You might be under the assumption that my life went to the dogs when my fiance left me at the altar for the home economics teacher, or when I got notice that my apartment building was going to be condemned, or even when I was desperate enough to strip to my unmentionables to earn some extra cash. The truth is that I'm pretty much used to disasters following me around on a daily basis, but I could have gone without finding my principal dead in the parking lot of a seedy gentlemen's club. After the initial shock of finding my first dead body, which included throwing back shots of Jack Daniels like it was water, I decided to take stock of my life. I was in a desperate situation and if the school board ever found out I'd been a stripper, even a bad stripper, I'd be jobless as well as fiance-less and homeless. Fortunately, I had a friend who felt sorry enough for me to give me a job doing some surveillance work at her detective agency. Not to mention the fact that I was now able to stick my nose into other people's business for a good cause, find a murderer, and pick up helpful tips from an incredibly attractive detective. Come check out my story and be thankful your life is relatively normal.

    She meets Trent Williams, a Ridge City police detective, and something else definitely sparks. Not only does he know her, Trent takes on her case and promises to do everything he can to solve it. He wants to know why she left town, with her parents, but without a word to anyone. She doesn’t remember that life. She can only tell him she knew her parents briefly before they died . . . or were murdered, she’s not sure. She hopes regaining her memory will help answer that question. Trent has his own secrets, but they have a mystery to solve. As they work together, and Molly meets their old friends, she realizes her relationship with Trent went deeper than memories. In fact, she grew up in Ridge City, even though her parents had said they lived there just a few years. How could she have forgotten her lifelong friend and love? Has he really been looking for her—waiting for her—for the last four years? Can she love him again if she doesn’t remember him? There’s also the possibility that she did something awful –and maybe that’s why she’s afraid to remember her old life. Molly knows she wants Trent now, but the truth might destroy their love.

    A submissive has been murdered in a particularly vicious manner and to bring her killer to justice, he must go undercover. Not hard to do considering he's already part of the BDSM lifestyle.Lauren Bailey, a local vendor of bejeweled erotic implements, lives vicariously through her clients due to her fear of bondage. When Connor's dominant side can't resist trying to ease her anxieties, she accepts his proposal and agrees to one stipulation...keep things casual.When the killer sets his sights on Lauren, Connor is forced to rethink their relationship. He has the training it takes to catch a murdered, but does he have the courage to escape his inner demons and capture Lauren's heart?

    The clues have led him to the Mississippi Flame Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Taking a job as a bouncer there, he hopes to find a connection to the vandalism or even the arsonist. What he finds is a blonde bombshell in a bit of trouble, so like the alpha male he is, Lucky comes to the rescue. But like a magician’s trick, not everything is as it appears. Can Lucky discern the difference between lust and love when what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas? And is the Coalson family prepared to face the consequences of his actions?

    Divorce, sickness, educational aspirations being shattered, and her Aunt Sam moving into her home, have made Mal's life nearly unrecognizable to her.When Tucker Scott re-enters her life along with his band, will they offer what she needs to once again find her voice and self confidence or will it strip her of it even more?Told through the dual voices of Mallory as she navigates her new world, and Aunt Sam's letters to her niece, Beatless tells the story of two women at very different points in their life, fighting the same battles; proving that no matter what age a person is, there are always lessons to be learned.

    But what he got was a woman who shook his lonely bitter world upside down, and touched him in a way no other woman could. Emily Nelson, a courageous young mother, ends a loveless, bitter marriage and strikes out on her own. She answers an ad as a cook and live-in caregiver to a three-year-old boy on a local ranch. Ranch owner Brad Friessen hires and moves in Emily and her daughter. But Emily soon discovers something's seriously wrong with the boy, and the reclusive, difficult man who hired her can't see the behavior and how delayed his son is. So Emily researches until she stumbles across what she suspects are the soft signs of autism. Now she must tell him, give him hope, and help him come to terms with this neurological disorder-to take the necessary steps to get his child the help he needs. As their lives become intertwined, their attraction is unavoidable-a connection sparks between them. But just as they're getting close, Brad's estranged wife, Crystal, returns after abandoning the family two years earlier. Among the shock and confusion is one disturbing question Brad can't shake: How does Crystal know so much of his personal business, the inner working of the ranch, and Emily's relationship with his son? Crystal must've had a plan, as she somehow gains the upper hand, driving a wedge in the emotional bond forged between Brad, Emily, and the children. The primary focus for care and therapy of three-year-old Trevor is diverted. The lengths to which Crystal will go, the lies, the greed, just to keep what's hers, are nothing short of cold and calculating. Emily's forced out of the house. Brad fights to save his boy, to protect what's his, and struggles over his greatest sacrifice-Emily, and the haunting question: Has he lost her forever?THE OUTSIDER SERIES: The Forgotten Child (Brad & Emily) A Baby And A Wedding (An Outsider Series Short) Fallen Hero (Andy, Jed & Diana) The Search (An Outsider Series Short) The Awakening (Andy & Laura) Secrets (Jed & Diana) Runaway(Andy & Laura) Overdue (An Outsider Series Short) The Unexpected Storm (Neil & Candy) The Wedding (Neil & Candy) Or grab The Outsider Series: The Complete Omnibus Collection which includes all the books and short stories in this in this romantic saga. THE FRIESSENS: A NEW BEGINNING: The Deadline (Andy & Laura) The Price to Love (Neil & Candy) A Different Kind of Love (Brad & Emily) A Vow of Love, A Friessen Christmas

