With no domestic skills or experience with children, Sophie feels like a failure at her new job, but she's determined to see the summer thought no matter what. Will her summer go the way she planned or will Simon have other plans for her?This is a sweet, clean & wholesome stand-alone book.

     Mail Order Grace Grace comes to Texas from Boston as a mail order bride, to find she’s a widow. The man she married by proxy is dead, and he’s left a child behind. Grace knows she’ll do anything to protect the baby, even if it means marrying the most exasperating man she’s ever met. Mail Order Rescue Emily has no intention of marrying. She wants only to escape the clutches of her family, and to forget the secret she hides. The last thing she expects is to be rescued by Magnolia’s richest, most eligible bachelor, a man who needs to be rescued as much as she does. Mail Order Faith Faith travels to Magnolia, Texas, not realizing the sheriff of that fine town awaits her arrival. She also discovers, shockingly, that the sheriff is the man she’s been writing, possibly to wed. Worse, she doesn’t realize the bag she carries contains the loot of a botched bank robbery. Mail Order Hope Hope has no intention of marrying the cowboy from Texas. Each letter he’s written frightens her more than the last. She sets aside the silly notion of marriage and resolves to forget about Luke. Little does she know, he’s already on his way. Mail Order Destiny Sophia holds no girlish notions of romance. All she wants is to find a safe home for herself. More importantly, a safe home for Ginny. They’re both orphans looking for a better life. Sophia is willing to be a mail order bride, if that’s what it takes. She’s not willing to risk her heart, however. And she never imagined marrying a man like Josh Bentley, a man as wounded and scarred as she. This collection concludes with Caleb Bentley’s story, a short story to wrap up the Bluebonnet Brides Series.

    She's watched Alan Richards from across the courtroom for years, admiring him first as a prosecutor for three years then as a judge for the past year. In fact, she spends more time at the courthouse than her office. He's compassionate but thorough, fair but strict. Feared by criminals, he seeks justice for victims of violent crime, a fact she appreciates for her own reasons. When an old friend is accused of murder, Dana believes he's been set up. She won't allow that to be done to an innocent man, especially the one who saved her life years ago, but the case reminds her of how much she hates puzzles. Then help comes from unexpected quarters, including the judge she's long admired. That's all she needs - another "big brother." Superior Court Judge Alan Richards knows nothing about his unidentified observer. Not even her name. She's been his constant, at least in the courtroom, for four years, but he still doesn't know anything about her. Finally, God opens the door for them to meet. As the danger for Dana grows, Alan devises an unconventional plan....

    No one—not even Brooke Calder—will take it from him. The cute, down-home widow may not look like a slick developer, but she works for one. Along with her adorable daughter, she's a threat to his homestead—and to his wounded heart. Brooke needs this job. Gunner may be as ornery as a bull, but it's her task to win him over. The battle lines are drawn. Only problem is, around the handsome Texan, she doesn't know which side she's on.

    Yet her late father chose his new young wife's children over Cari. Surprised--and hopeful--when he bequeaths her the old house she grew up in, Cari moves to Knotwood Mountain, Georgia. But she and her stepmother clash the minute she arrives. How can Cari make a fresh start in the small town? The handsome businessman next door, who happens to be the most eligible bachelor, claims to know exactly how. But following Rick Adams's time-tested advice means opening her heart...to faith, family and her very own Prince Charming!

    

    He wants a fresh start for himself and his daughter, Allie, away from those who still believe he’s guilty. In River Haven, a quieter life seems possible. If only Allie’s Amish schoolteacher, Catherine Brandt, was easier to ignore.A problem solver by nature, Cathy can tell Allie’s withdrawn demeanor isn’t due to shyness. But getting through to Allie also means breaching her father’s hardened defenses. What starts as persistence soon grows into an attraction neither Cathy nor Michael saw coming. When the past suddenly threatens both his daughter and the woman he loves, Michael must risk everything to save them.

    And now she’s returning after ten years of being gone, with a PhD and plans to use her new position to transform their struggling high school into a center for educational excellence.She soon realizes that her biggest challenge isn’t going to be the rival gangs embedded in the student body, although they’re a close second on the list. It’s Josh Hawling, who has somehow convinced their aging superintendent that he and his security firm partner can coach their backwoods collection of farm boys into a football team that’ll make the playoffs.How is a woman of her refined background and education supposed to improve test scores and graduation rates when her students’ biggest idol is a man who spent more time in the principal’s office than in the classroom? Even though she feels safer having him on their crime-ridden campus, she’s so not looking forward to her daily encounters with his cocky self. Or being socked in the heart all over again by his devastating smile. Or having to finally face her unwanted attraction that might have kindled into a lot more if she’d never left Texas in the first place.Welcome to Heart Lake! A small town teaming with old family rivalries, the rumble of horses’ hooves, and folks on both sides of the law and everywhere in between — faith-filled romance that you’ll never forget.

