Rural Romance

I've been pining for Abel Miller since we were teenagers. He's sexy as hell and has always played a starring role in all my fantasies. Too bad he only sees me as his best friend's little sister. He's also a broody playboy who takes home a new girl every night, while I'm looking to find forever with someone. Abel and I couldn't be more different. When my dad gets sick and says he just wants to see me safe, settled, and happily in love, Abel shocks me by offering to pretend to be my husband.

Quint Echohawk is a lawman, not a rancher, but he's a Calder through and through. And when someone sets out to undermine the Calders' Texas outfit, it's time for him to step in and investigate. From the moment Quint's boots touch Texas dirt, it's clear that everyone in town is running scared from Max Rutledge, the ruthless owner of a competing ranch. Posing as a cowboy looking for work, Quint has no one to trust but "Empty" Garner and his granddaughter, Dallas.

Sometimes the journey home is its own reward. Once upon a time, Rick Sullivan had a promising future. One of Jewell Cove's star athletes and reigning heartthrobs, he joined the Marines and had the world in the palm of his hand - until it all came crashing down. His honorable discharge doesn't make him the hometown hero everyone wants him to be, and there's little reprieve from the demons that haunt him at night. Still, even though it seems that all hope is gone, fate has something else in store.

Protecting the streets of Haven Point isn't just a job for police officer Wyn Bailey; it's a family tradition. But lately she's found herself wanting more, especially from her boss - and her overprotective brother's best friend - sexy chief of police Cade Emmett. The only problem is getting Cade to view her as more than just a little sister.

Few women in Compton Magna could fail to notice the arrival of Luca O'Brien. The village stud's new manager, known internationally as the Horse Maker, brims softly spoken sex appeal from his wild blonde curls to his leather boot soles. Gossipy riding quartet The Saddle Bags are all smitten. Only his old friend Ronnie Percy sees how much Luca's changed from the rising star she met a decade ago, the golden armour masking deep secrets. But as Ronnie soon discovers, Luca's slow smile and sympathetic hands belie a volcanic core.

After raising twin girls as a single father and spending his days on construction sites, Ford was ready to live out his early retirement on his terms, which included solitude and fishing. So he ditched the big city, moved to a town the size of a postage stamp, and bought a house in the middle of nowhere without a neighbor in sight. His recluse plans hit a snag when the abandoned house down the road is suddenly inhabited by a woman who bears a striking resemblance to his childhood crush and her four kids.

With trust issues a mile long, Ryanne Wade has sworn off men. Then Jude Laurent walks into her bar, and all bets are off. The former army ranger has suffered unimaginably, first being maimed in battle, then losing his wife and daughters to a drunk driver. Making the brooding widower smile is priority one. Resisting him? Impossible. As their already scorching attraction continues to heat, the damaged soldier knows he must let go of his past to hold on to his future...or risk losing the second chance he desperately needs.

Less than a year after her mother's death, Laura Riehl finds herself burying another loved one: her best friend, Savilla, who has died after a brief and sudden illness. Laura feels heartbroken and alone, but her pain is nothing compared to that of Allen, the husband Savilla has left behind. As Laura and Allen face hardships together, their friendship takes a surprising yet comforting turn, and she discovers an attraction she's never felt with her boyfriend, Rudy. Would falling for Allen betray the people she cares about most, or would denying those feelings betray her heart?

I met Colt Malene when I was fourteen years old...and I never recovered. He became the headstrong star quarterback in a town that idolized high school football titles. Meanwhile, I was the coach’s dutiful perfectionist daughter, never daring to step out of line. We should have stayed far away from each other, but we didn’t, and the volatile fallout was unbearable. More than a decade has passed and my father is now dying. He wants to make amends. He wants to be forgiven for the role he played in Colt’s ruinous downfall. To give a dying man some peace, Colt and I agree to a plan.

Former Hollywood darling River Lane's acting career is tanking fast. Determined to start fresh behind the camera, she agrees to film a documentary about the picturesque small town of Moose Springs, Alaska. The assignment should have been easy, but the quirky locals want nothing to do with River. Well, too bad: River's going to make this film and prove herself, no matter what it takes. Or what (literal) mountain she has to climb.

Aven Norgaard understands courage. Orphaned within an Irish workhouse, then widowed at just 19, she voyaged to America where she was wooed and wed by Thor Norgaard, a Deaf man in rural Appalachia. That the Lord saw her along the winding journey and that Aven now carries Thor’s child are blessings beyond measure. Yet while Thor holds her heart, it is his younger brother and rival who haunts her memories: Haakon - whose selfish choices shattered her trust in him.

Case Lawton comes from a family of criminals. So as the sheriff of Loveless, Texas, he's determined to do everything by the book - until he's called to Aspen Barlow's office after a so-called break-in. The last thing he wants to do is help the woman who cost him custody of his son. But Aspen isn't the heartless lawyer Case remembers, and he starts to question his long-held grudge....

Romance blossoms under the stars in this feelgood love story! Lily Harper is an events organiser, but her neat, ordered world has just exploded. First she lost her job, then she lost her fiancé. Her five-year plan is looking increasingly shaky. Lost and lonely, Lily heads home to her childhood village, and accepts the position of live-in housekeeper at the grand but welcoming Willow Tree Hall. It's not exactly her dream job – Lily is more used to arranging parties than pantries – but at least she's working.

As the Nazis’ relentless bombs fall during the Blitz of Coventry, six-year-old Rose Sherbourne finds herself orphaned and under the guardianship of a Cornish farmer's daughter, Elenor Cardew. Elenor knows that the only way to protect spirited Rose is to leave the city and make a new life for themselves away from harm. But soon Elenor discovers that Hitler’s firestorm is not the only thing she must fear when she learns a devastating secret about Rose....

When Pippa finds herself in Fairhaven Falls with empty pockets and a brand new baby, she's thrilled when a sweet—and slightly scary—old lady offers her a job and a place to live. Their new home isn't much, but it offers a desperately needed shelter. Then, her grumpy orc neighbor comes charging into their lives. She should be wary of the huge male, but when she watches him handling his hammer, fear is the last thing she feels. And when he cradles her daughter so tenderly against that big muscular chest? Her heart isn't the only thing melting!

The new girl next door? She’s adorable, but totally off-limits. I don’t do commitment—been there, done that, got the broken heart—and sweet-as-pie Becca is too close to girlfriend material. But she asks me to help her find her naughty side, and I’m the perfect guy for the job. She wants to take some risks and face her fears, and I have all kinds of ideas. I just need to keep my d*ck—and my heart—out of it. After all, we’re just two friends having fun. What could possibly go wrong?

When Herschel Greenfield achieved his dream of becoming an astronaut and going on space missions, he thought he knew the risks—but he never expected his splashdown would go wrong and he'd nearly drown. He tells everyone he's fine, but if that's true, then why can't get into the ocean? Somehow, some way, he needs to conquer his fear so that he can continue going into space.

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.

When Lyric Jackson stopped for gas in Redemption, Tennessee, she wasn't sure what to think of the small town nestled in the middle of the Smoky Mountains. Then she got one look at Holton Clarke, saw that charming smile, and fell instantly. One night with the man in uniform sparked an ember of hope, but things didn't quite end how she'd expected. All Holton Clarke ever wanted to do was protect the people he cared about. He thought he'd be able to do that better as a deputy for his hometown, but one call turned his whole world and everything he thought he knew upside down.

Join New York Times best seller Diana Palmer as she revisits another unforgettable Long, Tall Texans story!