Showing results by narrator "Rider" in All Categories

Marketing executive and mother of two, Jade Kelly can now add cancer survivor to her list of successes. But while her life looks good on paper, four months out of treatment, Jade realizes she hardly knows her college-age children and that she and her husband, Nick, are little more than housemates. Determined to start over, Jade schedules a family vacation to a lakefront cabin.

Jackson Vale. My boss’s rival and the man I’ve thought far too much about since we were introduced last week. Of all the - “I’m not his,” I sputter indignantly. “I’m just his employee. He doesn’t own me.” And for some reason this sets off a flare of intensity and...satisfaction? in Jackson’s expression. That’s it, I officially give up trying to understand any of this. But then Jackson leans over and speaks so softly in my ear I can barely hear it above the falling rain.

The darkness never truly left me. It's always there, waiting for the right moment to strike. It's been months since I ran away from the nightmare that was slowly killing me. I ran for my life, straight into the arms of a man who I thought would be worse than the nightmare I'd left behind. Little did I know he'd become my savior. But my happy ending was ripped away from me in a blink of an eye. I had everything...and I lost everything.

New York Times best seller Pepper Winters brings a new Dark Romance Series to life. This is the second book in Goddess Isles. “There was a monster once. A monster who bought me, controlled me, and took away my freedom. There was a man once. A man who dealt in myth and secrets, hiding behind his mask, making me hunger and wish to know the truth.”

In the small town of Black Bay, a vacant, forgotten house sits atop an overlooking bluff. When Bailey and Bodhi Taylor move in and begin renovations, the house seems perfect. But things move on their own, screams echo from the basement, and Bailey sees a shadowy figure out of the corner of her eye. Is the house haunted? And if it is, what does the ghost want with Bailey?

If educators’ realities are filtered through the belief that they can do very little to influence student achievement, then it is likely these beliefs will manifest in their practice. The solution? Collective efficacy (CE)—the belief that, through collective actions, educators can influence student outcomes and increase achievement. Educators with high efficacy show greater effort and persistence, willingness to try new teaching approaches, and attend more closely to struggling students’ needs. This book presents practical strategies and tools for increasing student achievement.

Water scarcity is on everyone's mind. Long taken for granted, water availability has entered the realm of economics, politics, and people's food and lifestyle choices. But as anxiety mounts - even as a swath of California farmland has been left fallow and extremist groups worldwide exploit the desperation of people losing livelihoods to desertification - many are finding new routes to water security with key implications for food access, economic resilience, and climate change.

Jake continues to struggle with mastering his power. The secret seems elusive. But the solution is frighteningly simple. Mister Cato is a relic of the past who has adapted to the modern world. He watches a young man who must claim a place in the global society. He sees no reason not to help the lad along just indirectly. Several layers removed. He has his own secrets after all.

An agile organization is not created by completely optimizing elements isolated from one another — in most cases, this involves teams. Often, though, agile odysseys start with this local (sub-)optimization, where at the same time their chosen agile method becomes the golden calf. Then the only attempt is to do the method justice rather than asking what creates more value for the customer. Typically, collaboration between the development areas of an organization and the business decision makers isn't taken into consideration.

Think you understand Disciplinary Literacy? Think again. In this important reference, content teachers and other educators explore why students need to understand how historians, novelists, mathematicians, and scientists use literacy in their respective fields.

Donors, leaders of nonprofits, and public policy makers usually have the best of intentions to serve society and improve social conditions. But often their solutions fall far short of what they want to accomplish and what is truly needed. Moreover, the answers they propose and fund often produce the opposite of what they want over time. We end up with temporary shelters that increase homelessness, drug busts that increase drug-related crime, or food aid that increases starvation.

Just so it’s clear, I’m not the kind of woman who sleeps around. And I’m especially not the kind of woman who’d ever sell her body for money. At least, that’s not who I used to be. Now, I’m getting on my hands and knees at the orders of the stranger I suddenly call husband. I’m ashamed of what I’m doing. It’s dirty. Wrong. Twisted. And I refuse to acknowledge how good it feels. Especially in front of him.

In Ridgewood, North Dakota, Amy Peters' life is a picture of small-town perfection - loving parents, a close-knit community, and a cherished friendship with her best friend, Cassy. However, this idyllic existence is abruptly shattered when a mysterious figure abducts Amy during Cassy's birthday celebration, plunging the town into a web of secrets and fear. As the tranquility of Ridgewood gives way to a gripping mystery, the search for Amy reveals hidden truths and challenges the facade of this seemingly peaceful town.

Aislinn Cain's life is a horror story. When the US Marshals Serial Crimes Tracking Unit comes knocking at Aislinn Cain's door, she is given a chance to use her past to save other people's futures. She has survived attacks by two different serial killers and devoted her life to studying the darker side of human history. A new killer is using medieval torture methods to slay his victims. She can give them a glimpse into his twisted world, but not without a cost.

Gianna is a young novice in one of Earth's oldest secret societies. She faces a nigh-impossible task: search the Archives for references to the recent Blood Moon. Jake craves challenge. He stagnates in his hometown, but feels it hides his greatest challenge yet. What Gianna and Jake each find will change the world.

Cold. Ruthless. Killer. I am respected and feared by all. I wasn’t put on this earth to love or be loved. I was put here to wipe out every last member of the damn Abandonato mafia, to pay them back for my mother’s death. When I find a strange girl hiding, beaten, under my bed, I don’t let her live out of compassion. She’s a trinket, my plaything.

“There was a truth once. Truth we shared in the dark and scribed scars upon our hearts. There was a lie once. A lie that shattered our truth apart.” Eleanor Grace did the unbelievable. She fell for a man who trades in women, dabbles in myth, and has the morals of a cold-hearted beast. However, love isn’t enough where past sins are concerned, and only pain can follow.

His mind raced...as he lay in the alley. Why was he there? Gavin knew two things - his name and he was wearing a tunic and pants. From beyond the alley, hustling city sounds were unfamiliar. The warmth of the sun on his neck and its position in the sky suggests it was mid-morning. The first choice he made, turning out of the alley, would change his fate. Marcus has led a full life, but he was sick of it. Six thousand years of magic, mayhem, and fighting other people’s wars has worn him out. Why wouldn’t people just leave him alone?

Judah the Foundling chose freedom over betrayal when she leaped from the top of the castle tower. Now she finds herself wandering an unknown forest, far from everything and everyone she loves. For the first time in her life, she’s beyond the great Wall that surrounds Highfall castle; for the first time, she’s alone.

No husband. No retirement plan. And since her self-imposed man-ban—no need to shave above her knees. After a tragic accident, Gracelyn inherits her 10-year-old nephew. She signs a lease on a San Diego beach house and learns their neighbors for the summer are a sexy anatomy professor and his young daughter.