Showing results by author "Tess Thompson" in All Categories

Blythe Heywood denied her destiny when she left Finn Lanigan behind 13 years ago to return to her fiancé, a wedding, and the life of safety and security that she'd yearned for since she was a child. But in the wake of her husband's betrayal, Blythe is forced to begin again. And it's her memories of Finn, the only man who ever weakened her knees, that call her across the Pacific Northwest in search of the next chapter in her life.

I arrived in Emerson Pass Colorado with my entire life in one small suitcase. Compared to Boston, life wouldn’t be easy in this tiny frontier town. Everyone was counting on me. My family…to provide for them back home. The mayor…to teach all the children living here. I was determined to make it work and succeed in the unruly West. But things didn’t start off well. A stray gunshot spooked the horses, and I ended up face-first in the snow. Until rescue came in the strong, capable hands of a handsome stranger…

Costume designer Teagan Lanigan only has time to love her work and the young son she’s raising by herself. But when she decides to give up the glitz and glam of the film industry for a quiet life near her family, she’ll face two unique challenges: reconciling with her estranged mother and trying to forget her fling with a very famous country music star.

Sparks fly when opposites attract, and so it goes with Ciaran Lanigan and Bliss Heywood. He's the handsome playboy. She's the studious executive. And their chemistry? It's off the charts. But beneath his charming facade, Ciaran is a haunted man. And the more he opens up to Bliss, the less she's sure she can trust him. Is he really in danger, or is he just a danger to Bliss? Can two people who love with all their hearts face the ever-lurking threats of secrets, lies, and family together?

Colorado, 1910. Quinn Cooper can’t help feeling uneasy. But securing a job as a schoolmarm in a tiny frontier town was the only way to save her family from starvation back in Boston. And her nerves aren’t eased by a stray gunshot that spooks the sleigh horses, casting her into the snow...until she’s rescued by a handsome stranger.

Josephine Barnes wrote every day to her beloved fiancé battling in the trenches of the Great War. Devastated when he’s killed in action, she vows never to marry and buries her grief in the construction of the town’s first library. But she’s left breathless when she receives a request from a gracious gentleman to visit and return the letters containing her declarations of desire. Philip Baker survived the war, but returned home burdened with a secret. Though he knows it’s wrong, he can’t stop reading the beautiful sentiments left among his slain comrade’s possessions.

Charlotte Wilde's life is a flop. She gives her heart to the wrong men and her first published book is a failure. Desperate to pay the bills, she takes a job caring for an elderly woman. Yet as Charlotte gets to work, dutifully helping Mrs. Lanigan sort through a box of old letters, distractions abound. For one thing, both women immediately become consumed with a mystery unfolding in the correspondence. And to complicate matters further, Charlotte finds herself drawn to her charge's son, Ardan, like they've known each other forever.

Brody Mullen is the best quarterback in the AFL, and his Super Bowl win only confirms what he's suspected his entire career: romantic entanglements are bad for his game. No women. No sex. No problems. But after hiring a beautiful nurse to care for his mother, his resolve begins to weaken.

Carlie Webster remains haunted by the past. After a messy failed marriage sends her packing for her small hometown, she relives the memories of her sister’s 30-year-old unsolved murder. But when rekindled sparks fly with the suspected killer’s brother, Carlie must clear his sibling’s name if she wants a shot at second-chance love.

Jackson Waller thought fulfilling his dream would set him free. Despite his excitement to be taking over his father’s practice, the thoughtful young doctor never moved on from the demise of his high school sweetheart. So he’s shocked when he visits her grave a decade later, only to find his first love has returned to town very much alive. Maggie Keene will never forgive her dad. Unable to prove the despicable man killed her mom, she fled her hometown at age 18 to pursue singing and dancing in New York.

