Single dad and fishing boat captain Matt Fletcher deferred his own dreams to support his innkeeper parents and build a future for his sixteen-year-old son. Matt has learned to weather life's storms by steering a steady emotional course...and keeping a commitment-free approach to love.Newcomer Allison Carter came to Dare Island to escape the emotional demands of her wealthy family. The young teacher aims to build a life here, to make a lasting place for herself. She doesn't want to be another Woman Who Once Dated Matt Fletcher. It's both tempting and dangerous to believe she can be something more.Then Matt's brother Luke makes a sudden return home, with a child of his own--and a request that will change all their lives. With a child's welfare at stake, Matt must turn to Allison to teach him to let go of the past, open his eyes...and follow his heart.

    Being paid to read seems perfect to Lila, although it's difficult with the cast of quirky co-workers and piles of query letters. But when a penniless aspiring author drops dead in the agency's waiting room-and Lila discovers a series of threatening letters-she's determined to find out who wrote him off.

    I just know it.” Of course, life doesn’t always work out how you want. Just ask Monroe Hartley. After burying her childhood dream, Monroe works toward a new one, determined to prove her independence. When life catches up with her, stripping away her resources, she slowly turns toward an unlikely profession. Miller Buchanan has enough on his plate; he doesn’t need to worry about anything or anyone else. Then a petite, dark-haired beauty falls into his lap and despite his personal demons, he can’t stay away. Temptation and possibility linger, but when the past comes knocking, will they trade their future for the familiar?

    Released on a technicality, he now makes his home in the mountains of North Carolina, building rock fireplaces for a waiting list of clients. His self-imposed solitude is shattered when local author Dana Minette asks him to build a fireplace in her new house. Dana becomes more than a client, and for the first time in twenty years, Reece longs to be with someone other than himself.Then a local woman is murdered in the same savage manner as the murder that sent Reece to prison. More than one person wants him to take the fall, including Dana's ex-husband, the local prosecutor, who's determined to convict Reece in the high-profile case. But Reece won't be railroaded again. Four men were with him the night of the first murder. One of them is the killer. Reece goes underground to discover who's setting him up and why. Dana insists on going along, and against his better judgment, he relents. With both the police and FBI on their trail, it's a race against time and a crafty murderer who will kill again.

    From the heartfelt love in Grandma�s dumplings to the stomping good fun at a hoedown, Southern entertaining is special. This book will help everyone to be as gracious, warm, and entertaining as Deborah Ford herself. She can�t help sharing�it�s the Southern way. Puttin� on the Grits covers all the details of hosting festivities large and small. From mint juleps to charm lessons, Deborah reveals the colorful secrets behind why Southern women are such consummate hosts and captures the famous combination of elegance and wit that has become the GRITS calling card. Puttin� on the Grits even includes a discussion of how to be the kind of guest who gets invited back. Whether popping a cork or cracking open a six-pack, every hostess can now be the belle of the ball.

    This is a factual account, written in the pace of fiction, of hundreds of dramatic losses, heroic rescues, and violent adventures at the stormy meeting place of northern and southern winds and waters -- the Graveyard of the Atlantic off the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

    An inept investigation failed to find a clear explanation of the motive or events of her murder. The case was left unsolved. Years later, after most of the material evidence had been lost or mishandled, one of Nancy's fellow VISTA workers- the last person known to have seen her alive- became the prime suspect, based on the testimony of one of the town's most notorious resident criminals. Did he kill Nancy, or was he another victim of the corrupt local political machine and its adherence to "mountain justice"?Met Her on the Mountain is a tangled tale of rural noir. Pinsky presents the evolution of his investigation and also delves into the brutal history of Madison County. Met Her on the Mountain is a stirring mix of true crime, North Carolina political history, and o

    But the serene beauty of Lake Ophelia cannot heal Caroline's heart, which is still broken by the loss of her younger brother, who died when she was seventeen. And the tension between her and her mother still simmers. Only their neighbors, the husband and daughter of one of Caroline's childhood friends, seem able to penetrate her cool reserve, giving Caroline the courage to face her biggest fears-and dive headfirst into life.

    Instead of darling and compliant rosy-cheeked children and an adorably tolerant husband ready to go along with zany shenanigans, most women are faced with: kids who view family outings with all the enthusiasm of hardened inmates forced to bust rocks in roadside Alabama and a man who would trade every last one of her kooky ideas for a just a teeny little bit more sex and a hot meal on the table at six.Sheri Lynch, co-cost of radio's syndicated Bob & Sheri, is a superb humorist of modern marriage, mores, and motherhood. Her Hello, My Name Is Mommy decoded the pitfalls of pregnancy and trials of new motherhood. Be Happy or I'll Scream taps into the wackier, even more wonderful world of family and husband management, kid-raising, and sanity maintenance in the face of it all. Her take on what life is really like inside a marriage-as opposed to what it looks like on the holiday card version of same-will ring both wacky and true to any woman who was ever foolish enough to dream of the perfect marriage and family.

