Every cop needs a good partner…In this line of work, you have to trust the person who's watching your back.When Claudia Parrish's partner–and lover–dies, she figures «happily ever after» just isn't going to happen. A year later, she's assigned another partner and before long, begins to wonder if she might have a chance, after all.Gavin Monaghan is the new guy in the Homicide Unit. He's a good detective with plenty of experience. Except he's not really who he says he is. He's an undercover Internal Affairs agent assigned to find the cop responsible for the evidence tampering that's allowing criminals to walk.Gavin knows he has to do whatever it takes to find the one bad cop. But that might just mean gaining Claudia's trust only to betray her.
Even the best father in the world needs a little help now and then…Cody Matthews can't believe the recent changes in his daughter. Gone is the daddy's little angel; in her place, the devil in blue jeans. As a last resort–since Cody's a man who believes he should be able to cope with family problems on his own–he turns for help to Joan Paxton.But Joan has her work cut out for her. Cody is just as stubborn as his daughter–and just as good at keeping secrets. And unless Joan can uncover the truth, she won't be able to prevent the Matthews family from breaking apart.It's a possibility Joan can't bear to consider. She knows Cody and his daughter belong together…and she wants to believe Cody's conviction–that she belongs with them, too.
DRU HAVERFORD FALL: Midwife. Pregnant. Widow.A MAN FROM THE PAST: Dru hasn't seen Ben Hall (a nephew of her dead husband's) in more than twenty years. But they share memories of a difficult and traumatic even in their childhood.PREGNANCY: Now, for reasons that run very deep, Dru wants a baby. Ben Hall becomes the father of her child–by artifical insemination.THE BABY: Dru loves her baby-to-be. And she's beginning to feel a very real connection with her baby's father. A passion unlike anything she'd experienced with her husband…A MARRIAGE: Ben wants to marry her–has always wanted to marry her. And he knows that Dru needs a marriage based not on memories or past promises but on forever…and a baby.
For the Negotiator, talk is never cheap. In a moment, he has to make connections with the crazed and the desperate and the lost. He has to promise, cajole and placate. Success is a rush. Failure would cripple a lesser man. Above all, he must stay detached.Beck Winters is the Negotiator.Despite everything he's seen and done, Beck's still sane, but only because he never allows himself to get close to anyone. Then during a hostage incident, he hears a voice over the phone line, Jennifer Barclay's voice.Jennifer's in the wrong place at the wrong time. Her plan has always been to avoid excitement. But that was before she was taken hostage…before the incident ended badly…and before she met the Negotiator.The Guardians: This time the good guys wear black
YOU ARE NOW ENTERING RIVERBEND, INDIANARiverbend…home of the River Rats–a group of small-town sons and daughters who've been friends since high school. The River Rats are all grown up now. Living their lives and learning that some days are good and some days aren't–and that you can get through anything as long as you have your friends.Mitch Sterling has a lot on his plate. He owns a hardware store that's competing with a big national chain. He's taking care of his elderly grandfather–though Granddad might argue about that–and he's a single father to a young child. On top of that, he's just met a very pregnant, very stranded, very single woman who needs a friend. And if Mitch is honest with himself, he'll admit that he wants to be more than her friend.…
Sarah Lennox had her life arranged down to the minute–but that was before she discovered she was pregnant and that her fiancé was a jerk.Not sure what to do next, she heads to Firefly Glen, the quiet little town that was once a haven for her. After she arrives, though, she finds upheaval in the disconcerting presence of Sheriff Parker Tremaine–a man who can almost make her forget that she's a recently ditched, slightly desperate and undeniably pregnant schoolteacher.
She has it all worked outSarah Templestowe figures she'll take two weeks off work, fly to Australia and buy out the other owner of the outback cattle station her father left her. Then she'll return to Seattle, give the station to her mother as a retirement present and pick up big-city life where she left off.He has other plansBut Luke Sampson is not about to let go of his dream of owning a cattle station. He's not about to let go of Sarah Templestowe, either. Warm, caring and frank, she stirs him the way no other woman has in years. Luke, though, is a man of few words, and he can't seem to tell her that.Now what?Sarah's trip Down Under turns her world upside down. Her short time in Australia provides endless surprises, especially where Luke is concerned. She loves him–enough to get out of his life forever.
For the sake of her daughters can she marry a stranger?Lynn Chanak is living the nightmare every mother fears. There was a mix-up at the hospital. Her baby isn't hers. And the only way she can have the baby she gave birth to and keep the child she loves is to marry Adam Landry–a man she doesn't even know.For the sake of his daughters can he marry a woman he'll never love?Adam was devastated when his Jenny died. And his only consolation was their daughter. But as much as he loves Rose, he can't stand to think that the child Jenny carried for nine months will grow up without him. If marrying a stranger is what it takes to have both his daughters, then that's what he'll do. Even though he still loves Jenny…For the sake of their daughters can they make this marriage work?
She's not who she says she is! Tory Evans is living her sister's life. Christine is dead, murdered by Tory's vengeful ex-husband, and now–for her own survival–Tory has taken on Christine's identity. Her name, her job, her new home in Shelter Valley, Arizona.He's reinventing his life. Ben Sanders is a divorced father who's come to Shelter Valley to resume the education that was interrupted years before. He's intrigued by one of his professors, the woman he knows as Christine Evans. She's smart, she's beautiful–and she's hiding something. She's also off-limits.Despite that, despite the secrecy and the danger, Tory and Ben are drawn to each other. Second chances really do exist. Especially in a place like Shelter Valley…
Suddenly he's got two females in his life–and maybe a third…Mitch Oliver is a man's manWhich is probably a good thing since he's raising four rowdy teenage boys on his own. His schedule is filled with guy stuff such as hockey, baseball, football. Then he gets custody of his feminine little niece. Her schedule includes Barbie dolls and ballet.Fortunately, Jenny Litton–his sister's best friend–is willing to help. Suddenly Mitch finds himself struggling to understand two females–one charming little girl and one equally charming woman.One very pregnant woman…