Showing results by narrator "Loretta Rawlins" in All Categories

Private investigators Liz Talbot and Nate Andrews thought they'd put Darius Baker's troubles to rest - then his recently discovered son ropes him into a hemp farm investment with his college buddies. When a beloved Charleston professor - and potential investor - is murdered, Liz and Nate discover Darius keeps the PIs on speed dial. A shocking number of people had reasons to want the genteel, bow tie wearing, tea-drinking professor dead. Was it one of his many girlfriends or a disgruntled student?

Trying to get over a broken heart, twenty-four-year-old teacher Jet Diekerhof takes a gap year to travel and have an adventure. Her practical farming family is horrified until Jet's older sister Harley gets her a long-term sub position at a one-room schoolhouse in Montana’s Paradise Valley. Jet's grateful it’s 775 miles from her overly involved family—and the guy who broke her heart. She’s also sworn off men, until meeting darkly handsome Shane Swan changes everything....

Matt Osborn had no idea coaching his five-year-old nephew's soccer team would get him so much attention from the mothers—attention he doesn't want now that he's given up on love and having a family of his own. Yep, Matt's the last of his bachelor buddies and plans on staying that way. That is until he finds himself face to face with the woman who broke his heart.

Private Investigators Liz Talbot and Nate Andrews have worked their share of domestic cases. So when Tammy Sue Lyerly hires them to find out what her husband is hiding, they expect to find something looney but harmless. After all, this is the guy who claims to have been a DEA agent, a champion bull rider, and a NASCAR driver. But when he turns up dead the morning after Liz and Nate deliver incriminating photos, Tammy Sue becomes the prime suspect.

Raised in the hills of Tennessee, Emma Simms dreams of the day she’ll escape her life of poverty to start over in the excitement of Knoxville. But when her mother dies and she’s left with no one but her stepfather, Luke Simms, her dream abruptly becomes a nightmare. Luke plans to send Emma to Knoxville all right - straight to a notorious brothel. River Joe, the mysterious Cherokee-raised frontiersman, knew from the first time he set eyes on the beautiful Emma that he had to have her as his own.

They call me Big Pickle. It's not what you think. (Although that's true, too.) I happen to be the oldest Pickle in the family deli business. And we have the best salami. Take that one however you like. But when my father announces the franchise will go to the most profitable of the three brothers, I learn that even though I'm the eldest Pickle, I'm dead last. I hightail it to Texas to see what's happened to my restaurant, only to find a sassy little spitfire named Nova Strong in charge. She's amazing. She's sexy. She runs our deli like she owns it.

A faceless name. That's all she was when I agreed to play a part in deceiving her. And then the unexpected happened. We met. I yearn for her skin against mine. I crave her scent on my body. I want to make her laugh and then moan. And I do...in secret. I promised my business partner I wouldn't touch his sister. But I broke that promise. Our little dirty weekends together are no longer enough. I want my bohemian girl in my bed every night. She wants a ring, marriage vows, and babies...all things that I can't give her. Our romance is explosive. Our ending, miserable...unless I bend.

Therese Matheson doesn't know if she'll ever get over losing her husband in Afghanistan. Surviving Paul's death has been hard, but raising his sullen son and his 13-going-on-30 daughter alone has been even harder. All they need is a fresh start, and Tallgrass, Oklahoma, could be the perfect new beginning...especially when Therese meets Sergeant Keegan Logan. The sexy combat medic and single dad soon awakens a desire she'd thought long buried.

Business and Pleasure shouldn't mix. Yet, that's exactly what I'm contemplating after Seattle's most eligible bachelor strolled into the diner where I work and made me an offer I'm having a hard time refusing. Beckett Anderson has the looks and money to get the attention of any woman, and yet he wants me to be the one at his beck and call. If I accept, I'm to be his assistant in and out of the boardroom. In exchange, I'd finally have a chance to use my college degree and escape the cycle of poverty I've known my entire life.

It's the most wonderful time of the year, but private investigator Liz Talbot is struggling to feel festive. She hasn't seen her best friend, Colleen, in weeks and fears she may never see her again in this life. Meanwhile Nate, Liz's husband and partner, is spending money like he prints it in the attic on a mysterious family Christmas celebration. Liz's nerves are shot, and she hasn't even decked a single hall. But there's simply no time to fret.

