"Cork O'Connor, the former sheriff of Aurora, Minnesota, is having difficulty dealing with the marital meltdown that has separated him from his children. Part Irish, part Anishinaabe Indian, he is getting by on heavy doses of caffeine, nicotine, and guilt. Once a cop on Chicago's South Side, there's not much that can shock him. But when the town's judge is brutally murdered, and a young Eagle Scout is reported missing, Cork takes on this complicated...

"Shay Benson adored her younger brother, Caden, and that got her into trouble. When he owed money, Shay realized she would do anything to help him avoid the men who were threatening him, and she crossed lines she never should have crossed. Now, determined to start fresh, she finds herself in search of a place to stay and wanders into a church to escape from the cold. Pastor Drew Douglas adored his wife. But when he lost her, it was all he could do...

Newly divorced and without family, Joy Candellaro is presented with a serendipitous opportunity to leave her past behind. And arriving in the small town of Rain Valley, Joy glimpses the possibility of a wonderful new life in the faces of widower Daniel O'Shea and his son, Bobby. But a dramatic turn of events on Christmas Eve forces Joy to make a painful choice: In a world of impossible dreams and unexpected chances, can she summon enough faith to...

"For the past six months, Arthur Moses's days have looked the same: He tends to his rose garden and to Gordon, his cat, then rides the bus to the cemetery to visit his beloved late wife for lunch. The last thing Arthur would imagine is for one unlikely encounter to utterly transform his life. Eighteen-year-old Maddy Harris is an introspective girl who visits the cemetery to escape the other kids at school. One afternoon she joins Arthur--a gesture...

"When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations,...

"On the anniversary of his beloved wife's death, Dr. Michael Everett receives a letter Hannah had written him. In it she reminds him of her love and makes one final request. An impossible request. I want you to marry again. She tells him he shouldn't spend the years he has left grieving--and she's chosen three women she asks him to consider. First on Hannah's list is her cousin, Winter Adams, a chef who owns a café on Seattle's Blossom Street. The...

"Miles Ryan's life seemed to end the day his wife was killed in a hit-and-run accident two years ago. As deputy sheriff of New Bern, North Carolina, he not only grieves for her and worries about their young son, Jonah, but longs to bring the unknown driver to justice. Then Miles meets Sarah Andrews, Jonah's second-grade teacher. A young woman recovering from a difficult divorce, Sarah moved to New Bern hoping to start over. Tentatively, Miles and...

Danny Ryan, a young widower and mob underboss, has left the East Coast and settled in California with his young son in tow. The move has been good for Danny; in his new base of operations, his power, influence, and wealth have grown. Now he's heading up to Hollywood to rein in two of his crew, who are shaking down a film being made about their involvement in the New England crime war. At the film set, Danny finds himself in a replica of his old neighborhood,...

In a trade-off she's lived to regret, Emily Castle left home years ago to become an interior designer. The youngest of the three sisters, Emily desperately wanted to prove herself. Success, though, came at the cost of leaving behind the man she loved. For Boone Dorsett, losing Emily left his heart shattered, but another woman was waiting in the wings. Now a widower with a young son, Boone has a second chance with Emily when a storm brings her home....

In Holt, Colorado, widower Louis Waters is initially thrown when the widowed Addie Moore suggests that they spend time together, in bed, to stave off loneliness, but soon they are exchanging the confidences and memories.