Showing titles in Small Town & Rural

A collection of stories capturing what it means to be a cowboy.

Elsa Remington Steel pledged to love one man for the rest of her life. Aiden was a bright light, a wild personality, a beautiful soul. He was her husband and the father of her three wonderful children. Two years before, when they learned of his diagnosis, Elsa felt his death coming like a storm. After all, her brother had died at age ten, her mother had died when she was sixteen, and her father's health was on the decline. In Elsa's eyes, her world quickly fell apart. It was just expected.

At 57, Ruth made a successful sea change: she relocated from the city to the country and opened Rosie's Cafe in the seaside town of Cutlers Bay. Business boomed, but five years on the shine has worn off. Where has that other Ruth gone, the independent, feisty woman who'd had the courage to sell up in the city and move to the country? Even the bathroom mirror is reflecting back someone she doesn't quite recognise: greying hair, wrinkles, the sparkle all but gone from her blue eyes. Ruth is convinced she has to make a change—if only she could decide what.

Rebecca Wood takes the role as postmistress in a sleepy seaside town, desperate for anonymity after a scandal in Sydney. But she is confronted almost at once by a disturbing discovery - her predecessor committed suicide. To add to her worries, her hopes for a quiet life are soon threatened by the attentions of the dashing local doctor, the unsettling presence of a violent whaling captain, and a corrupt shire secretary, as well as the watchful eyes of the town's gossips.

It should be the most wonderful time of the year for Samantha and Josh as they prepare for the arrival of their first baby. But life at Hedgehog Hollow rarely goes to plan and the pair are faced with adversaries, old and new, and unexpected challenges to overcome. Fizz's job at the heart of the rescue centre is a dream come true but her personal life is more like a nightmare. With her love life a disaster and her past about to dramatically catch up with her, she needs the love and support of her Hedgehog Hollow family more than ever.

She says that she’s his daughter. Could the shocking claim be true? Beatrice is speechless. It’s something she never expected—a secret daughter. She and Aiden have only just renewed their romance after decades apart, and he never mentioned a child. Did he know she existed? Their budding relationship may not survive a scandal this big. Penny’s brother comes back into her life along with her high school nemesis, his best friend. There’s one rule her brother has always held his friends to—no dating his sister. But she’s an adult now. Does the rule still stand?

Fiona is devastated when her husband Charlie commits suicide after the accidental shooting of his friend. Though Fiona decides to keep farming their successful property, rumours that she intends to sell keep circulating. When Detective Burrows arrives to sign off on the investigation into Eddie's death, his suspicions are aroused by some strange anomalies at the scene. As Dave becomes increasingly convinced that something sinister is going on, Fiona finds herself dealing with disasters at the farm.

A brutal murder in a town called Treachery? It's a story most journos would kill for, but for Stuart Dryden, it's a major inconvenience. He didn't take the gig at the local rag for its bustling crime beat. He'd sacrifice a career-making story for happy hour at the pub, but not even he can let a grisly murder through to the keeper. Especially when he keeps getting scooped by a persistent kid with a disposable Kodak.

Kira North hates Christmas. Which is unfortunate since she just bought a Christmas tree farm in a town that’s too cute for its own good. Bennett Ellis is on vacation in Dream Harbor taking a break from his life in California. And most importantly, taking a break from his latest run of disastrous dates. After a run-in with Kira in her fields, Ben has no intention of offering to help the grumpy owner set up her tree farm, despite the fact she’s clearly got no idea what she’s doing. But somehow fate finds Ben at Kira’s farm once more.

When Remy's grandmother dies, it means leaving her life in San Francisco and returning to a town she swore she'd never revisit, forced to confront a world she'd worked hard to put behind her over the last twelve years. She's not expecting that the first girl to ever steal her heart, the pretty, popular Fallon Lewis, is still around, and in a town this small, their paths continue to cross, much to Remy's dismay. It's hard enough seeing her first love, but it's exponentially more difficult when she can barely stand to look at the woman.

