Showing results by author "Shelley Shepard Gray" in All Categories

Three charming stories of new school years and new romance.

Amelia Kinsinger is the perfect Amish woman - at least according to her neighbors. And while Amelia takes pride in her role as homemaker, she's also harboring a secret: She's been in love with bad boy Simon Hochstetler for as long as she can remember. Too bad he's about as far from perfect as an Amish man can get...but that's exactly why she's so drawn to him.

Jackson Koch had already lost his wife to cancer when the town's coal mines shut down and his job was gone too. So, with a three-year-old daughter to care for and a broken heart to mend, he moved across the country to find a new life in Bridgeport, Ohio. Now he tends bar by night and tries to navigate life as a single dad by day. Luckily, his neighbor is happy to babysit while he works late nights. She's great with little Kate, beautiful, kind...and lately he's found himself smiling whenever he thinks about her.

Meredith Hunt is content with her solo life. She owns and runs a successful Pilates studio, volunteers at the high school every week, and recently bought a house. She can take care of herself, which is good because she has a hard time relying on other people. When she's mugged and a handsome man comes to her rescue, she doesn't know how to accept his help - or how to stop staring into his brown eyes. Ace Vance moved to Bridgeport to offer his 15-year-old son, Finn, a better life. Here, Finn has a chance to play football for a good team and maybe even earn a college scholarship.

Siblings Martin, Kelsey, Beth, and Jonny are as different as can be, but they have one thing in common. They're all longing to reinvent their lives. Raised by their divorced lapsed-Amish father and English mother, they only knew real stability and a sense of family when visiting their Old Order grandparents, Josiah and Sylvia Schrock, in peaceful small-town Millersburg, Ohio. Now, the four want to try living with them and joining their faith—much to the Schrocks' surprise.

Mary Margaret Miller needs an escape from her small Amish community. She boards a bus, all alone, for a vacation in Pinecraft, Florida. Meeting Betsy and Lilly on the way, she’s amazed to find two kindred spirits. They become fast friends and determine to have the best two weeks of their lives. For Mary, it starts when she meets Jayson Raber, a handsome and charming carpenter. Jayson is taken with Mary from the get-go, but he has responsibilities back home in Kentucky—including a girl he’s supposed to marry.

Sheltered yet adventurous, Betsy Detweiler is on a mission to get out of Kentucky and experience new things in life. She's got a list—a life list. What better place to start than with her friends in beautiful Pinecraft, Florida? From the moment Betsy walks into the Snow Bird Golf Course to sign up for lessons, August Troyer is mesmerized. Betsy is a mass of contradictions—beautiful yet awkward, outgoing yet unsure, joyful yet hesitant. She's like no one he's ever met before, and as the only child of missionary parents, he's met a lot of people.

After the War Between the States, a Confederate officer longs to heal the heart of a beautiful woman - but first he'll have to right the wrongs that were done to her. Major Ethan Kelly has never been able to absolve himself of the guilt he feels for raiding a woman's home shortly before he was taken prisoner during the Civil War. He is struggling to get through each day until he once again crosses paths with Lizbeth Barclay - the very woman he is trying to forget.

Overwhelmed by the responsibilities of running a ranch on her own, Laurel Tracey decides to hire a convict - a man who's just scary enough to take care of squatters and just desperate enough to agree to a one-year post.

Even though Bethanne Hostetler has found some peace seven years after an attempted assault and the accidental death of Peter Miller, she is still haunted by the memory. When her Englisher cousin, Candace—who has just been crowned Miss Crittenden County—reveals that she has a stalker, all of Bethanne’s old fears come rushing back. Jay Byler had once been Peter’s best friend, and the fact that he did not protect Bethanne that fateful night has haunted him ever since. To make matters worse, she continues to avoid him—even as he continues to love her.

When Anna decides it’s time to leave her abusive boyfriend, she doesn’t know where to turn. Rob has completely won over her parents, and the entire community, with his good looks and smooth charm. Only Anna has seen his dark side.

Ex-con Seth Zimmerman has spent the last three years making amends by helping the vulnerable in his former Amish community. Lately, this mission includes calling on Tabitha Yoder, whose divorce from her abusive husband has isolated her from the community. Even though she never comes out of her house to talk to him, Seth knows she watches him from the window while he chops wood, clears her driveway, and drops off food. An uneasy friendship is just starting to take hold between them when small gifts begin to appear at Tabitha’s home—gifts that can only be from her ex-husband.

Almost two years after Lilly Kurtz first visited Pinecraft, Florida, she’s decided to make a fresh start there. She’s ready to be new-and-improved Lilly, a Lilly without a past, a Lilly with no secrets. At first, everything goes well. She gets a job, her coworkers feel like family, and she enjoys reconnecting with her friends. But it turns out the past is reluctant to be left behind. When Lilly meets hardworking farmer Eddie Byler, she can’t get him off her mind. But then she discovers that Eddie isn’t staying long in Pinecraft—and he lives just a few miles from her hometown in Ohio.

A solitary sort, 42-year-old Atle Petersheim spends his time hard at work in his wood shop. But as the days get longer, he realizes just how lonely he’s become. When his longtime crush, Sadie Mast, a widow and mother of three, asks him to help her build a room in their barn for her son, Atle can’t say no. Eager to pursue Sadie at last, he turns to bookmobile librarian Sarah Anne Miller for courting advice. More than happy to help, Sarah Anne decides the best way to learn about love is through books - romance novels, to be precise.

Calvin Fisher left the Amish community at fourteen and never looked back. Only his brother’s illness can bring him back to Hart County. Now, as Calvin works to make amends, he meets Alice, a local nursery school teacher, and falls hard for her. But he has a secret that could threaten the happiness he’s finally found. When a sudden surge of criminal activity alarms the community and even targets Alice, Calvin fears that his double life has put everyone he loves at risk.

Now that her friends are all marrying or moving away, Heart Beachy has started feeling lonely. Worse, everyone keeps asking when she's going to find a man of her own. Don't they realize Heart has her hands full at home with her widowed dad, too many chores, and a menagerie of needy, small animals? Besides, she doesn't understand the fuss about marriage. It's enough to make her consider finally becoming a pet-sitter, or moving to an English community, where she won't be an oddity . . .

New York Times bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray transports listeners to Bridgeport, Ohio, where nobody gets left behind and a powerful community helps ordinary men and women to find extraordinary strength inside themselves. This set includes Book 1: Shall We Dance?, Book 2: Take the Lead, and Book 3: Save the Last Dance.

When word had gotten out that Andy Warner had committed suicide, everyone in Walnut Creek, Ohio, had been shocked. For seven men and women in their 20s, each of whom had once counted his or herself as one of Andy’s best friends, it had been extremely painful. And, maybe, a source of guilt. Years have passed since they’d all been together last. Now, the seven remaining friends, still reeling from Andy’s death, have vowed to look after each other again.

When Colin Zook and his beloved grandmother lose everything in a fire, their greatest loss is a beloved family heirloom quilt that helped keep her dementia at bay. When Joanne Lapp hears about the loss, she decides to re-create the quilt. Colin soon feels himself developing feelings for her, but he’s held back by the knowledge that a future with him would involve care of his grandmother and his farm. Will Joanne look past his list of responsibilities and see him for who he truly is?

In Woodland Park, a small town nestled in the foothills of Pikes Peak, Anderson Kelly and Chelsea Davis were once the high school “it” couple—the star quarterback and the valedictorian. They broke up when Anderson joined the army and one poor decision at a fraternity party changed Chelsea’s life. Now, she works long shifts in a senior center to support her nine-year-old son, Jack.