In the Spirit of...Christmas by Linda Goodnight released on Oct 25, 2005 is available now for purchase.

    When Coach needs a volunteer to deliver donated football uniforms to the learning center in The Grid, River’s glad to go. What he hadn’t expected was the tiny woman with sparkling dark eyes and dreams bigger than the old schoolhouse she’s renting. He has no intention of falling for her, especially with his career on the ropes.After a disaster turns Soledad Marcos’ life upside down, she’s glad the learning center has given her and her daughter a stable life. She buries the secrets of her dark past and looks forward to the future⸻a future that doesn’t include a dashing football player and his desire to help. Her students love River so she’s forced to ignore the unease that has held her back for years.As Soledad draws closer to River, she learns his tough exterior masks a compassionate and tender soul she’ll resist at all costs, but turning her back on love means a bigger sacrifice that could cost more than a broken heart.

     After four months on the job, twenty-four-year-old Rebecca Harper has become something of a jack-of-all-trades on the Cooper Bar-6 Ranch...except for her cooking. But the four strapping sons who run the ranch in their father's absence need wise counsel more than unburnt bread, and Rebecca is perfect for the job. Whether dealing with the driven eldest, the belligerent youngest, or the personalities in between, she recognizes the source of each young man's pain is a lifetime of a father's indifference. As soon as the rogue returns, Rebecca aims to give "Mr. Cooper" a thick piece of her mind. Not that dishing out hard truth will make her feel any more alive. Past betrayal has taught her to live at arm's length from anyone who might mean too much to her. So she cooks and cleans and counsels, at once harboring anger against a man she has never met and numbing herself against the life she has forgotten to desire. Until one night, one thunderstorm, and one heroic stranger changes it all. In that fleeting moment, Rebecca Harper dares to hope her heart will beat again. * * * Breath Without Life novels portrays seven bachelor ranchers, each so broken down by old wounds that he cannot conceive of ever finding love. Be there when one Cooper after another meets the one incredible woman who can make him whole again. Every book within this series is a stand-alone love story, though ranch life circumstances run chronologically through all six novels.

    But that is exactly his granddaddy’s requirement: Wade has to marry within three months, stay married for at least three months or he loses it all, for him and his brothers.He doesn’t like it, but his granddaddy didn't raise him to walk away from anything and there has never been a challenge he couldn't win...with no plans to lose the ranch he loves now Wade just has to find a woman who will go along with this crazy idea.Allie Jordon is desperate. Every bad piece of luck that could have befallen her has done so and now, after losing everything, including her sweet father, she needs funds to get her injured mother the best care available or she just might lose her too.A chance meeting with a lonely looking cowboy at the truck stop she’s waitressing at could change her life…if she says yes to an absolutely off-the-wall proposal he’s offering her it could be the miracle she’s been praying for.You’re going to love this new series about two billionaire brothers determined to marry off their grandsons...one's doing it from the grave using his last will and testament. Books in the Billionaire Brothers Series 1. Her Billionaire Cowboy's Fake Marriage 2. Her Billionaire Cowboy's Wedding Fiasco 3. Her Billionaire Cowboy's Secret Baby Surprise 4. Her Billionaire Cowboy's Second Chance Romance more coming soon

    But then he discovers Gina Perry hiding nearby—a pretty junior trainer who had the motive, means and opportunity to kill her boss. Gina insists her troubled brother is the real murderer…and this isn't the first time he's killed. And when Gina's brother comes after her, Shane is assigned to protect her and uncover the truth. Suddenly, Shane—a cop who always hoped to join a big-city force—vows to stay by Gina's side as a murderer lurks in the small-town shadows. Rookie K-9 Unit: These lawmen solve the toughest cases with the help of their brave canine partners.

    But she's not happy about having to spend so much time with the best man, Taylor. Not only does she distrust men, but being around him annoys her. The last thing she expects is for him to kiss her impulsively at a party before the wedding. And the main problem is, she wants him to kiss her one more time, but she’s not sure she can let her heart trust again.Straight-laced surgeon Taylor Roberts is tired of being teased about being eternally single by the other groomsmen. He makes a bet that he can get the beautiful maid of honor to date him before the wedding is over. The problem is, she can’t stand him! He promises he’ll give up his booth in the Maple Creek Fall Festival to her mom’s crystal shop if she’ll pretend to date him, an offer he knows she can’t pass up.The longer Onyx is around Taylor the more she feels drawn to him, despite being his polar opposite. Can she continue the facade of dating him when her heart gets involved?If you enjoy sweet romantic comedy set in a small town where opposites attract, then you’ll love this book!

    But free-spirited Aunt Mitzi had plans for Paige to stop being pushed into the background. Those plans included leaving Paige as sole heir to her fortune and owner of her bookstore, Paige’s Turn. Begrudgingly, Paige returns home to fulfill her aunt’s last wishes, no longer the girl who’d left in baggy jeans and an ill-fitting t-shirt. Paige discovers, though, that Mitzi’s last wishes include a lot of meddling in her love life. From the grave, and with the help of some friends, Mitzi has set out to make sure Paige and Bella Port’s most eligible bachelor, Sam Kennedy, find true love together. What Mitzi didn’t foresee is the firestorm and gossip she created that paints Paige as a swindler and liar, leaving Sam to wonder about the grown woman Paige has become. It doesn’t help when Paige fires him after their first meeting. But as friendship blossoms between Paige and Sam, they find each other hard to resist. Was Mitzi right about the two of them? Will Paige finally have her turn?

