She was hiding from a stalker - and from Brayden O'Malley, the man who blamed her for his wife's death. But when Brayden asked for the incredible, Ashley Palmer couldn't refuse: He wanted her to give him a child, so his toddler son would live to see another Christmas. But forging a frightening intimacy with her ex-brother-in-law meant coming out of hiding…and evading the reach of a killer. Now the key to Ashley's safety lay in solving the clues of a perilous puzzle that only brought her and Brayden closer. But was the combustible desire threatening to consume them the greatest risk of all?

WHO KILLED HER BOSS? Local police had tagged single mom Becky Dennison as their prime suspect. But she'd only been in the wrong place at the wrong time… admittedly, with her boss's lifeless body. Sure, it looked bad, but Becky had no motive for killing the man–even if she had opportunity. Then, Scott Lewis, handsome assistant manager of a nearby horse farm, entered Becky's life. Soon the amateur detectives were hot on the trail of the murderer…even as their feelings for each other deepened. And for Becky and Scott, this race on the Kentucky tracks had the greatest stakes of all: life or death.

With a happy marriage, a thriving business and a beautiful young daughter–Shelby Kinkaid and her husband had the perfect life. Until he was killed in a mysterious accident. After that, Shelby's life revolved around little Aimee. But then Aimee vanished from her bedroom in the middle of the night. Neighbor Tim Austen, who had a painful past himself, was a constant support for Shelby. Yet as the list of suspects grew and her fear escalated, Shelby would have to use all her investigative skills to save her daughter's life…and her own.

Paige Ellis's prayers had been answered! Kidnapped by her ex-husband, Paige's son had finally come home. But their reunion was not the loving one she'd envisioned: her sweet little boy had turned into a resentful, surly teen. Desperate for help, she turned to the one man who'd rather not get involved. Attorney Grady Jones was clueless about women. Yet client Paige Ellis seemed not to notice. Her gentle beauty and strong faith touched the emptiness inside of him and brought him back to life - and to love. But threats from Paige's ex could destroy their newfound happiness….

Juggling the care of her toddler son and elderly parents kept young widow Abby Cramer busy from sunup to sundown. Just when she thought she had it all under control, her mother broke her hip at a home-improvement store. Good thing store employee Guy Hardy rushed in to save the day with his quick thinking, big smile and his tender kindness extended toward her whole family - especially Abby. Though she suspected Guy had a secret to hide, Abby wanted to believe he was a man of honor and faith. A man she could trust with her heart.

The new temporary pastor of Hope Community Church was everything Mara Zimmer was trying to avoid. Jacob Durand was young, good-looking and interested. She was terrified that if he learned about her tragic past, he'd turn his back on her, too. Jacob didn't know what Mara was hiding, only that somehow she'd managed to steal his heart. Yet, he had no right to feel the way he did. Soon his tenure as pastor would be over, and he'd move on to greater opportunities. How could he leave behind the woman he longed to marry?

Dust-covered men who smell like horses are the norm at Gil Sorrent's farm. Until a trip to Emily Montague's bath shop changes their lives. Suddenly, Gil's lovelorn farmhands are sparkling clean and attracting women instead of working! So Gil barges into the shop, surprised to find Emily, his pretty polar opposite, selling soap by the truckloads. Suddenly everyone in town is not only cleaner–they're nicer. And when our bluegrass hero tries out the soap for himself, love-shy Emily better watch out!

His former wife is on his flight home for the holidays? Divorced dad Tom Wallace knows their young daughter is behind this "coincidence." He also knows Norah Wallace still makes his heart skip a beat. When a snowstorm strands the trio in the airport for the weekend, Tom rediscovers how truly blessed he used to be. Once they're finally in Wisconsin for Christmas, two sets of grandparents are suddenly generous with the mistletoe. One kiss leads to another. And soon the entire family has the same sweet Christmas wish.

Shhh! Our Town's Secret Santa Is… Burke Burdett? The alpha brother in the pack of Burdett brothers? The handsome man who disappeared from my life last summer after some very complicated family business? Yet he's asking me, Dora Hoag, a workaholic with nowhere to go for Christmas, to help fulfill his mother's dying wish. She wanted Burke to take over as "Secret Santa" for Mt. Knott, South Carolina. To help the less fortunate find something extra in their forgotten stockings. How can I say no? Especially when what I want most for Christmas is another chance at forever with the man I love.

