man to play along—no strings attached, please. When Monday rolls around, she kicks them to the curb and moves on. It has helped her get through the pain of her past—that is, until she meets Jackson. The mysterious Jackson is excited to play her game. He too has had his heart broken in the past and isn’t looking for a repeat. Eventually, hearts get involved and Andi wonders if the game is still worth playing. Will she look for a new pawn or will she break the rules with Jackson?

    Zack Hemingway?Even his boss had handpicked two of his three daughters as perfect candidates for the position of Zack's wife. But it was the other daughter who'd caught Zack's no-longer roving eye.A sweet Christian woman who worked with children in need, Chloe Kilgannon possessed everything he wanted in a wife. Except a willingness to say I do. Why? What was Chloe hiding--or hiding from? Zack had to find out before he lost Chloe for good. For when his own family dropped a life-changing bombshell on him, he knew that some secrets were truly meant to be shared.

    It’s 1926 and the Depression is claiming its victims every day. Hannah and her mother Miriam, who have lived with Hannah’s uncle and aunt since her father died, have never really been close. As Hannah develops into a beautiful girl, so Miriam’s jealousy and resentment of her grows. At least Hannah can escape to spend time at her friend Naomi’s, whose kind mother gives Hannah the affection she so lacks at home. And Hannah is not indifferent to Naomi’s handsome, charming brother Joe. But when she is forced to flee her house and the unwanted attention of her uncle, it is the grave, taciturn Jake, Naomi’s other brother, who shines through as Hannah’s protector...

    He soon learns that thwarting the French was much easier than playing guardian to three young ladies, and decides the simplest solution is to marry them off. * Louisa Whitton needs to find a husband of her own choosing before Christmas. At her sister’s house party, she meets the perfect gentleman—thus foiling her grandfather’s plans. However, Marston refuses to even think about courting her until his sisters are wed, and he has the audacity to ask her to wait. Louisa’s grandfather will never agree, so she sets out to find the perfect substitute for Marston, forcing him to choose between his sisters’ future and his own.~ * ~In Catherine Gayle’s To Enchant an Icy Earl...As the Earl of Fordingham, Tristan Cavendish has lived by the code his father beat into him for so long he’s driven everyone in his life away, including his brother. Now he is alone. Loneliness dictates he must change, so he sets out to make amends with his only sibling. Alas, his brother seems none too inclined to hear him out, and a woman who must be a vision from Fordingham’s dreams walks into his path. Now, more than ever before, he knows he must change his ways or risk driving her away as well…but how? * Calista Bartlett is on the hunt for a husband—but one who is nothing at all like the betrayer who was her former beau. When she sees the Earl of Fordingham across the room at a soiree, she knows she’s found the very man who is everything her one-time beau was not. Fordingham presents an icy façade to the world, but Calista discovers a passionate man who kisses her feverishly and warms her through to the bones. Can she ever convince him to let down his guard permanently?~ * ~In Ava Stone’s My Lord Hercules...Miss Miranda Bartlett is on a mission to locate her missing friend. Determined hoyden that she is, she’ll do whatever it takes to get the answers she seeks too, even if that means dressing like a dandy, sneaking into a gaming hell, and surrounding herself with London’s worst reprobates. However, she didn’t plan on bumping into a Herculean gentleman along the way. The handsome and honorable Lord Harrison Casemore immediately thwarts her plans and seems determined to save her at every turn, making it more than difficult to accomplish her task. * Ever since Harry Casemore spotted the exotic temptress trying to pass herself off as a fop, he’s been drawn to her. He hasn’t figured out what she’s after, but he’s fairly certain he’d sell his soul if she’d just let him help her with whatever it is.~*~In Jerrica Knight-Catania’s A Penny For Your Thoughts... Penelope Bartlett has had a rough year, to say the least. She lost her eldest brother and her father in one fell swoop, and to make matters worse she had to miss out on her very first London Season. Now she's in the thick of the Little Season and all she wants to do is run away. It's torture to watch her siblings fall in love and she's simply not in the mood to make merry with all of them. Especially when they treat her as if she's still a little girl in leading strings. 
* Enter Drake Lockwell, Viscount Flitwick. He, too, is typically eager to escape crowded ballrooms and matchmaking mamas in favor of his own company in a deserted garden or library. But a chance meeting in his brother’s garden one night changes everything. Miss Bartlett is young and impetuous, yet he can't help but fall prey to her charms. Perhaps she will be the one to finally mend the hole in his heart...

Or will his secrets be more than Penelope is able to handle?

    has no shortage of candidates, he lets his baby boy help with the selection. Little Sam falls for quiet Kendry Harrison—a surprising choice, maybe. But Jamie quickly realizes that the orderly's sweet veneer hides a multitude of attractions—and if he's not careful, he could wind up wrecking their carefully set-up "arrangement."  Kendry knows her marriage to Jamie is strictly business, but that doesn't stop her from dreaming of a more permanent place in the healer's heart. If only he'd stop resisting the passion simmering between them. Then maybe he'd realize they were made for each other…and meant to be married in every sense of the word….

     Dr Mike Donovan doesn’t believe in love at first sight – until he meets midwife Jenny Carson for the first time and is instantly hooked. He knows she’s the woman he’s been searching for, and won’t stop until he gets what he wants. Jenny isn’t so convinced; nicknamed “The Ice Woman”, she won’t let any man close to her after being burned by love in the past. Mike is determined to win over Jenny, and eventually they grow closer. But a devastating accident could threaten everything they’ve built together – can Mike thaw Jenny’s heart and keep the woman of his dreams?

    Despite his intense need for privacy, he'll grant Keri an interview if it means a chance to finish what they started in high school.He proposes an outrageous plan—for every day she survives with his family on their annual camping and four-wheeling trip, Keri can ask one question. Keri agrees; she's worked too hard to walk away from her career.But the chemistry between them is still as potent as the bug spray, Joe's sister is out to avenge his broken heart and Keri hasn't ridden an ATV since she was ten. Who knew a little blackmail, a whole lot of family and some sizzling romantic interludes could make Keri reconsider the old dream of Keri & Joe 2gether 4ever.An unabridged recording (7 hours, 43 minutes).

    After one amazing night together they parted ways. Now working on the picture desk for a glossy magazine in London, Bronte is about to meet a new colleague - who turns out to be all too familiar. Alex is now engaged, but the memory of the spark they felt when they met hasn't died. As Alex's wedding day looms, it is clear that he and Bronte have unfinished business... THE ONE WE FELL IN LOVE WITH was selected for the Zoella Book Club and Paige Toon's novels have been published across the world.Praise for Paige Toon's novels: 'You'll love it, cry buckets and be uplifted' MARIAN KEYES 'I blubbed, I laughed and I fell in love... utterly heart-wrenching' GIOVANNA FLETCHER 'Devoured this in one sitting' COSMOPOLITAN 'An absorbing and emotional read' HEAT

    Now a successful businesswoman, she accepts a challenge from a daytime talk show to compete in a thirty-day battle of the sexes. April is up against a television psychologist who claims her organization hurts the very people she alleges to help. Dr. Jefferson Prentiss, television's Dr. Jeff, is haunted by the loss of his wife and newborn son, and by his role in their deaths. To atone, he's dedicated his professional life to the ideals of family. The talk show challenge presents him with the opportunity to prove not only the sagacity of his self-help book, but the inherent danger of paying strangers to perform those family tasks that should be done out of love and nurture. Once inside an isolated cabin filled with videotaping equipment, April and Jeff learn from each other, tackle their demons, and discover a new awareness between them: love.