When Kate is dumped on her best friend's wedding day, she realises she's now homeless as well as jobless. She decides to take a job on a remote Scottish island. Her grouchy new boss, Roddy, is unimpressed with her and makes it clear she's got a lot to prove. Island life has no room for secrets, and Roddy's trying to keep something quiet. When his ex appears back on the island, tensions rise. What is Fiona planning - and can she be stopped before it's too late?

Julia Volpe’s Italian dream has turned into a nightmare. Still living with her ex, Luca, a year after they’ve broken up, desperate to sell the dilapidated B&B that was meant to be their future, Jules knows she needs to leave. There are just two problems. Her passport has expired and she’s broke. Not quite ready to ask her parents for help – at the ripe old age of twenty-seven – Jules decides to head as far away from Luca as she can to work on an olive farm until she has enough money to pay for her passport and a ticket back home.

1873. Eliza Penrose arrives in the gold mining town of Maiden's Creek in search of her brother, planning to make a new life for herself. Instead, she finds a tragic mystery - and hints of betrayals by those closest to her. Mining engineer Alec McLeod left Scotland to escape the memory of his dead wife and child. Despite the best efforts of the eligible ladies of Maiden's Creek, Alec is determined never to give his heart again. As lies and deceit threaten Eliza's life, Alec steps in - although he has problems of his own.

While Barney loves his life at Bumblebee Barn - a farm that has been in his family for generations - he's struggling to find someone to share it with. The early mornings quad biking through muddy fields and the long hours looking after the crops and animals are proving to be a deterrent to finding love. So when his sister, Fizz - desperate for Barney to find his soulmate - sees an advert for Love on the Farm, a new reality TV show to help farmers find love, he has nothing to lose by applying.

With a coveted promotion dangling within reach, the last thing Addy Topic needs to do is waste precious time singing in Rookery Cove's choir. But when she's reminded how much music meant to her late mother, she can't say no. The building pressure raises the ghosts that sent her running from Rookery Cove years earlier - memories she's spent decades hiding from, silencing them with work, alcohol and sex.

1982. Viv Delaney wants to move to New York City, and to help pay for it she takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel, in Fell. But Viv feels that something is wrong, something disturbing and haunting. And then she vanishes. 2017. Carly Kirk has never been able to let go of the story of her aunt Viv. She decides to move to Fell and take a job at the hotel - as a night clerk - to try to get to the bottom of the mystery. But Carly soon discovers that, before she vanished, Viv believed she was on the trail of something truly sinister.

Port Kingerton: the insular cray-fishing town at the butt-end of South Australia, where everyone knows everyone. And everyone knows too that when Abigail Fancy left town at seventeen, she hung out the window of her boyfriend's Corolla, middle fingers held high, swearing she'd never come back. And she hasn't, until now. At her parents' house Abigail finds a party (read: town meeting) in full swing over something iffy found on the beach—a thigh bone.

When Danni Carter moves to Cornwall from London, she hopes it will be the fresh start she so desperately needs. She’s nervous, but hopefully the change of scene will help her to finally forget her feelings for Lucas Newman, a man she can never be with, because he’s already engaged to Danni’s best friend, Esther. But when Lucas and Esther decide to follow Danni to Cornwall, and both announce they will be working with her at the new St Piran’s hospital, Danni is thrown into turmoil again.

Anna Hemingway decides it's time for a fresh start. So Anna and her three-year-old daughter move to a cottage in the village of Little Somerby, where she takes over the running of the village tea shop, and they start to find happiness again. Throughout a whirlwind year, life blossoms. But when history seems to be repeating itself, Anna must find the strength to hold on to her new life.

Princess Alexandra Wyndham’s mission to find her long-lost brother—the rightful heir to the throne—brings her to a ranch in Arizona, where she meets handsome cowboy Mitch Colton. Mitch could be the key to finding Alexandra’s missing brother, and although he is reluctant to open his home to Alexandra at first, her regal beauty soon warms his heart. Can the search for the lost brother bring them together? Or will the immense differences between them divide them for good?