I wanted to lose myself in the small town of Pelion, Maine. To forget everything I had left behind. The sound of rain. The blood. The coldness of a gun against my skin. For six months, each breath has been a reminder that I survived—and my dad didn't. I'm almost safe again. But the moment I meet Archer Hale, my entire world tilts on its axis . . . and never rights itself again. Until I trespass into his strange, silent, and isolated world, Archer communicates with no one. Yet in his whiskey-colored eyes, something intangible happens between us.

'Tis the season for ex-Navy SEAL Clayton East to come home for the holidays - even if the mood at home is anything but festive. His father is ill. The East Ranch is in financial trouble. And now it's on Clayton, the prodigal son, to make sure his family doesn't lose everything. Headstrong Abby Harper is like a mother to her younger brothers, who she's helped raise since she was a teenager. Keeping them in line is no small task while she's also working toward her college degree.

Single mother Jade Miller has just witnessed a murder. Now, set to testify against the cold-blooded killer, Jade must be placed under protection. While she is grateful to the kind folks who've offered to take in her and her son, Jade is surprised to find the man escorting them from L.A. to Montana is Gavin Emerson: a womanizing, far-too-attractive-for-his-own-good rebel cowboy.

Tanner Wallis is nearly at the end of his rope the night Mason Seidel finds him lying next to the mangled body of a cow on the back pastures of the Seidel family's Wyoming ranch. Recently out of the hospital after he and his boyfriend were brutally beaten, Tanner is jobless, homeless, and almost penniless. His desperate hope is that Mason will believe he's innocent of the senseless crime and give him a place to heal, both physically and emotionally, until he can get on his feet again.

Healing, respect, and empathy are what the H&S Ranch promises when helping troubled juveniles. Madison Clark hasn't had much trouble in allowing teens to help care for her recovering horses, but then in walks Jake, a know-it-all 13 year old with a smart mouth and a strong penchant for trouble. What's worse is the trouble trailing behind him - his uptight, opinionated lawyer aunt, Grace Hollings. Madison does her best to ignore her, but focusing solely on Jake isn't always possible.

From Emma Cane, Jennifer Ryan, and Katie Lane come three wildly romantic holiday stories featuring snowstorms, proposals, a sleigh ride...and, yes, cowboys.

Sheryl Kyle isn't the trusting type. After all, her abusive late husband and her disapproving stepfather haven't given her much reason to feel otherwise. But when a rugged rancher named Mark seeks her out, she learns her stepfather is on his deathbed. And his dying wish is for her to return to Sweet Creek for one last chance to reconcile.

Rowan St. John is on her way back home with an empty horse trailer and down a driver, a difficult situation when you have a contract you can't fulfill. Chase Meadows had it all, until she came home one day to find her lover in bed with another woman. Now she’s left with nothing but her truck, her horse, and a definite need to find a new start. California was about as far away from North Carolina and the past as she could go.

Political strategist Rachel Stanton, jaded and disillusioned by the scratching, clawing, and mudslinging of a campaign, books a week at the Springdale Ranch for a much-needed vacation. Springdale sounds like just the place to exorcise unhappy childhood memories and straighten out her head. Shivley McCoy has spent the last four years casting out her own painful past, working and sweating to make her ranch a successful business venture. She has nothing in common with fast-living Rachel Stanton, and after their inauspicious first meeting, is quite certain she'll never see her again.

Nate Myers graduated from UCLA medical school at the top of his class, ready to follow in the footsteps of his father, a superstar cardiothoracic surgeon. Six years later, Nate's career is being ruined by a malpractice suit. Questioning himself for the first time, he retreats to a Montana cattle ranch to visit his uncle and gain perspective. There he meets a beautiful young woman named Avelina who teaches him more than he ever knew about matters of the heart.

Would-be writer Sarah Dery has just turned twenty-five and feels like her life is on hold. She’s done squat with her English degree and is just killing time working for her parents. So, when the opportunity to spend the summer working on a ranch in Texas comes her way, she jumps at the chance - figuring it might be just the jolt she needs to get her creative juices flowing.

When the Cavanaugh brothers return home for their father's funeral, they discover unexpected evidence of the old man's surprising double life - a son named Blue, who wants the Triple C Ranch as much as they do. The eldest son, Deacon, a wealthy businessman who couldn't wait to leave the ranch and move on with his life, is looking to use his powerful connections to stop Blue at any cost. He never expected the ranch's forewoman, Mackenzie Byrd, to get in his way.

Blue Brigham was the man of the farm from an early age, so it was easy to get swept up in his older-than-his-years charm all those years ago. But when it came down to it, legal wasn't enough to keep a town like theirs from talking, and Harper Haley just wouldn't risk going public with their brief affair. She'd packed up and left town to marry another man her own age, thinking she'd left the past behind. Blue thought he knew what he signed up for when he moved his sister back in at the farm after her husband left her for another woman, but when Harper shows up, he knows he's in for trouble, still holding onto the grudge from all those years before....

Maisie Sullivan is a hard-working marketing assistant from Milwaukee who wants nothing more than to earn a promotion and finally finish her college degree. But when she’s swept off her feet by a charming cowgirl while on a business trip to Las Vegas, she decides there’s no harm in having a little fun.

Professional rodeo cowboy "HW" Morgan has finally achieved his dream of competing in the national rodeo finals-but his career has come at a price. His twin brother wants nothing to do with him and a string of hookups haven't warmed his bed. He's got to get his head on straight - and the only place to do that is at home, if his family will have him. Samantha Kelly isn't sure what she's doing at a new dude ranch. The army veteran is barely back on her feet again, still struggling to rehab an injury. But she's willing to give equine therapy a try, even though her riding instructor is bold, brash, and distractingly easy on the eyes. As she and HW warily try to work each other out, slowly and surely an unbreakable trust is built - one on which dreams can be built....