. . where bad is, oh, so good. Six men return to the boys' ranch they spent one summer at as troubled teens. They're all searching for different things: peace, family, forgiveness, redemption, hope, and faith. It will take the love of strong Texas women to heal these wounded hearts and make these bad, bad boys realize they're good, good men. He’s a wild Texas whirlwind, trying to outrun his painful past. She’s a sweet Lone Star cowgirl, with deep down-home roots. Life in the fast lane is how bad boy Cru Cassidy escapes the aching memories of his childhood. Fast cars and fast women—not necessarily in that order—keep the sexy cowboy from caring or thinking too much. When a road trip has him passing through Simple, Texas, where he spent one summer on a boys’ ranch for troubled teens, he can’t help stopping in to see the two old cowboys who run it. When he sees the bad shape the cowboys and the Double Diamond Ranch are in, Cru knows he has to stay and help . . . and his job is made more enjoyable by the beautiful daughter of a neighboring rancher. He hopes to score a ride with the feisty redhead, but Penny is harder to catch than an unbroken filly. And when he discovers the soft heart under the womanly body, he soon starts to worry that he’ll be the one getting broken and tamed. Penny Gardener has loved Cru almost as long as she’s loved the Texas ranch she calls home. Unfortunately, when they first met, she was an awkward thirteen-year-old—which explains why Cru fell for her pretty older sister instead of her. Since her family’s happiness has always been Penny’s priority, she tries to push her feelings aside. But when Cru returns and sets his devilish green eyes on her, she struggles to remember that he was her sister’s first love. Discovering his heartbreaking past will finally have her giving into her feelings and putting her own happiness first for a change. But will her love be enough to rope and heart-tie her bad boy? Or will he slip through her fingers like the elusive Texas wind?

    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…

    Tara’s about to live her dream only there’s one problem. Her husband of 15 years has just walked out, leaving Tara on the brink of financial ruin with no choice but to promote a self-help book about marriage when hers is secretly in ruins. Enter publicist Jake Randall, 30, who’s had it with hand holding newbie authors channeling their inner divas on their first book tours, until he meets Tara. Their instant attraction blossoms quickly into love. Tara thinks she has achieved her dreams and earned her license to thrive until her husband, Jim returns determined to win her back.

    When her father dies, the ranch’s long-time foreman leaves unexpectedly, and Blaire is left scrambling to hire anyone who can help her keep the ranch running smoothly—a seemingly impossible feat in the one-horse town. Cole Reeves has gone along with everyone else’s plans for his life since he was eighteen. Working for his father’s business has been a blessing and a curse, and he’s finally ready to see what he can do on his own. His looks and charm have always gotten him by, but he wonders if it’ll be enough to win over his boss—the only woman he’s ever truly wanted. Will Blaire and Cole be able to weather the challenges they face, or will the pressures of life on the ranch be too much for the runaway-prone cowboy?

    But when a medical emergency calls him home and a legal matter affects his business, suddenly his family isn't the only thing in need of a re-build. Unfortunately his new project involves building a house for a woman who not only awakens his desires, but also his fears. But if he wants to claim her as his own, he'll have to tear down the walls he's built around his heart.Single mom Ashley Anderson knows all about juggling. Between an assortment of part-time jobs and raising her sixteen-year old daughter, she doesn't need a hunky construction worker with an attitude as a distraction. Even one who steps in to help her when she needs it most. But life has taught Ashley that when the going gets tough, she's on her own. It's going to take a man with a Texas-sized heart to show her that this cowboy isn't going anywhere.

    . . Mark Jaroka is content with his life on the ranch, his brothers by his side. Until he becomes the cowboy king. Hauled halfway across the world after a royal family tragedy, Mark resolves to be worthy of the title. He’ll learn the ways of a monarch, but between him and his untamed brothers, the marble floors better get used to worn leather boots. Then he falters at an unexpected duty—forming a strategic alliance with the whip-tongued and supercilious Princess Ava Veisi. Ava’s only chance at happiness is to escape royal life and leave her poisonous secrets behind. The problem? Her parents have demanded she marry the new King Markus. She stoops treacherously low to try to make him refuse her, but as her escape plans start to take form, she finds herself falling for the sexy, kind-natured cowboy. On the brink of fleeing, Ava is torn between claiming her freedom and the love of a king. No matter her choice, it’s going to break her heart. Her Cowboy King is the first book in the Cowboy Princes contemporary romance series. If you enjoy heartfelt emotion, real and compelling characters, and sweeping settings, then you’ll love this trope-blending romance by award-winning author Madeline Ash.

    His sister's kids shouldn't pay for her error in judgment in naming him guardian. Problem is, he doesn't have a clue what he's doing. And the woman who attempts to help with his every fumble is the one woman he wants to steer clear of... Lacey Anderson loves a challenge, but Jake's already broken her heart once. When his tall shadow darkens the doorway of her classroom, she's ready to shut him out - until she meets her new students, and sees the desperation in Jake's eyes. Emotional intelligence is so not his forte. But she's done banging her head against that wall. Jake, however, is finally ready to learn how to love and Lacey’s the teacher he wants. Is she willing to risk her own heart again to teach him?