When a minority race of telepaths is suspected of causing a near-devastating tidal wave, Private Kaylin Neya is summoned to Court—and into a PR nightmare. To ease racial tensions, the emperor has commissioned a play, and the playwright has his own ideas about who should be the focus. …But Kaylin works her best magic behind the scenes, and though she tries to stay neutral, she is again drawn into a world of politics…and murder. To make matters worse, Marcus, her trusted sergeant, gets stripped of his command, leaving Kaylin vulnerable. Now she’s juggling two troubling cases, and even magic’s looking good by comparison. But then nobody ever said life in the theater was easy. …

With no strong evidence, attorney Barbara Holloway's legal instincts are all she has. If they can't lead her to the truth, her client will die. But if she succeeds, her own life will be on the line. Controversial author and scholar David Etheridge is not the kind of company an aspiring politician wants to keep. But ambitious state senator Robert McCrutchen has a history with Etheridge--a history he's desperately trying to keep under wraps. Twenty-two years ago, while attending the University of Oregon, both men were investigated in the death of a young coed, but the case was never solved. A circle of secrecy guaranteed it. But the old stories resurface when Etheridge returns to Eugene, Oregon. Tied to their past, McCrutchen is his grudging host--until the senator is found shot dead. Now Etheridge is back where he was more than two decades ago--suspected of murder. Only this time, with the cold case reopened, he's facing a double charge. And Etheridge might not be so lucky again. Barbara must battle the prosecution and the court of public opinion, which has already tried and convicted Etheridge for both murders. As the pressure mounts, Barbara ties the past and present together, risking her own life to protect a client and preserve justice.

Just five days after they meet, Julie Hanrahan and Dr. Thomas Larkin exchange vows on a moonlit Caribbean beach, the whirlwind conclusion to a romance that's swept her off her feet. Tom is sexy, witty and charming and Julie's sure she's found her Prince Charming. But not every fairy tale ends happily ever after. With a workaholic husband, a hostile mother-inlaw and a resentful stepdaughter, the honeymoon doesn't last long. Especially after Julie finds out that Tom's first wife didn't die in an accident after all. The cops called her death a suicide, but Julie is convinced that somebody helped Beth over the side of the Swift River Bridge. Every marriage has its secrets. Julie is starting to wonder if she'll survive discovering the truth about hers…or die before she wakes.

Private investigator Jack McPhee has a two-word business philosophy: no partners. Rules are allegedly made to be broken, but Jack didn't expect that a contract to nab the so-called Calendar Burglar would force him to team up with a ten-pound, hyperactive Maltese. Or that as McPhee Investigations goes to the dogs, he'd fall deeply in-like with Dina Wexler, an undertall groomer, whose definition of a P.I. comes from watching w-a-a-y too many detective shows. Or that his absolutely genius idea to catch a thief would make him the prime–and only–suspect in a cold-blooded, diabolical homicide.

Cody Jameson knows that hiring gourmet chef Vivienne Clayton for the Circle C Ranch has to be a mistake. He once secretly loved her, but she’s back in tiny Clayton, Colorado, for just a year. Vivienne wonders how she’ll survive in the town she couldn’t leave fast enough. Yet she soon finds herself cooking beans and biscuits for cowboys and helping Cody with his sassy teenage sister. To the entire ranch’s surprise, it seems like this big-city chef might actually stand a chance of becoming a cowboy’s lady forever. Rocky Mountain Heirs: When the greatest fortune of all is love.

To Make A Child Smile Little Autumn barely speaks--and rarely smiles. So as a fresh start for both himself and his daughter, widowed doctor Matt Graham moves to a small Southern town. There they happen across a lovely young woman named Hannah Taylor. Something about Hannah awakens the girl, and suddenly Autumn is full of sweet chatter and laughter. In remission from the very illness that took so much from Matt and Autumn, Hannah seems to understand what the family of two needs. She's healed his daughter's heart. But can he open his enough to accept her love? Excerpt. All Rights Reserved. The display area, which had seemed expansive all morning, suddenly grew smaller as Hannah realized that she and Dr. Matt Graham were now alone. "Your name is Hannah?" he asked. She was a little embarrassed at the fact that she hadn't thought to introduce herself."Yes, Hannah Taylor." He shifted the curtain aside and glanced into the store. Then he let the thin navy fabric fall back into place. "I didn't want her to hear," he said softly. "But I want to explain." He breathed in, let it out. "Autumn hasn't smiled and has barely spoken since we lost her mother. So when she smiled at you, when she spoke to you." He pulled the curtain aside and glanced at his daughter again, then turned back to Hannah. "It was like watching a miracle. It's been two years." Two years. "I look like her mother?" In Hannah's mind, that was the only reasonable answer for why the child would have come out of her shell today. But he shook his head. "No. Rebecca had long curly red hair," he smiled, obviously remembering his wife. "And lots of freckles." Then his eyes seemed to be drawn to Hannah's shirt or more precisely to the small pin on her left chest. "Rebecca had breast cancer." Hannah swallowed past the lump in her throat, and her hand instinctively moved to the pink ribbon pin."You think she saw my pin from out there?" "I don't know, but somehow you reminded her of Rebecca." He indicated the pin. "You're a survivor, aren't you? You've had breast cancer too." "I am. Actually, my sister and I are both survivors," Hannah said. He tilted his head, curiosity at Autumn's awareness still evident on his face. "Well, for some reason, she was drawn to you, and you got more words from her in the last ten minutes than three child psychologists did in two years." He paused. "Or than I have, since her mama died." Hannah remembered her silent prayer, asking God to let her help this little girl. "Maybe because I'm meant to help her? God has His plans, you know." That made him smile, and Hannah couldn't deny the impact that his smile had on her heart. "Just now, when she told me that she loved me," he inhaled, let it out, and seemed too overwhelmed to finish. "She hasn't told you that she loves you," Hannah said, "in two years?" He shook his head, looked as though he wanted to say more, but remained silent. "Bless your heart," Hannah whispered. He stepped closer. "I know this will sound a little odd, but I think maybe the reason I picked this town, the reason Autumn and I are here is because of you." Hannah's mind reeled with the statement. What was she supposed to say? "I'm sorry.I can't imagine how that made you feel. It's just that I've been hoping for a breakthrough for so long, and then all of a sudden, here you are, and Autumn speaks. I'd have to say it's an answered prayer. And in all honesty, I haven't prayed a lot in the past two years. Didn't have a reason to trust in the power of it anymore." "But now?" she asked, still wondering what role God planned for her to have in his daughter's life. And, maybe, in this man's life?

