But her personal life is a mess. No one else, even the Sisters of Fire, knows the inner Trish, the insecure child and wounded adult, both of them abused.When kindergarten teacher Nathan Mitchell finds himself drawn to Trish, he begins to see the woman behind the mask. And once he sees her, he’s determined to help her transform herself to the woman she was meant to become. The road to this is rocky, even dangerous with Trish’s crazed partner, but Nathan never once wavers.Can Trish fight her way out of abuse and insecurity with the Sisters of Fire, a skilled counselor and good-guy Nathan at her side or will she condemn him and herself to misery and loneliness?

    Her life turns in an instant when she's injured in the bombing. Single dad and veterinarian, Adam Fielding, intends to remain a bachelor after being "abandoned" twice. Once by the love of his life and once by a second-best girlfriend. When Rebecca arrives at Sea View House to recover, neither she not Adam is prepared to let the magic of the place affect them. Will these two open their hearts and run toward a new finish line together?

    See author's note, below Pulling Home (That Second Chance #1) It's taken nine years and a cross-country move, but Audra Valentine Wheyton has kept her secrets safe. She's created the perfect life: a husband who loves her, a daughter she adores, and a position as head writer for an award-winning daytime soap. When her husband dies suddenly, Audra returns to her hometown for the funeral and faces a community that has not forgotten her meager beginnings and the man who has never forgiven her for marrying his brother. Jack Wheyton is a successful pediatric neurosurgeon who is about to become engaged when Audra walks back into his life with her daughter. He forgave his brother long ago for taking something that had been his, something he hadn't even realized he wanted until it was gone. But forgiving Audra is another story...and forgetting her? Near impossible. When a shattering illness strikes Audra's daughter, she turns to Jack to save her child and risks exposing a secret that will change their lives forever. A Family Affair: The Promise (Truth in Lies #7) Grant Richot sprinted through life, a boy wonder with talent, intelligence, confidence, and charm. He never doubted the world awaited him, just as he never doubted the right woman would come into his life—but only when he was ready for her. Anyone before that was simply preparation for the one. How wrong he was. Years and a tragedy later, Grant arrives in Maggie Finnegan’s hometown of Magdalena, New York—broken, uncertain, and searching for that second chance with the woman he cast aside. But Maggie’s no longer naïve and impressionable; she’s a confident, competent widow with a child, who has more at risk than another broken heart… Note from Mary: I love secondary characters: writing them, reading about them, even watching them on the big screen. Secondary characters support the “stars”; make them more vibrant and compelling. But when the story ends, I’m often left wondering what they’d do if they were in the “spotlight”. That’s why I’ve created special boxed sets that were part of That Second Chance series and the Truth in Lies series. These boxed sets let the reader follow the before and after of select characters as they first appear in That Second Chance series and later in the fictional town of my bestselling Truth in Lies series. Boxed Set One contains Pulling Home and A Family Affair: The Promise. I invite you to follow their journey!

    Trust issues from ex-husband? Check.Meeting my soulmate on a plane to Cancun? Not what I expected. This bachelorette weekend was all about letting loose and having fun, not finding the man of my dreams. Guess you can’t pick when you find your soulmate. Oops. I’m not ready for another commitment, but Parker drives me crazy. One wild weekend in the tropics later, and I’ve found Parker’s the man that stands out from all the boys I’ve had before.But can we really last once this trip is over? I have my doubts, but Parker wants to take our relationship sky-high...ParkerI’m not a guy that likes to get serious. Flings are more my thing, and I know exactly how to satisfy any lady that crawls into my bed. But Natalie offers something more, and with one look at her, I know this bachelor’s getaway just became a romantic quest to chase down the girl of my dreams. We’ve got a strong connection, but Natalie’s trust issues have forced us to remain distant. I could never break her heart like her ex did. And I’m about to prove it.In all the right ways. The party’s just gotten started, but what Natalie and I have… it’s forever.I just have to convince her of that. ***The first novel in the Easy Street series, 7 Miles High is a contemporary romance of finding your true love on a plane, then never letting them go. Adventurous, funny, and full of heart, this love story by author Leslie Pike will have readers flying into an emotional rollercoaster of passion and new beginnings.