    (Yes, potatoes. *eye roll* Can we talk about something else?) And I love it here. Small town values galore and it’s right where I want to raise my girls after my jerk ex traded me in for a “younger, newer model” (his words, not mine).My mom’s the volunteer fire chief in our town and I’m pretty happy hanging out with the auxiliary at the fire hall and doing her grunt work – NOT fighting fires, because, please, I read, love science and my idea of a lot of exercise is having to walk up the stairs twice in the morning before I send my girls off to school and leave for my job as a home nurse.I guess it’s kind of weird that I also coach basketball. Long story.I was pretty happy with my life until the hot shot, all-state baller from my teen years moved back in next door. (I babysat him, yes, but I never changed his diapers. Just wanted to be clear about that.)Guess who’s now the assistant b-ball coach?Logic would say me – especially since I coached my entire first year holding the play book upside down (it turned out to be an old football playbook from the ‘80s, so it’s not like it mattered which way I held it) but the accurate answer is Trey Haywood, my all-star neighbor, and I’m honestly not sure which of us is more upset about it.Anyway, the team was trying to set us up (girls, they’re such romantics) and I don’t think they would have succeeded, but in celebration of breaking our 37 game losing streak, they locked Trey and me in the septic system control room.That changed everything. Not in a good way. Trey Yeah. What she said.And…when I first saw her again, I thought she was a catastrophe.New thought post septic control: she’s a cute catastrophe. (And, holy man, can she kiss.)Books in the Sweet, Small Town Romantic Comedy in Good Grief, Idaho series:1. Me and the Cute Catastrophe2. Me and the Tidy Tornado3. Me and the Helpful Hurricane4. Me and the Sweet Snowstorm5. Me and the Dreamy Doomsday

    

    The only bright spot in a childhood of neglect and loneliness was the town librarian, Marie. Now settled as a teacher in sunny Fresno, Daisy does her best to forget everything about Liberty including her drunk father, her MIA mother, and the town she hated with every beat of her heart.Lane Bennett’s life as a small town cop is pretty close to perfect. He’s got his dog, a pretty date when he needs one, and plenty of time to fish on the weekends. No other place can compare to his hometown and he’s happy to devote his life to keeping the folks of Liberty safe. When Marie passes away, Lane knows one of the best parts about living in Liberty is gone, along with the old Carnegie library. It needs repairs the city can’t afford and the city managers won’t pay the new flood insurance. It’s too bad but safety comes first.When Daisy comes home for Marie’s funeral and hears the only safe place she knew as a child is going to close, she refuses to let it happen. She hatches a plan to save the old library, run the summer reading program, and keep Marie’s legacy alive. Nothing can go wrong with this plan... Only that she's renting Lane's cabin, he's winning her heart, her dad wants to reconcile, and it just won't stop raining.By the time the river jumps the banks, there's a whole lot more drama going in Liberty than a spring flood. The town pulls together to save the library, the quilt holds a startling secret, and two young people in love must decide if NEVER really means FOREVER.She once vowed never to come home and he’s vowed never to leave. Daisy and Lane discover together that true love happens when you least expect it and you should 'never say never' in Liberty.

    His plans don't change when quarterback Will Kent bets him to contact his first love and try to rekindle the flame, because his first love is happily married with two kids. What Leon didn't count on was rescuing his back-door neighbor and junior-high crush, Sadie Jones from a dog attack. His friends then double-dog-dare Leon to bring Sadie to the block party, and Leon never backs down from a dare. The dare leads to a kiss, and Leon is swept away by things he'd forgotten about Sadie. Things he didn't realized he wanted.All Sadie Jones wants is a quiet Christmas to finish her business proposal and forget her jerk of an ex, Brian. When she hears Leon and his buddies in their back yard she goes over to tell them to shut up so she can work, but ends up getting attacked by a dog, and saved by Leon. When he asks her to the block party she accepts. When he kisses her she slaps him. When he decides to make it his personal mission to help her rekindle her inspiration for writing she begins to remember why she had a crush on him all growing up, and why she keeps saying yes when he asks her out.When Sadie's ex tries to take her proposal, and Leon sends his massive Twitter following after the guy, everything falls apart. Can they put their own issues aside and salvage their budding relationship, or will the Grinch get his way?

    Seth Lapp is kind, hardworking, and handsome—but most importantly, he loves Veronica.When an accident on the job steals Seth away from her, a heartbroken Veronica is certain she will never love—or be loved—again. Yet when she discovers a batch of forgotten recipes and opens a bake stand to sell her Mammi’s raspberry pies, Veronica picks up a regular customer  who gives her heart pause.Jason Huyard was with Seth when he lost his life—a memory that haunts him still. So when he seeks out the grieving fiancée to convey his condolences, the last thing he expects—or wants—is to fall in love. Nonetheless, Jason soon finds himself visiting Veronica’s bake stand every week . . . and it’s for more than the raspberry pies.Now, as Veronica’s heart thaws, Jason can’t bring himself to tell her he was there when Seth died. Can he ever reveal where he was on the day her life derailed? Or will his secret rob them of the second chance at love they both want?

    But that was a long time ago and that girl is far, far, away. She’s failed in her career, failed in love, failed her family—and she’s dead broke. All Mercy wants is to forget her failures and move forward into a new life with a fresh set of dreams—and get out of Welcome before it sucks her back in for good. But one look at her precocious niece who desperately needs her sends Mercy on a journey into her past that will change everyone’s future. Clay Foster used to be Welcome’s bad boy, but marriage and his daughter Dilly have transformed him into a devoted father. Widowed now and struggling to be the daddy his child needs, Clay fights his sudden and unexpected attraction to Mercy. But, tempted as he is, Clay can’t afford to be taken in by a golden girl. Beautiful, talented women like Mercy always have an exit strategy and when her career beckons, Clay knows she’ll leave him and Dilly flat. His daughter has already lost her mother and he won’t put his little girl’s heart on the line. When Mercy learns her tattered dreams and dead career have been reborn, will she leave the man and child who need her? Will Clay believe in their future and accept that Mercy has found there’s no place like home?

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