EVER FEEL LIKE SOMEONE’S WATCHING YOU? ME, TOO. BUT LATELY IT’S BEEN HAPPENING IN MY ROOM. WHEN I’M ALONE. A friend posted a video of me dancing online, and now I’m no longer Alicia Ruffino. I’m dancergirl. And suddenly it’s like me against the world— everyone’s got opinions. My admirers want more, the haters hate, my best friend Jacy—even he’s acting weird. And some stalker isn’t content to just watch anymore. Ali. Dancergirl. Whatever you know me as, however you’ve seen me online, I’ve trained my whole life to be the best dancer I can be. But if someone watching has their way, I could lose way more than just my love of dancing. I could lose my life.

Who wants Samantha Ellis dead? Firefighter and arson investigator Samantha Ellis has a tough facade that belies her beauty-pageant exterior. Even in the hottest fire Sam stays cool–unless her boss, smoldering chief detective AJ Branson, is anywhere near the scene. Brooding AJ has made a mess of romance in the past, and he's sworn off love–and Sam–at all costs. But he can't deny that the sparks flying between them are hotter than any four-alarm blaze. And when Sam's life is threatened, it's AJ who comes to her rescue. If only the chemistry between her and her elusive boss were the only combustible thing in Sam's life…

Keely Schiffer is having the strangest day. There's the skull in her rose garden and she receives a gift from her dead husband. Then an earthquake hits, and Keely's trapped with a handsome, gun-toting stranger. Detective Jake Malloy heard that nothing bad ever happened in the town of Haven, but his so-called R & R has turned into a nightmare. Except for being stuck in a dark cellar with a sexy woman till help arrives. For Keely and Jake, near-death stokes hidden fires, but the earthquake seems hell-bent on stirring up all the people of Haven, past and present….

THE MAN FROM HER PAST Struggling waitress Brie Dudley had managed to keep the identity of her daughter's father a secret for years. Until wealthy, powerful Drew Pierce came back to Moriah's Landing. With one glance, Drew saw what the town hadn't–his own eyes staring back from his daughter's innocent face. And primitive instinct warned him to stake his claim on mother and child…. Brie had dreamed about marrying Drew, but now the vows they made were of necessity, not love. Or were they? With a storm of scandal brewing, news of their daughter had provoked a deadly enemy. Together they could keep her safe–but only if they shared the secrets in their hearts….

If you like Debra's books, check out HER MULE HOLLOW COWBOY on sale .99 cents for a limited time Extra, Extra: Wedding-Ready Rancher! It was just a local newspaper column, right? But when reporter Molly Popp touted the marriage-worthiness of local rancher Bob Jacobs, would-be wives descended on his Mule Hollow ranch by the busload. Molly felt guilty for the ruckus she'd caused - especially when Bob was injured rescuing an overzealous admirer from a bull. There was nothing else city-slicker Molly could do but pitch in and help Bob out. That is, until word of her column brought the job offer she'd been praying for and a choice she never thought she'd have to make: a Manhattan byline or Mule Hollow's most eligible bachelor.

Falling out a window…into love It was certainly not the way Marielle expected to meet a man - any man - but when she visited the gentleman she'd helped save from an accidental plunge, she was intrigued…but only until Russ's workaholic nature made itself known. She'd had more than enough of that from her ex-fiance. So when his boss suggested Russ volunteer in her teen center (the least Russ could do after having landed on her car!), the last thing Marielle was looking for was romance. But love just might bloom where she least expects it….