    He just might fall in love instead.Zane McCord might not say it often, but he loves his brothers no matter what, even when he’s acting like a jerk and he knows it. When his brother Jimmy dies with tension hanging between them, he turns all his hatred to the woman who deserves it—Ava Rainer, the one responsible for his death. He refuses to like her. He won’t help her. He wants her nowhere near him. Except she’s suddenly on his farm and sneaking her way into his heart with her own pain. The guilt is eating him alive, but maybe…just maybe…they can heal together.The entire McCord Family Novel series: (Each book in this series can be read as a standalone.)Protecting You (Book 1): Zane & AvaTrust in Love (Book 2): Austin & SophieDeserving You (Book 3): Emmett & Deja Always Kind of Love (Book 4): Ethan & PenelopeFinding You (Book 5): Gabe & Olivia

    She doesn’t care how gorgeous he is––she wants him gone after he threatens to pull her family back into the paparazzi filled world they escaped from over a decade ago.Holt knows Sam hates him on sight and the feeling is becoming mutual. But his entire career is riding on a favor from Sam’s legendary film director father. No way will he allow one irritating, sexy redhead to stand in his way.Sam intends to fight him at every turn…if only her heart didn’t race when they’re together. Holt does his best to steer clear of her…except all he wants to do is hold her close. The sizzling attraction between them is either going to burn up the sheets or burn down the ranch…

    For Mindy and Creed the flame remains.Newly divorced and empty nester, Mindy Sage, decided that her hometown might be the perfect place to reinvent herself, or at least find the wild and carefree girl she used to be before she moved away.She’s craving small town comfort, but the problem is, in Cooper’s Hawk, everyone knows everyone. Secrets can feel as tall and wide as the Montana mountains that backdrop the friendly, picturesque town where she’d left her heart in the hands of a handsome cowboy nineteen years ago.Search and Rescue team member, Creed Hawke, understood more than anyone what saving a life meant, but who would save him from the one woman he’d never gotten over? He’d moved on—or at least he thought he had until those old emotions come tumbling back with the vengeance of a forest fire. He’s reminded of how much he’d loved Mindy, wanted her, swore to marry her. Why couldn’t he forget her? Resist her? Deny her his heart?Because he’d fallen for her at ten and never came back up for air.How can he forgive her for stealing his daughter from him? Is love stronger than the mistakes they’ve made? Or are they doomed before they find forever?

    Marshal-turned-Sheriff Taylor James can trace her family back to the original thirteen Marshals appointed by George Washington. She’s good at her job, but once they find out she’s the local law, she can’t get even one of her dates to stay past the appetizers. Her plan? Convince good friend and hot neighbor Dr. Gabriel Adams to give her dating lessons since his dance card is always full.A survivor of childhood leukemia with no guarantee his remission will last, Gabe lives by two rules: Don’t get emotionally involved and don’t let his well organized life spiral out of control. When he’s given a baby, with his name on her birth certificate, he needs Taylor’s help. But dangling dating lessons in exchange? If that will get the dedicated sheriff to lend a helping hand, could it be a bargain worth making?

    The boards creaked under Adele Darling’s feet as if they hadn’t been stepped on since women wore hoop skirts. Cobwebs on the porch slung themselves from top beams to bottom ones, and an old wagon wheel leaned against a hitching post in front. It was as if the sidewalk had been poured right around the post, and her Toyota hybrid looked completely wrong parked next to it. It should have been a horse.The building is a ruin, the business is broke and customers are scarce. Add into the mix Nate Houston - the handsome, guitar-playing bartender who had always believed he would be the next owner - and Adele has one potent cocktail on her hands. Blaze: (The Firefighters of Darling Bay #1) Grace is doing just fine—she doesn't need help, especially from a man whose very nickname is unhealthy. Tox Ellis is the hazmat expert at the Darling Bay Fire Department, and he knows what compounds to keep apart to prevent explosions. Why, then, can't he seem to stay away from Grace, the woman who seems to think he needs fixing? Is Darling Bay ready for the chemical reaction Grace and Tox generate whenever they're in the same place at the same time? And who will be standing by to put out the flames? On the Market (The Ballard Brothers of Darling Bay #1): Liam Ballard is good at buying houses, fixing them up with his brothers, and flipping them for a profit. When Felicia from the network shows up to offer them a reality show (the brothers renovate a house while one of them dates the buyer), the pay is too good to turn down. With it, they'll finally be able to open the after-school program for at-risk youth to honor the man who raised them. But when the very LA-like Felicia decides she'll be the buyer of the property (and his date), Liam wonders for the first time what set of keys he'll want to pass over to her, and will one of them unlock his heart?

