Showing results by author "L. B. Dunbar" in All Categories

Let’s start here. The twelve days of Christmas are actually after the holiday. And my dad, being the great guy he is, and the battalion chief of the fire department, signs up one of his rebellious firefighters for a retreat because of his bad behavior. The guy is a total grouch. But when he misses the bus for the adult redemption camp, Dad sticks the guy with me for twelve days. Alone.

Midge Everette: I'm 41 today. It's my birthday, and I'm crying over burnt toast. That's not some euphemism. Literally, I'm sobbing over crusty bread, so I call a crisis center. I just need someone to talk to about life. Only I recognize the smoky voice of the man on the line. Sweet cheese, don't let it be... Hank Paige: As a former rock star, I once had it all. Fame. Fortune. Females. Except for the one thing I wanted most. Then I lost everything. I fix cars now and restore other people's dreams. I just want to be somebody's someone.

Harland Bull Eaton has lost many things - his first wife, his beloved mother, those three women he proposed to.... Oh, and there was that time he almost lost the family dairy farm due to a scandal. He's losing faith in just about everything, especially love. But one night, his friends give him a dare. Just buy that gorgeous redhead a drink. The big-city bombshell he's set his eyes on swirls him into a tailspin that lands them in bed for a one night stand he's pretty sure he'll never forget. But this time he won't let his heart ride herd on his common sense.

Love doesn’t break us; it makes us whole, my nana used to say. However, one minute, my world is set on fire, literally. The next, I am raising a six-year-old as a single mom without a clear path ahead of us. No place to live. No job. No money. I’m returning to Sterling Falls to claim what’s mine, then there will be no looking back on this beloved small town, a place I consider a handful of sand in the hourglass of my life. Then again, Clay Sylver has shaken up that ancient time clock. The silver fox in his forties is a bit cocky, but solid in every way that matters.

With the name Holliday, you’d think I’d be all about the Christmas season. Most years, I am, but this one not so much. Between my ex being a real Scrooge-in-the-backside, re-entering the workforce, wrangling my two children, and evading my eight-year-old’s questions about Santa’s existence, I’m struggling to believe in the magic myself.

Naomi Winters will be 40 soonish, and she’s only been with one man. One night. One time. Long ago. She believes everything happens for a reason, and the universe spoke about Nathan Ryder. Nathan Ryder isn’t the same man who hightailed his bike out of Green Valley, 18 years ago. As a rule breaker, women are one area he acts a fool. Case in point, the local librarian. He can’t get a read on her, but she’s one risk he’s willing to take. Again.

Surely, my older sister has lost her mind. There is no way I’m driving her insufferable - albeit sexy silver fox - boss 2,000 miles. This is my spirit trip. The Mother Road is intended to help me reclaim myself. Letting go of my past, I’m only looking forward to the path ahead of me. But my gaze keeps wandering to the rearview mirror, wondering what secrets my grouchy passenger keeps and how that silver scruff might feel blazing a trail on hidden parts of me.

When the divorced mother of the groom goes head-to-head with the single father of the bride, they might be the next couple experiencing a heart-to-heart. When my son asked me to take his ticket for the honeymoon that didn’t happen, I balked. What would I do on a 10-day vacation in Belize? More importantly, what caused my son and the love of his life to call off their wedding? I didn’t have an answer, and he wasn’t sharing, so I traded places with him. Over a week of sunshine and me-time was on the docket, until he arrived.

I’d been in Curmudgeon Bakery for one of those lemon baby-Bundt cakes I’d been craving since I found out I was pregnant. The draw had nothing to do with the baker himself. Tall, tatted, and edgy, he looked more like a biker than a man who makes baked goods. I hardly knew him other than taking a tumble in a rainstorm in front of his shop... and then tossing myself at him after he rescued me. We shared a moment, but it’s not what you’d think. Months later, he delivered my baby among his cookies and cakes. Talk about a second chance encounter.