Property developer Kyle Hicks’s playboy lifestyle couldn’t be better. He’s overcome his impoverished past, his new resort is under construction, and he’s free of any ties. But when he’s given custody of a baby he didn’t know he fathered, he has to turn for help to the one person who hates him. Single mother Violet Ellis can’t seem to catch a break. Between the failure of her business and a developer ruining Cliffside Bay’s charm, she feels her life is in tatters. Out of work and desperate for a home, she reluctantly accepts a job offer from the man she despises.

Zane Shaw needs a fresh start. After his fiancé called off their wedding, he left his failed relationship to run the family restaurant back home. And just when he thinks he’s sworn off emotions for good, a former fling residing in Cliffside Bay reignites his broken heart. Honor Sullivan thought she had escaped her abusive background. But the terror returns when she learns the man who hurt her is out of prison. And when a dead bunny appears on her porch, she turns to her old crush Zane for the protection she so desperately desires.

After a decade of playing hockey, a single injury ended Trapper Barnes’ career. But when he discovers that the woman who owns the local bakery is the girl who once shattered his dreams, the painful secret she’s been harboring all these years threatens to turn Trapper’s idyllic small-town future into a disaster. Will it take a forest fire threatening the mountain village to force Trapper and Brandi to confront their history?

My heart shattered when my sister's fiancé took what he wanted against my will, leaving me pregnant and disavowed by my family. Driven to desperate measures, I agree to take a housekeeping job on a remote island off the cost of Washington state. The man I’m working for? He’s kind, handsome and has a unique understanding of my position.

Returning to Bluefern to care for my father wasn’t part of my plan. But here I am, doing my best as the town’s new vet and trying to avoid Rafferty Moon, the one person who knows exactly how to get under my skin. We were high school rivals through and through, constantly competing to be the best. Now he’s the town doctor, and it feels like no time has passed—as if the years haven’t erased the tension that crackles every time we’re in the same room. But when a snowstorm traps us together, I start to see a different side of him, one that I can’t ignore.

Since the loss of my husband, matchmaking has been my solace and mission as I pair souls meant for each other. However, letters from a sensitive and insightful bachelor from across the country have me wondering about my own destiny. Together, Matthew and I successfully paired the Tutheridge siblings, but as our shared project ends, can a new story begin? With some trepidation, I agree to travel from Boston to Whale Island. Will I find love again in the arms of Matthew Goodwell?

As the governess for a guarded widower, I am faced with the daunting task of warming a heart that has deliberately grown cold, isolating him from the vibrant life beyond his walls. Were it not for his enchanting and spirited daughter, I may have sought employment elsewhere. Yet, I am resolute to stay on the picturesque Whale Island, nurturing a blossoming romance with the local schoolmaster and hoping it culminates in a bond of marriage. If it signifies securing a stable home at last, I am willing to endure every storm, even the exasperating presence of Hudson Tutheridge.

After my twin sister’s betrayal, I started fresh in America working on a dude ranch in the middle of nowhere. The last thing I need is a cantankerous rancher with an attitude looking at me with disapproval in his eyes. My chattiness and optimism clearly irritate him, so I take the high road and choose to ignore him. But when Soren Moon offers to rent me a room in his house, I can’t refuse. A broke English girl doesn’t have that many options in Bluefern, Montana. Even though that leaves me alone with him way too often.

I didn’t want him here. I’d do anything to get rid of him. Sabotage his practice. Make sure the islanders knew he was not to be trusted. Push away his overtures of friendship and partnership. What good did a fancy city doctor do for the community anyway? My community. The residents of Whale Island could attest to my competency and compassion. We don’t need outsiders telling us what to do. Then I find out my mother is the one funding the interloper’s medical practice. My own mother. Why? I can’t fathom why she’d want to ruin my life.

After the trauma of my family’s abandonment and the forced adoption of my baby, I find solace in New York City, living in a fine apartment, thanks to my benefactor, Percival Bancroft. He asks for nothing in return except for one thing—dinner once a week. All would be well if it weren’t for my growing feelings for the kind man who rescued me from a life on the streets. He is not mine to love, as he belongs to another.