    The grand Victorian on the beach of Summerbury, Maine was the object of her childhood fantasy and her standard of romance—and it was finally happening. Her dream summer is ruined, however, when she arrives in Summerbury to find that Hollywood superstar Spencer Ellis has muscled his way into the house instead. His offer that they share Sand Dollar Point is not only infuriating—it’s insulting. He’s a celebrity—and one she’s determined to hate. Spencer’s summer in Maine was supposed to help him get his head screwed on straight. One look at Tasha, however, made that impossible. She’s beautiful. She’s angry. She doesn’t care who he is. She doesn’t care about his fame. In fact, she doesn’t even like him. She’s irresistible. He’s only got the summer. She’s only got her heart. They’ve only got each other.

    Now, three years later, she’s kind of accidentally living with him, and he’s being a perfect gentleman, dang it. Everybody in the office said that Cash was a heartbreaker, that he’d bump her and dump her, so Rox decided not to become a statistic. She went out and bought herself some rings of the finest cubic zirconia so that she could work with Cash, who was several inches over six feet tall, emerald-eyed, ripped, gorgeous, his tailored suit clinging to his athletic body, sporting a British accent, and loaded. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time. But now, three years later, she and Cash have become friends. They travel together for work often, and they’re the best of buddies. When Rox gets thrown out of her apartment, Cash insists that she come live with him until they can find her a place because that’s what friends do. Now, even though everyone insists that Cash never goes after married women, something about him has changed. There are little touches, little slips, and Rox is more and more tempted to tell hunky, gorgeous Cash that she never was married. And then he’ll take her and break her, and then he’ll walk away, and then she’ll lose her job, and she still hasn’t found a place to live. And yet, every time he looks at her with mischief in his dark green eyes, every time they’re teasing and it somehow turns into tickling, every time she swats at him and somehow ends up in his arms, she wants so much to risk everything. What’s a working stiff to do when she falls in love with her friend, the boss?

    Her curves and long lashes tease and taunt from her very own billboard where the desert meets the Las Vegas Strip. She’s the hottest stripper in town, known for her sultry and indecent moves coupled with her virginal eyes. She’s a heady and unique combination, and a mystery to all who come to see her. Sienna captivates crowds nightly at the Electric Tunnel, leaving them wanting to know more about the sensual enigma. But no one ever sees beyond the heavily guarded stripper onstage. She is Sienna Flower 24/7. No one other than her closest friend and boss, Asher Peterson, who helped turn a young and frightened girl into who Sienna is today. Together they created the sexual illusion known as Sienna Flower. They will go to any lengths to protect her image, which is why Sienna is convinced she must remain unattached and alone. Like everyone else in Vegas, Sienna is hiding something and playing a role. A good girl in her former life, she was raised to be obedient and accepting of her fate, but there are some circumstances no one should be expected to accept. She escaped to a world light years away from the one she was subjected to…the Electric Tunnel. Now she can never be anything other than Sienna Flower. Not only would she be hurt, but everyone around her would suffer the consequences. That is, until she meets private detective Carson Graham, the dark and mysterious ex-FBI agent who watches her dance every weekend. With his dark hair and chocolate-brown eyes, Carson begins to heat Sienna’s heart and body, melting away the layers and secrets. Sienna doesn’t want to get attached to Carson, but when another man surfaces and starts hunting her down, bringing out the scars of her old life, she can’t help but seek comfort in Carson’s protection. With everyone trading on the secrets of her past, Sienna finds herself caught in an awful web of lies. Her ultimate fear is hurting her friends at the Tunnel, but she doesn’t know who to trust. Namely, Carson. Is he good? Or bad? Does she have the luxury of finding out?

