Holding Their Place

Jordan Burroughs is the artist-in-residence at a college in the Deep South where she paints endangered aquatic lilies growing in the rocky shoals of the nearby river. While waiting for the rare flowers to bloom, she meets Maddie Grendel, the attractive and single English professor, and Tammy Palmer-Maxfield, heir to a fortune and wife of a greedy entrepreneur, who invite Jordan to paint on Tammy's vast estate.

The town is quaint, the professor charming, but strange occurrences at the college’s historic guesthouse challenge Jordan’s rational perspective. A mischievous gin-drinking ghost more than complicates her budding romance with Maddie. When a storm tears through town, the river and the special ecosystem it supports are threatened by toxic waste. Swept unexpectedly into conflict to protect the river at any cost, Jordan must make some dangerous decisions.

When art historian Melissa Warren inherits three of her grandmother’s paintings that have captivated her since childhood, she sets out to discover more about the little known artist and the locations of the mysterious landscapes. Her search takes her to the Colorado Bear Conservancy and the artist’s great-granddaughter, Sula Johansen.

Sula is reluctant to help Melissa, but their instant chemistry is impossible to ignore. Sula is torn between falling in love and hiding the truth about who and what she really is. Of course, if Melissa paid closer attention to minor details—like the fact that Sula enjoys nibbling berries off the vine, is unusually strong, and consumes way too much honey—Melissa might not be in for the shock of her life.

A tribute to the value of self-awareness and self-kindness, Untethered is the heartwarming story of a vacation gone wrong that leads to an unexpected journey of the heart.

Helen Rogers is ready for a relaxing cruise in Bali with her friends and married couple Martha Jo and Amy. After flying from Dallas to Australia, they board a small ship bound for Bali, only to quickly realize they have stumbled into a strenuous expedition more suited to CrossFit enthusiasts than vacationers like themselves in their seventies and eighties. Amid shipboard chaos and excursions to seldom-visited Indonesian islands, Helen becomes mesmerized by the younger, enigmatic Grace—unhappily married and searching for a resolution.

Things go from bad to worse when Helen and Amy become ill and must stay in isolation. Totally alone for the first time, memories of her time with Grace begin to haunt Helen. Was Grace’s last declaration that she was returning to her husband true? Why does Helen always fall for unavailable women? Could it have something to do with her lifelong aversion to meeting strangers and socializing in general?

After a nightmarish flight home and several months of recovery and reflection, Helen uncovers an earth-shattering realization that will change her life, and the possibilities of love, forever.

The dahlia represents love, devotion, dignity, and beauty in Victorian floriography. Piper’s new boss, Dahlia? One out of four—Dal is beautiful and that’s where the similarities end.

When Piper Fernley, Pipes the unPlugged when writing her popular blog, is knocked down by a frightened dog on her morning run, she doesn’t expect the dog’s owner to land on top of her. Or the attraction she feels for the rude woman who isn’t her type. But that’s nothing compared to the shock of finding out the woman is her new boss. Fortunately, the gig at the job is temporary, but how is she supposed to survive six weeks with a guarded, uptight woman who doesn’t even like her?

Veterinarian Dahlia Noble prefers animals to most people—they aren’t duplicitous. After a difficult childhood and the divorce from hell, Dal’s focus is her daughter and her work. The unpretentious office temp is growing on Dal, but her past, the boss/employee rulebook, and a divorce agreement mean there is no place in her life for Piper.

Sometimes when you stop looking, your heart finds exactly what it needs.

Sydney meets Reagan in an Italian café when Reagan helps her order. Instant best friends, they spend an idyllic fall sightseeing until Sydney’s semester abroad comes to an end and she returns to the States. Reagan’s a young Army second lieutenant living under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and must stay behind and complete her assignment. But their final night together—complete with a first kiss—lives on in Sydney’s mind.

Over the next fifteen years, Reagan and Sydney ricochet in and out of each other’s lives, with each parting leaving deeper longings and scars than the last. When DADT is repealed and they both end up in Washington, DC, it’s a chance for Reagan to finally win the heart of the woman she has always loved, if only the Army didn’t threaten to send them to opposite sides of the world once again.

An epic love story that traverses the complexities of duty, loyalty, and sacrifice across the decades, Sydney and Reagan know what their hearts want, but love keeps slipping through their fingers.

Julia Martin is a thriving physical therapist and gym owner with a steady relationship and even a dog. Her life is uncomplicated, simple, and fun, even if she sometimes feels like she’s missed out by never leaving the Midwest town she grew up in. That is until a heartbreak from her past comes crashing back into her world, and everything starts to spin into motion and out of control.

Raegan Holcolm thought all they wanted was a proud military career, and that’s what they had. But a sudden injury sends them back to their hometown with a wealth of pain, both physical and emotional, insecurities, and the reality that the career they’d chosen above all else has rejected them.

The first time they fell in love, Rae left Jules behind. For love to have a second chance, they’ll need to realize all along that home might have been a person just as much as a place.