Over 40, with zero filter, Rita Kaplan loves her coffee, her hiking boots, and her law practice. Life hasn't always been carefree, though, and Rita's past holds the scars of poor decisions after deep loss. She survived, though, and no smirky silver fox is going to get in the way of her happiness. Even if he knows how to use his drill, screwdriver, and every other tool in his box to tempt her....

I hate Christmas. I don’t know who thought every female must love shopping, wrapping, baking, and hosting, but I’m missing the memo. On top of that, I manage a top-end department store. Sprinkle in the fact I’ll be turning 40 during this holiday season, and my life is a Christmas cookie recipe gone wrong. And every year I become a little more Scrooge-ish. But the spirit of the most wonderful time of the year (insert sarcasm) seems to have a plan for me and my midlife-crisis attitude.

Sometimes it takes an outsider to force us to see who we are. The real struggle is accepting what we learn. For Beverly Townsen, nothing could be closer to the truth. Virtually a shut-in, Beverly has pulled back from Green Valley’s community, preferring the isolation of her farmhouse and her daily routine of viewing home improvement television shows. When the opportunity arises for her own home improvement and a personal re-assessment, she’s not so excited about the reality of real life versus DIY programs.

When a mysterious silver fox becomes intrigued with this small town’s most disliked society woman, he finds she’s more than a little trouble and possibly a whole lot of heart.

Billy Harrington is the biggest player in Blue Ridge, only his wild card is about to be tabled by a feisty silver vixen. Billy Harrington. A young girl walks into a bar.... I’d like to say this is the start of a bad joke, but it isn’t really. It’s my life. Can you be called a baby daddy if the secret baby shows up as a teenager? I don’t know anything about raising a teen. And the one person who could help me is my nemesis. Roxanne McAllister. I should hate him for being her father.

Autumn Kulis wants a baby. It’s that simple and that complicated because one thing stands in her way: She doesn’t have a man in her life. And at almost 40, she isn’t getting any younger. On a two-week trip to her brother’s lakeside cottage, a plan forms. Make a list of three men. Sleep with each of them. Allow nature to take its course. Only, a certain someone gets in her way.

Brut Paige needs a life break. As caretaker to his brother, his business, and his son, he's used to being the man to get things done. Lily Warren deserves a vacation. She's worked hard to establish her bakery, a lifelong dream. She's proud of her accomplishments. A broken heart tore them apart. A little matchmaking forces them together...Twenty-two years later.

Olivet Pierson needs his land. Name your price, Mr. Harrington. She has her reasons, and this muscular mountain of masculinity isn’t going to get in her way. However, her heart has a different plan after she accepts his crazy conditions: three nights up on the ridge. George Harrington is a quiet giant of a man. No sale, Cricket. He’s a war hero, a widower, and COO for the family brewing company, but his life lacks spontaneity. Then, she arrives, chirping away at him, roaming his body with those sky blue eyes and negotiating for something on which he won’t put a price.

Charlie Harrington is a respectable man. Mayor to his small mountain town. Successful attorney. Doting single father. After one mishap in the past, he avoids scandal. Making everyone happy is his goal. He’s nothing but content...and a bit boring. Then, one morning, he finds a beautiful woman in his bedroom, and his world turns upside down. His good guy side suddenly wants to be a little bad.

Love was a losing battle for this country music darling and a single dad, baseball star until one night brings them together and one small town sets the playing field for a possible winning streak. They call me Lady Boss. Maneater. Queen. But beneath the makeup, blond wig, and glitzy costumes, I’m just a country girl who likes to sing. I don’t hate men, I’m just struggling to find a good one. I’ve learned my lesson. Fool me once, and it will never, ever happen again. So I’m baffled when I meet Ford Sylver.

Love wasn’t part of the blueprint when high school sweethearts reunite in their small town. But this former military man never forgot the girl he left behind and he’s more determined than ever for a second chance to rebuild their relationship brick by brick and heart by heart. Getting locked in the men’s restroom during my mother’s funeral wasn’t exactly how I expected to run into my high school sweetheart. The one who got away. The one who broke my heart.