    Whip Tyler of all people! Hasn't their family lost enough at Whip's hands?Hasn't Paul Patterson caused enough damage in Whip's life? But if he won't take the job, Paul will get someone else - a developer who will rape the land and throw Kat's hopes to the wind. It would be easier if Whip didn't care. Or if that long-ago promise didn't stand between him and Kat.

    When she shows up again at a family event, Hawthorne finds himself trying to dig a way out of a hole he didn't realize he was in.When Avery Chase returns to Indiana, the last thing she expects is to run into her childhood crush, let alone to realize in the years since she left, he's turned into a complete jerk. Hoping for a man to change is a mistake she's made once before and is determined not to make again.Then again, it's hard to resist when your childhood crush finally notices you.

    She tried to convince Silas Kemp, who'd been courting her for two years, to join her, but when he said no, she fled anyway. Three years later, she returns home for the first time since leaving Lancaster to attend her father's funeral. Her arrival back revives all sorts of emotions--yearnings and sorrows alike. Jessica knows things will never return to how they were. But in seeing Silas again, she can't help but wonder what might have been.Struggling to decide where her next step should take her, she learns the story of a Revolutionary War-era ancestor that echoes her own choices. Will Jessica leave her family and community forever, or is there peace and healing and love yet to come?

    Or romance, for that matter. She is weeks away from opening her own catering business, the most important part of her plan to provide her certified genius daughter Patty with all the wonderful things she deserves.Except Patty doesn't want to go to a fancy boarding school. She wants a father and when she meets bartender Murphy O'Rourke at her fourth grade Career Day presentation, she knows she's met the man of her mother's dreams!But can she convince her Mrs. Scrooge of a mom that it was time to give Christmas -- and love -- a second chance?Acclaim for the novels of Barbara Bretton“Bretton’s characters are always real and their conflicts believable.”— Chicago Sun-Times“Soul warming... A powerful relationship drama [for] anyone who enjoys a passionate look inside the hearts and souls of the prime players.”— Midwest Book Review“[Bretton] excels in her portrayal of the sometimes sweet, sometimes stifling ties of a small community. The town’s tight network of loving, eccentric friends and family infuses the tale with a gently comic note that perfectly balances the darker dramas of the romance.”— Publishers Weekly“A tender love story about two people who, when they find something special, will go to any length to keep it.”— Booklist“Honest, witty... absolutely unforgettable.”— Rendezvous“A classic adult fairy tale.”— Affaire de Coeur“Dialogue flows easily and characters spring quickly to life.”— Rocky Mountain News

    So he's completely off limits... isn't he? Ivy Thompson has seen her share of tragedy, but despite drowning in medical bills from her mother's fight with cancer, Ivy chooses to see the glass as half full. Especially when she gets a job at the brand new Avangarde Castle and Resort. Working as a front desk clerk for the intriguing and good-looking Eli Truman is just icing on the cake. Except Eli turns out to be cold, demanding and has sworn off women for the rest of his life. Eli Truman was thrust into the spotlight when he and his brothers accidentally found a treasure in the castle they were renovating. The media dubbed them "The Overnight Billionaire Bachelors", and Eli wants nothing to do with the fame and women that have fallen in his path. When the beautiful Ms. Ivy turns his head, he stubbornly holds onto his decision to steer clear from relationships. But despite the fact that they're complete opposites and he's her boss, he can't seem to stay away. The longer he's around her, the more his icy facade begins to thaw, until old hurts remind him why he retreated from the world in the first place and Eli finds evidence that Ivy might not be who she claimed. "Her Billionaire Boss" is the first story in the "Overnight Billionaire Bachelor" series. Each story is a stand alone, sweet, clean romance with a HEA. Overnight Billionaire Bachelor Series Her Billionaire Boss Her Billionaire Chef (April 2019) Her Fake Billionaire Boyfriend (May 2019) The Billionaire's Best Friend (June 2019) Her Billionaire Gardner (July 2019) Other books by Laura Ann A Home for the Ugly Duckling (FREE for newsletter subscribers) The Librarian and Her Beast Ms. Cinder's Prince Waking Ms. Briar A Date for the Goose Girl Running from the Wolf Ms. Frogg's Hidden Billionaire Saving Ms. Gothel A Billionaire for Ms. Snow Goldilock's Misunderstood Billionaire

    But when high school sweetheart Ruby Donovan returns, his steadfast pledge is tested. Ruby left town twelve years ago—taking money from his father and breaking Carson's heart in her wake. Now she's asking for his trust—just as her brother becomes Carson's prime suspect in the rash of recent ranch thefts. Carson is torn. His town is depending on him for justice, but one look in Ruby's eyes has him questioning everything he thought he knew—about truth, about love and about the wisdom of second chances…

    The killer's only mistake was leaving behind a survivor...a four-month-old boy. For his sake--and for his murdered mother's--Sheriff Mandy Scott will see justice served. And she already has her prime suspect: the boy's father, Garrett Bowen. Yet despite the evidence against him, something about the reclusive rancher makes Mandy question his guilt. Nothing is as it seems as crime starts spiraling out of control in Timber Wells. If Mandy lets herself trust Garrett, will he shield her from danger, or send her racing into another lethal trap?

    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?