    Her methodical daily routine suits her just fine, so she aims to freshen up the property, sell it, and take her funds back to the city. She’s only got two weeks during her vacation to make this happen. Now is the time to cash in and get out. The oldest Hutchinson son, who people around town know as “Hutch,” is a third generation local who is poised to take over the family business with his brother, Cole. The barbeque brothers have very different ideas about the future of their restaurant, "The Hut." Just when he thought his biggest headache was his job, Hutch meets Valerie and both their worlds are upended. He’s drawn to this fish out of water, but Valerie’s time in Last Stand has an expiration date. Their sweet and saucy styles don’t mix, but can they both find the recipe to a happy future?

    Seven years ago when he was at the top of his career, he gave it all up to return home to Last Stand, Texas, to raise his youngest brother and take over the reins of their massive cattle ranch. But his career wasn’t the only thing he left behind. A chance meeting with the woman he never stopped loving, Cruz, blows apart his work-only life, and he starts to want more than just his ranch. Axel’s never backed down from a challenge, but this is one risk, the cowboy’s not sure he can take. Former barrel racer and now single mom Cruz Lopez excels at staring down obstacles and winning. A newly certified physician’s assistant, she’s determined to build her career and create a new life for herself and her son in Texas just as long as it’s far from one sexier than sin Last Stand cowboy, who once nearly derailed her dreams and goals. Only it’s not. Luckily it’s temporary, and Cruz is confident she can avoid Axel for a month except a horrific accident throws them together when they both stop to help. Axel was her first and only love, and now she’s struggling to remember all the reasons he’s wrong when he feels so right. He told her once he never wanted a family. So why is he inviting them both on picnics and teaching her son to ride and rope? Axel is her past, but she’s starting to hope for a future with him. Can she trust him when it’s not just her heart at risk this time?

    I thought I’d have more accomplished by now - like a wife and family - but for nine years I’ve held onto the memory of the girl who got away. Now she’s back and I’m more determined than ever to make her mine. For good this time.PaigeAfter years of working tirelessly, I just landed my dream job at the largest newspaper on the west coast. Unfortunately, that lands me in the same city as the man who broke my heart nearly a decade ago - the same one I’ve never really been able to let go of. When my editor assigns me to write an exposé on Jack, I’m forced to decide where my loyalties lie - with the career of a lifetime, or the love of my life.In the Grasp is the first steamy standalone contemporary sports romance in the LA Wolves series.

    Big secrets. Welcome to Sweet Ridge, TexasWhen the Cooper brothers hear what their father left them in his will, they’re surprised to find that the things closest to their hearts were given to three random women. Gavin Cooper had his heart set on owning the house the family had grown up in, and when his old high school rival inherits it, he’s devastated. But she can’t sell the house for one year, and that’s plenty of time for him to find a way to get it back.When Macy Young said goodbye to Sweet Ridge and left to pursue fame and fortune, she never thought she’d return. After losing her best friend, Macy went on a downward spiral of pain and shame. Living in the inherited house where she’d spent many happy hours might just soothe her weary soul.Macy and Gavin will have to find a way to forgive themselves and each other if they’re ever going to be happy. Can this country star and veterinarian forget their pasts and start a life together?

     When Amelia Corbyn was a vulnerable teen, she found out she wasn’t a Corbyn by blood. Her biological father was a legendary country singer who wanted nothing to do with her. Hurt and confused, Amelia fled Last Stand Texas for a modeling career in New York. She left behind her high school boyfriend and family who had kept too many secrets. Years later Amelia’s back in Last Stand, retired from modeling and determined to care for her aging parents. She’s not expecting to see the one man she loved and couldn’t forget. Even worse, the spark is still there just waiting to burst into a flame. Former pro-football player Cal Delaney returns to Last Stand to raise his sister’s toddler after a car accident claims her life along with her husband. His feelings for Amelia seem stronger than ever, but he has secrets and responsibilities; and Amelia has already proved to him that when things get tough, she skips town. Can Cal forgive their past so that he and his first love can have a future?

    The only problem is...we work on opposite sides of the law and he's running for sheriff. When the election heats up, will he choose me?Be with Me: When Jack comes back to save his father's business, I noticed he's filled out since high school. When he stops by my bakery each morning with a boyish smile and wink, I don't want to be friends anymore. It's time to show him, I'm all grown up. All I want is for him to be with me.