    1985 The past is the past, right? Not for Della Kincaid. After decades as a crime reporter in Washington, DC, Della thinks she's settling in a quiet, idyllic town in the N.C. mountains ... but a walk in the wilderness—and what she finds—change everything.When the sheriff takes the easy way out and declares the death a suicide, Della teams up with her new friends and neighbors to get at the truth. As they travel through Western North Carolina, they encounter a fascinating cast of characters, including the best one of all—the lush natural setting of the mountains.Will they find the killer before they become the next victims?Can Della make peace with her past?

    This captivating story of friendship, survival, and three vagabonds' intersecting lives will stay with readers long after turning the final page. It takes courage to save yourself...In the dense pine forests of North Carolina, turpentiners labor, hacking into tree trunks to draw out the sticky sap that gives the Tar Heel State its nickname, and hauling the resin to stills to be refined. Among them is Rae Lynn Cobb and her husband, Warren, who run a small turpentine farm together. Though the work is hard and often dangerous, Rae Lynn, who spent her childhood in an orphanage, is thankful for it—and for her kind if careless husband. When Warren falls victim to his own negligence, Rae Lynn undertakes a desperate act of mercy. To keep herself from jail, she disguises herself as a man named "Ray" and heads to the only place she can think of that might offer anonymity—a turpentine camp in Georgia named Swallow Hill. Swallow Hill is no easy haven. The camp is isolated and squalid, and commissary owner Otis Riddle takes out his frustrations on his browbeaten wife, Cornelia. Although Rae Lynn works tirelessly, she becomes a target for Crow, the ever-watchful woods rider who checks each laborer’s tally. Delwood Reese, who’s come to Swallow Hill hoping for his own redemption, offers “Ray” a small measure of protection, and is determined to improve their conditions. As Rae Lynn forges a deeper friendship with both Del and Cornelia, she begins to envision a path out of the camp. But she will have to come to terms with her past, with all its pain and beauty, before she can open herself to a new life and seize the chance to begin again.

    The season ushers in sweltering temperatures, along with throngs of tourists who are turning the sleepy town into pandemonium. The world Abigail fled after tragedy struck is descending upon her doorstep, and she isn’t sure she can stand the heat.  Tourists and natives alike are buzzing about a sunken treasure in the treacherous shoals off the coast, and clues to its location are supposedly hidden in the caretaker’s cottage. Soon Abigail is the focus of everybody’s attention, including that of a handsome, seductive bachelor. Amid the swarm of vacationers, it’s hard to tell harmless visitors from those harboring dark intentions.  As Independence Day nears, Abigail must decide: Should she stay on Chapel Isle—risking another heartbreak and even her own safety—or allow the ghosts of her past and the dangers of the present to chase her away?

    She’s given up any hope of meeting the ‘right’ guy. She can offer a child anything, except two parents.Nick Garrett owns the mechanic shop that works on Emilie’s cars. He’s fresh out of the military, caring for his niece and nephew following his sister’s tragic death in a car accident. He promised her he would give her children the one thing she and Nick didn’t have: two parents.Nick doesn’t know that Emilie is the rich woman who wants to adopt his niece and nephew. She invites them to her house for the holidays when she finds out they need a place to stay. Her plan is to convince Nick that she can be a great single mother.Neither of them plans to fall in love.Will a Christmas miracle make them a family?

    But his next-door neighbor Verna Love seems intent on making sure he doesn’t get any of either. Verna takes pride in being a nice person, but when it comes to Joe, she just can’t help herself. Getting under his skin gives her an unexplainable satisfaction, and it doesn’t hurt that Joe is the picture of masculine perfection, especially when he’s angry. She’s smart enough to know that he’d never be interested in her, not with all her flaws, but she can’t pretend that goading him isn’t one of the highlights of her day. But when circumstances force the two of them together, they might find love where they least expect.

    After a kitchen fire destroys her home, Agnes moves in with her daughter, Betty Jo. Three months later they come to an understanding: neither can tolerate living with the other. So on a sultry August morning, Betty Jo drives Agnes and her few belongings to Sweetbrier Manor, a local retirement home and former house of ill repute. With no intention of staying, Agnes devises a scheme to sneak out of the Manor and find another place to live. Before she can make her exit, she runs into her best friend from high school, along with some other quirky characters. With a nose for trouble, Agnes learns some of the residents are being robbed, over-medicated, and denied basic cable and Internet access. Armed with nothing more than seventy-one years of common sense and a knack for pushing people's buttons, Agnes sets out to expose the unscrupulous administrator, protect her new friends, and restore Sweetbriar Manor s reputation as a "rewarding and enriching lifestyle. But the real moment of truth comes when Agnes is forced to choose between her feisty self-reliance and the self-sacrifice that comes from caring for others.