    The Solar Temple. Heaven's Gate. In the summer of 1990, the Payson Church of Tomorrow joins the ranks of those infamous cult suicides when thirty-four members burn to death on a small island off the coast of Maine. At ten years old, Payson member Erin Solomon watches helplessly as the church and its congregation are reduced to ash and embers.More than twenty years later, Erin is an accomplished investigative journalist when she receives word that she has inherited Payson Isle... and all its ghosts. She returns to Maine to learn the truth behind the tragedy that has haunted her since childhood, aided by the rakish mentor who's stood by her side since she was a teenager, her trusty mutt Einstein, and a mysterious stranger with his own dark past.Soon, Erin is enmeshed in violence, conspiracy, and scandal, as she fights to unearth the secrets of the Payson Church of Tomorrow -- secrets someone will kill to keep buried.

    Greyson Beauchene, Head Ranger of Alaska’s Denali National Park is certain he will never have to deal with that because his park is too ‘out of the way.’ However, Ranger Beauchene soon finds out he is dead wrong. Greyson and his two assistants are flown by helicopter into a remote section of the park where hikers have found a casket, one of the biggest indicators the serial killer has found Denali. Greyson’s team is joined by one incredibly irritating and extremely demanding FBI Profiler and her two Agents. Very good at what she does, Aspen O’Connell sets out to take control of the crime scene and everyone involved in it, and Greyson is having none of it. Greyson, Aspen and their teams must work together to find this killer before he kills again. Events move quickly as the group pieces together clues from the crime scene and a profile is established. As they work through abduction attempts and visible threats, Greyson and Aspen struggle to put their growing feelings for each other in a place that will keep them focused on finding an evil, evil man and bringing justice to innocent victims.

    . . or was it forever? Another unforgettable love story from USA Today Bestselling Author Barbara Bretton It's 7:08 on the morning of Maggy O'Brien's thirty-fifth birthday and she's driving carpool in her pajamas and bunny slippers. She can't remember the last time she shaved her legs. She's hasn't slept past dawn since her kids were born and one of them is now a teenager. Can life possibly get any worse? The second she sees her sisters waiting impatiently at the foot of her driveway, she knows the answer to that question. Claire and Ellie are staging a makeover intervention and no amount of protest can save Maggy from being cut and colored and waxed to within an inch of her life. And as if that's not enough, they announce she's being banished to Atlantic City for an all-expenses-paid getaway weekend for one. Maggy isn't a sequins-and-stilettos kind of woman. She's a single mom who is more comfortable pushing a shopping cart through Stop & Shop than sipping champagne in the backseat of a stretch limo headed toward Vegas on the Jersey Shore. Still even Maggy isn't immune to playing Cinderella for a weekend, even if it only means room service lobster and trying her hand at the penny slots. But when she locks eyes a few hours later with ruggedly handsome police detective Conor Riley, she discovers there's more to Cinderella's story than dancing until midnight. They agree it's just a fling. A weekend of magic with no strings attached. They'd say goodbye on Sunday night and return to their everyday lives with sweet memories and no regrets. But Maggy and Conor are about to discover that maybe some flings are meant to last forever . . .

    Bella Rose has spent the past year haunted by the blame for the tragic death of her boyfriend, so much so, she wants to die. Determined to end her life, she finds herself ready to jump from Cold Creek Falls Bridge. When Cutter Dawson witnesses Bella’s suicide attempt, he steps in and makes her a deal that comes with the promise to give him one year to prove her life is worth living. If only she could do the same for him.When Bella gives Cutter her word, she gives him more than he bargained for.Bella suffering from depression and hallucinations is the least of their worries when secrets from the past expose a killer’s twisted game.When faced with deadly intentions can Bella and Cutter survive one year?This novel contains self-harm and suicidal tendencies.

    In the aftermath of a tragic loss, they struggle to reconnect as the big day draws near and their work keeps pulling them apart. When a new clue in a cold case surfaces, Nick asks Sam not to take any foolish chances before the wedding and to leave it alone for the time being. Sam agrees, but she can’t let it go entirely and winds up trapped in an explosive situation. Then an unwelcome visitor from her past threatens her future happiness. With trouble at every turn, will Sam survive long enough to walk down the aisle?

    She finds a new home, a new love and a new piece of jewelry around her ankle. Under house arrest and accused of a crime she didn’t commit, Cara must rely on a funky group of misfits to uncover the truth and set her free.Believing himself above society’s morays, Duncan Alexander doesn’t know what he has until his beautiful college professor wife walks in and finds him in bed with another woman. Losing Cara is not an option and Duncan will do anything to get her back.With a family whose wealth was built on profiteering during the Prohibitions years, Duncan is not above doing what he deems necessary to retrieve his Queen. His family sits on the side-lines. They have given Duncan free reign, but in the end will Duncan be able to retain his throne?