Lacy Taylor didn't exactly have a fairytale childhood. After being abandoned by both her parents and raised by her grandfather, she learned to take care of herself at a young age. Fiercely independent, Lacy finds herself back in Trouble, Wyoming working to pay the mortgage on the home her grandfather left her. Though she isn't pleased to be back in the town that triggers memories from her complicated past, Lacy decides to make the best of her situation until she learns her father has been released from jail and she’s not able to make the payments on the house in time. What's a girl to do?
Chase McDermott hadn't thought about Lacy Taylor in years. When he last knew her, she was nothing more than a lanky teenager who was glued to his dorky younger brother’s side. Years later, she’s standing in front of him—grown up and he must admit hot--asking for a waitress position at his restaurant. Even though she doesn’t have previous experience, he offers her a shot and right away her sexy confidence and strong convictions begin to spark something unexpected in him. But when money starts to go missing, the pressure is on Chase to figure out which employee has the greatest motive.
While Chase and Lacy’s attraction continues to escalate, her personal problems are on the rise when her half-sister comes into her life forcing her to deal with the mother that let her down. Lacy and Chase’s relationship culminates in a windfall that neither of them ever fathomed and challenges Lacy to learn what it means to trust someone. Chase will have to push aside his stubborn, unemotional side if there’s any chance they can reconcile their steamy affair into a real future. Can they get past all the roadblocks or will they fall prey to their own troubles?
Maneater Denise A. AgnewFor Special Investigations Agency Operatives Destiny Tremayne, Jenna MacDonald and Nur Aydan, Christmas isn’t all about celebrating.When Destiny Tremayne and fellow agent Mac Tudor are assigned to investigate mysterious disappearances at a strange lab high in the Colorado Mountains, they clash at every turn.Destiny thinks Mac is a throwback. Mac thinks Destiny hates any man who has balls.When they realize something monstrous stalks the secluded high-mountain lab, they’ll face a terrifying enemy—and a blazing sexual inferno they may not survive.
Oliver Chancellor is a blue-blooded banker whose perfectly orchestrated life plan includes a comfortable career and a socially prominent (if not very exciting) future wife. Then sexy Aurora St. Claire enlists him to help her obtain financing for her dream: turning a mysterious Galveston mansion, which is part of her colorful family heritage, into a bed and breakfast. Passion ignites over the loan application, but Chance can't see impetuous, earthy and iconoclastic Rory fitting into his orderly existence. Meanwhile, Rory discovers that she's fallen in love with Chance and become pregnant, neither of which she's ready to admit to this unavailable man. Only when Chance becomes a partner in the inn and begins to see the emptiness of his glittering future can the couple come together in a happy ending that arrives after just the right amount of drama. A legend of a long-ago love and haunting runs throughout the book, adding a nice touch of melancholy to a tale as sunny as its Texas setting. With its well-balanced blend of comic exaggeration and genuine heart, Ortolon's story is a light but thoroughly satisfying romantic confection.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