Annie Prudhomme never expected to be back in Marietta, Montana, and her family is fond of reminding her that she left them and the town behind in search of better things. A humiliating divorce that cost her everything she'd gained has driven her back home, and her family isn't about to welcome her back into the fold. She's in town to rebuild the old home she inherited and to move on once again. Carson Scott never forgot Annie or the way she left.

It's been two years since Jessy Lawrence lost her husband in Afghanistan, and she's never fully recovered. Drowning her sorrows didn't help, and neither did the job she'd hoped would give her a sense of purpose. Now trying to rebuild her life, she finds solace in her best friends, fellow military wives who understand what it's like to love - and lose - a man in uniform...and the memory of one stolen night that makes her dream of a second chance at love.

Luke Benedict is Mystic Springs' very own Santa. He's also owner of the hardware store and the local handyman. Not everything can be fixed with magic. His gift is a handy one; he knows what those around him need before they do. What he can't see is what he needs. Jordan Carter's family has been making it snow on Christmas Eve for years, but this year there's a problem. She can't call up a single flake. Something within her is broken, and going to Luke for help is a desperate response. Maybe he'll see what she needs. Is it possible that what she needs is him?

After years of bit parts in forgettable Hallmark movies and embarrassing commercials for feminine hygiene products, I'd been given my big-budget break: the lead in an Edwardian era social drama set on a sprawling estate in Sussex. Everything was going great until I discovered my costar and current flame was banging his way through the cast. That's when this Southern girl channeled her inner Scarlet O'Hara by hurling a vase at him. Turns out the owner of said vase, the infuriating Earl Whittingham, did give a damn about the priceless heirloom.

If anyone asks, I knew better than to flash my boobs for Mardi Gras beads. I still don't know why I did it. Maybe it was the dare from my two best friends. Maybe it was the guys on the balcony saying they'd throw Fireball shots with the beads. Or maybe it was the quiet guy in the corner of that same balcony with piercing gray eyes, wavy dark hair, and a smile so tempting I wanted to climb up there and lick it off his face. Maybe it was because I never thought I'd see them again. Not that it matters. Not today. Because the hotel I manage was finally bought.

Spending a quiet Christmas housesitting and reading novels about hot cowboys sounds perfect to Caitlin--until a stray kitten brings her face to face with Noah, her crush from college. Watching the handsome vet in action melts Caitlin's heart and brings back long-forgotten emotion. She would be safer back at the house lost in the pages of a book. But a toe-curling mistletoe kiss tempts her to stay. Maybe she won't be spending this Christmas alone.

Orphaned as a child, Pandora Sherwood grows to be wild, fierce, and independent - the scandal of Galveston society. Her rebellious spirit, however, appeals to one man: Ward Gabriel, a self-made adventurer who vows to have her as his own. But the visions that haunt Pandora's dreams compel her to seek out the answers to the questions of her restless soul. She flees to Europe and gains fame through her art, but along her journey of self-discovery her heart remains in Galveston with Ward.

Traveling west aboard a wagon train with her late husband's family, young widow Marybeth MacKender wishes only to leave behind the memories of her loveless marriage, and to protect her infant son. But the dangers of the train are endless, as are the advances of her brutish brother-in-law who is resolute in claiming Marybeth as his own. It isn't until Marybeth meets Joshua Rivers, a frontiersman both tough and tender, that her hope for the future ignites as brightly as the desire in her heart.

My employee's daughter. That's all she was when I let her do odd jobs around the warehouse for a few extra bucks. And then she went away for college. This now beautiful, sexy, desirable woman is no longer the tomboy I once called Kiddo. I want to see how she responds to my kiss. I want to feel her body tremble as she anticipates my touch. I want to learn all the places that bring her pleasure. And I do...in secret. She's my intern and under me for the summer. Literally. This was supposed to be a fling. A little fun between the sheets without commitment - that’s what we called it.

A beautiful stranger. That's all she was when I moved into the house beside her. And then I discovered something. My neighbor isn't your typical girl next door. She's a preacher's daughter. She's a business professional. She's a fiery vixen who desires a strong alpha in the bedroom. And a firm grip around her throat. That's what I give her. But more than that, I want to leave my mark on the most intimate, untouched part of her body. Her heart.