Rural Romance

The last thing Beck Foster wants to do is attend a party for her estranged aunt in the Florida Keys. One month earlier, Beck’s seemingly ideal existence imploded when her husband of 34 years announced he was leaving her. Now, so she has to sell her house, get a job, and somehow put her broken heart and life back together. She can’t do all that if she runs off to visit a woman she barely remembers. Or can she? Accompanied by her grown daughter who also longs for an escape, Beck heads to Coconut Key, where she’d lived the earliest years of her life.

From best-selling author Beth Wiseman come four sweet stories centered around celebrations in the Amish community: rumschpringe, baptism, weddings, and Christmas.

Along with his volunteer work at the local fire department, running his Amish farm keeps Jamie Riehl busy. He barely has time to eat at the family table, never mind find someone to date. But when he meets Kayla Dienner, he is smitten. Kayla tries hard to deny her attraction to Jamie. After all, she's spent the last year discouraging her younger brother, Nathan, from becoming a firefighter. The death of their older brother in a fire a year ago is fresh in her mind - she can't bear the idea of putting her heart on the line every time the sirens blare.

Seventeen-year-old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, especially her father...until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie's father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church.

Claire Collins has always been good—except when it comes to bad boys. Or one bad boy in particular: a tattooed musician as skilled with her body as he is with his guitar. But he wasn't ready to be a father, so she left him to raise their daughter on her own. Only fate had other plans, and suddenly, Ryan is back in her life, disrupting everything. This time, though, she's determined not to lose her heart . . . even if she still craves his touch.

Elizabeth Hamilton has been lost. Trapped in a tangle of postpartum depression and grief after the death of her beloved parents, she couldn’t quite see the way back to her husband and their two beautiful kids...until a car accident stole away her memories and changed her life. And when she finally remembered the sound of little Cassie’s laugh, the baby powder smell of Bridger, and the feel of her husband’s hand in hers, Elizabeth worried that they’d moved on without her. That she’d missed too much.

The mother of 10 and a widow of seven years, Mary Katherine is a bundle of energy, always willing to step in and help her friends around her Amish community. Now that her last child is married, she pours her abundant creative spirit into writing stories, even as she speaks aloud to her late husband every day. Her dream is to open a bookstore with an English friend, but the church elders want her to work in an Amish-owned store instead. When her old school friend Ezekiel offers her a position as a cook in the restaurant he opened after his wife died, she knows she should accept.

Victoria Madaris is next on her great-grandmother’s matchmaking list—which suits her just fine. She’s laser-focused on her career and doesn’t have time to concentrate on her love life, too. Knowing that Mama Laverne is vetting unsuitable candidates—like rising US senator Roman Malone—makes things easy.

At 27, Anne Elliot is no longer considered young enough for worthy romantic prospects. Eight years earlier, she had been persuaded by her friend Lady Russell to break off her engagement to Frederick Wentworth, a handsome naval captain with neither fortune nor rank. What transpires when they encounter each other again is movingly told in Jane Austen's last completed novel. A brilliant satire of vanity and pretension, Persuasion is, above all, a love story tinged with the heartache of missed opportunities.

Between his dry sense of humor and her ever-growing realization that her boyfriend isn’t all he’s cracked up to be, Abbie and Carson can’t seem to stay away from each other. Abbie thought she had realistic expectations about love. Carson went and raised the bar on all of them. She would never ask him to stay for her. He won’t ask her to go with him. But they’ll make the most of the time they have left.

Kind, wonderful, big-hearted Liesel married her prince, and…no, they didn't live happily ever after. Well, not until there was magic. I am Seraphina Vine, the fairy godmother of Everwood. I bring lost souls and broken hearts together. So, I wave my magic wand and tell you the story of a little match girl who brought light into the life of a reluctant prince.

Christiana Kurtz moves her bake stand to the local market, next to the woodcraft shop, which is run by Jeffrey Stoltzfus. Though their relationship starts off on bad footing, they eventually forge a friendship. When Christiana’s father makes a surprise visit to the market, he is upset to find that Jeffrey uses the building’s electricity to personalize his items. He tells Christiana that Jeffrey is too modern for her, and she’s forbidden from dating him. Christiana is crushed, but she knows she must obey her father.

Accountant Katie Kramer is a quintessential good girl - working hard, recycling diligently, all the while trying to ignore the feeling that she doesn't fit in anywhere. That's all she wants. Well, that and amazing sex, and the kind of daredevil escapade she can look back on when she's crunching numbers in a dusty cubicle. Which explains why she just took a job in Wishful, California, working for Wilder Adventures and Expeditions. Waking up to find a magnificently built stranger towering over her bed - that part defies explanation.

Gage Langdon didn't do relationships. After having his heart shattered years ago, he made a vow to never go down that road again. But when his past waltzes into his town, demanding his attention, he reacts without thinking and makes a very public display of kissing his best friend. Now Wynn is pretending to be his girlfriend to help him get back at his ex, and the feelings he'd sworn he turned off are starting to spark to life.

When Elodie applies for the job of librarian in peaceful Willow Grove, she’s looking forward to a new start. As the daughter of a media empire, her every move has been watched for years, and she longs to work with the thing she loves most: books. It’s a chance to make a real difference, too, because she soon realises that there are other people in Willow Grove who might need a fresh start—like the homeless man everyone walks past without seeing, or the divorcée who can’t seem to escape her former husband’s misdeeds.

When Ashley Showalter and Ben Henning meet on Ashley’s horse rescue farm, they quickly discover how much they have in common. Both were raised by single moms. Both want to help where they see a need. And both work with horses in the Boise valley. Ben needs Ashley’s help and expertise after starting an equine therapy barn - and the more time they spend together, both Ashley and Ben have the feeling that there could be something more between them. But they also carry the burden of past experiences that may drive them apart if the truth is ever revealed.

Faith Benson isn’t your emergency contact, she’s the party-girl friend you call for a good time. She's the gal-pal who loves mimosas at brunch and martinis at Happy Hour. But her carefree lifestyle threatens her job at a top Seattle ad agency; there’s no one better at landing big accounts (when she shows up). But now her boss demands she take a leave of absence to get her head on straight.

Rem "Viper" James knew his secrets wouldn’t stay buried forever. He just never expected to be arrested in front of 20,000 screaming rodeo fans. Dragged into an interrogation room, Rem is given an ultimatum: testify against his old motorcycle club, or face another stint in a cell.

It was a cool night in Carmel, but for Deputy US Marshal Jack Killigrew, thoughts of Rachel were generating a lot of heat and sweat into his lonely nights. But having her could never be more than a fantasy. She was his best friend’s widow. He promised to look after her should anything happen. And there’s no way Jack could betray the memory of his buddy by making moves on the guy’s wife - no matter how long he’s desired her.

Captivated by the beautiful weather and gorgeous sunsets of Diamond Beach, Claire and Roxie have both made decisions concerning their old lives. They're done with them. Life at the beach offers the brand-new start they've both been ready for. For Claire, that means focusing on her new business venture with Danny, selling her old house, and officially making the beach house her home. She's got work to do and she's looking forward to it. Roxie, however, has a new struggle to overcome. One created by her late husband and one she never anticipated. T