    A rocking career in finance, a great group of friends and singing with the community chorus fill her calendar and provide her with total satisfaction. Until the phone rings. Until an upbeat familiar voice from the past reawakens her heart and reminds her of what she’s been missing.Playwright Doug Collins has never forgotten the girl he left behind. Even though it was Jennifer who’d made that final decision. “Go to New York and have a wonderful life,” she’d said before running back to her family, a family that still needed her. But that was five years ago. Five years of Jen in the back of his mind, nestled in his heart. Now memories are not enough! Doug packs up his car and heads to Boston in search of that “wonderful life.”Most reunions have bumpy beginnings and not all end well. Jennifer and Doug have a lot to figure out. But they’re smart, honest, and were once madly in love. Do they have a chance at finding the ending they so richly deserve?

    An upside down horseshoe made Tabby Swanson's skin crawl, but it wasn't enough to keep her from training her prize horse, Tenterhook, for barrel racing so she could get a sponsorship. When Kasper Dobbs shows up the ranch, she's intrigued and hopeful. The handsome businessman, and former local hockey star, has deep pockets. It doesn't hurt that he's devastatingly handsome and makes her heart pound in her chest more than barrel racing. It almost makes her forget about the strange happenings on the ranch until someone turns up dead, and she and Tenterhook suffer a near fatal accident in competition, threatening her rodeo days forever.Kasper knows Tabby's fall was no accident. Being told you may never compete again is a fate he knows well. He won't let Tabby give up and insists on getting her back into training as soon as he can. But how can he know if whoever caused her accident will try again? He calls the Knight brothers to investigate the mysterious death and strange happens surrounding Tabbyso they can catch whoever is responsible before she takes another fall. He wants to believe he's doing it all in the name of business. But he's fallen hard for the cowgirl whose sunshine smile makes him want more than just to ride again. He wants the girl for life!

    What is it about this secretive redheaded beauty that intrigues him as no woman has before?After learning her fiancé's true nature minutes before her wedding, Meg O'Brien drives as fast and as far away from her world as she can. Stranded with no money, and nowhere to go, the city girl must learn to fit in to small town life and all its quirky trappings. Too bad falling in love with her handsome rescuer is not an option.

    When “Diamond” Jim McCall gambles on a fixer-upper for sentimental reasons, his house of cards implodes – along with his health. Ruby’s ready for a job change but agreeing to become her first crush’s apprentice might be her biggest mistake. She doesn’t doubt they can “flip” the derelict ranch house and save Summit Construction, but at what cost to her heart? After all, Boone Fielding became the son her father never had when she left for college.  Man up. Helping Ruby McCall and her sisters flip Diamond Jim’s “money pit” makes sense financially, but he can’t partner with someone he doesn’t trust – and Boone hasn’t forgotten his last close encounter with Ruby. But every day on the job reminds him of why he fell in love with her in the first place.  How is he ever going to let her go when the job is done?

    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!

    are calling my name. No more small town living for me. Years after trying to find my way in the world of admin, I'm finally breaking free.Or so I thought…My first weekend in the big city with my friend and we decide to try out a club for some stress relief. The most handsome player I've ever seen decided he wanted one girl's attention that night – mine. I turned him down and walked away. I've seen his kind far too many times.Fast forward a few days later, I'm at an interview for an executive assistant cause a girl's gotta eat, and who walks in?The player.You have got to be kidding me, but the money is good and the benefits are amazing.Unfortunately for me, the man is the bane of my existence and everything I could ever want in a lover.As much as I try not to, my days are quickly becoming consumed with new ways to tempt the player.

    Can this billionaire make his great life perfect? Blake Murphy wants redemption. More than that, he wants a second chance. He'd been avoiding his home town since the day he left for college. Trista Kennedy would be there and he had no idea how he'd face her after the way he'd treated her. But now he'd find out. His high school reunion was coming up and he'd see her then. Trista had moved on from Blake. Until she saw him when he came home for their high school reunion. He was handsome, rich, and easy going. He'd only been boyishly good looking in high school. So much had happened in a decade. Blake's old flame - the one who'd come after he'd broken Trista's heart - was ready to scoop him up again. Trista couldn't even think about competing with her. She'd never outshine the former cheerleader and constant social butterfly. But she felt something. Yearning. What might have been. Regret. She thought he felt it, too. Is there a chance to mend broken relationships in the heat of a small Arizona town after a decade apart?

    Though that didn’t keep him from longing for the unattainable prom queen, Jennifer. The one person who did understand his out-of-the-box brain was Darcie, his best friend. After their high school graduation, Zeke and Darcie for one night jolted from friends to lovers. And then he left town, and she knew he couldn’t look back. What he didn’t know was the depth of Darcie’s feelings for him. Now it’s 17 years later, and Zeke’s a self-made billionaire founder of a tech security firm, Darcie’s a local cop and Jennifer’s a divorced mom of a tween girl. And their little town is flagging. At Darcie’s urging, Zeke returns to Drago to boost its economy. Will his new wealth attract the still-beautiful Jennifer? Or will Darcie, the one girl who always made him feel at ease, show him that true love knows no boundaries? * * * * * * * * What Are Friends For?, Book 1 of USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn's Seasons in a Small Town series, is a moving, passionate contemporary romance that will captivate fans of Bella Andre, Roxanne St. Clair and Jill Shalvis.