Showing results by publisher "Hachette Audio" in Small Town & Rural

Joe Talbert, Jr. has never once met his namesake. Now out of college, a cub reporter for the Associated Press in Minneapolis, he stumbles across a story describing the murder of a man named Joseph Talbert in a small town in southern Minnesota. Full of curiosity about whether this man might be his father, Joe is shocked to find that none of the town's residents have much to say about the dead man - other than that his death was long overdue....

Maverick Callahan lives up to his reputation as a freewheeling cowboy. But a year ago he fell head-over-heels for an extraordinary woman he met while on vacation, a woman he was convinced he'd never see again. So when she appears on his doorstep like a Christmas miracle, Maverick is determined not to waste his lucky break.

As Darby Dixon sits in a tiny Texas church bathroom on her wedding day holding a positive pregnancy test, she realizes marrying her fiancé would be the worst decision of her life. She's never been very good at standing up for herself, but she'll sure as hell stand up for her baby. With very little cash and a ton of courage, she flees town to take a new name and start a new life.

What's the saying, bad luck comes in threes? If so, Lily Green is due for something good. First, her divorce is finalized - on her birthday, no less. Then the first job she lands for her catering company turns out to be for her ex-husband's wedding. To top it off, she's stuck working the event with Luke Everett, the sexy-as-hell best man who's never been able to stand her. When can a girl catch a break? For years, Luke has kept his feelings for Lily safely hidden. Hitting on his best friend's ex-wife would definitely break the cowboy code of honor.

In 1972, the town of DeClare, Oklahoma, was consumed by the terrifying murder of Gaylene Harjo and the disappearance of her baby, Nicky Jack. When the child's pajama bottoms were found on the banks of Willow Creek, everyone feared Nicky Jack was dead, although his body was never found.

Harley McKenna is the only child of North County's biggest criminal. Duke McKenna's run more guns, cooked more meth, and killed more men than anyone around. Harley's been working for him since she was sixteen, dreading the day he'd deem her ready to rule the rural drug empire he's built. Her time's run out. The Springfields, her family's biggest rivals, are moving in. And they're coming for Duke's only weak spot: his daughter.

Event planner Kate Sweet is famous for creating the perfect happily-ever-after moment for her clients’ dream weddings. So how is it that her best friend has roped her into planning a best-selling horror writer’s book-launch extravaganza? But the second Kate meets - or rather, accidentally maims - the drop-dead-hot Drake Matthews, her well-ordered life quickly transforms into an absolute nightmare.

Dear Listener: Yes, our town is way off the beaten path, but strange, wonderful miracles happen a lot around here. I've owned the Cut 'n' Curl beauty shop for years, and I've seen folks come for a visit, then stay for a lifetime. Take Jane - that pretty firecracker of a girl who just arrived in town. I would swear she's running from something.

Ten years ago, Jack Everett left his family's ranch without a backward glance. Now, what was supposed to be a quick trip home for his father's funeral has suddenly become more complicated. The ranch Jack can handle - he might be a lawyer, but he still remembers how to work with his hands. But turning around the failing vineyard he's also inherited? That requires working with the one woman he never expected to see again.

The long, hot Louisiana summer just got hotter for Rene LeDeux. He returns home to Southern Louisiana after quitting his job in Washington as an environmental lobbyist. Years of battling with the oil industry and land developers have left him completely burnt out, and now all he wants to do is work on his cabin on Bayou Black. But his peace of mind is disrupted by a few things. One, his great-aunt Tante Lulu is determined to get him hitched. Two, a couple of his activist friends have hatched a plot to bring national attention to their cause to save the bayou.

When confronted by raging fires or deadly accidents, volunteer fireman Taylor McAden feels compelled to take terrifying risks to save lives. But there is one leap of faith Taylor can't bring himself to make: He can't fall in love...

Leaving town when she was 18 had been Laura's only option. She feared a stifling existence in a town ruled by its past, its mythological devotion to Mark Twain, and the economic and racial divide that runs as deep as the Mississippi River. She can't forget that fateful Fourth of July when the levees broke or the decisions that still haunt her. Now, as the Mississippi rises again, a deep wound threatens to reopen, and Laura must decide if running away once more might be the best way to save herself.

Talk about a bad hair day. Louisiana beauty salon owner Charmaine LeDeux has a loan shark on her tail, and Raoul Lanier, the six-foot-three hunk of testosterone she thought she divorced, has just delivered a bombshell: They're still married! At least the rundown ranch they've inherited together is the perfect hideout. With the moon shining over the bayou, this Cajun cowboy must sweet-talk his way into his wife's arms again...before she unties the knot for good!

Kennedy Sinclair never dreamed she'd own a pie shop and an orchard in a small town like Destiny Bay. But nestled between the mountains and the Pacific Ocean, it's the perfect place to cross something off her "Life's short so eat the icing first" list and start her life over from scratch. Her shop, Sweetie Pies, is famous for its hot, flaky apple turnovers and sinfully delicious deep dish pie. For Kennedy though, nothing is more enticing than the tall, strapping slice of temptation who keeps coming back for more.

Five years. I would've stayed away longer if I hadn't received the letter. Not a day has gone by that I haven't thought about her, haven't missed her smile, haven't wished that things were different. The last time I saw my two best friends, I vowed to not stand in the way of their happiness, even if that meant I couldn't be a part of their lives. Cameron James and her emerald-green eyes were too much of a temptation and I couldn't stay and watch them together. Cameron deserved better than me. She deserved him. But now that I am back, things are different.

A total of 1,843 days. That's how long I survived in that hellhole. They tried to break me, but I resisted. I owe it all to the memory of warm summer nights, the scent of peaches, and the one woman who loved me more than I ever deserved to be loved. Now, I'll do anything to get back to her. Only Shelby Eubanks isn't the girl I left behind all those years ago. She's someone else, a stranger.

After witnessing the death of his younger brother in a terrible home accident, 14-year-old Kevin and his grieving mother are sent for the summer to live with Kevin's grandfather. In this peeled-paint coal town deep in Appalachia, Kevin quickly falls in with a half-wild hollow kid named Buzzy Fink who schools him in the mysteries and magnificence of the woods. The events of this fateful summer will affect the entire town of Medgar, Kentucky.

Gabby Langdon has always tried to make people happy. She even went to law school to please her father, and now, she's a highly successful - albeit bored - attorney. But Gabby secretly dreams of being a writer, so for once, she does something for herself - she signs up for a writing class taught by best-selling novelist Caden Marshall. There's only one problem: Her brooding, sexy professor is a distraction she can't afford if she's finally going to get the life she truly wants.

Tuesday Knight's dream of Broadway stardom has flopped, leaving her unemployed and brokenhearted. Ready to quit kissing frogs and make her own happily-ever-after, she takes a job as a princess in Everland, Georgia's historical amusement park. Mayor Beau Marino lives an unenchanted existence - all work, no play - which is fine by him. After his marriage ended in disaster, the last thing he wants in his life is more drama. But Everland's new free spirit has a talent for getting under his starched collar.

In this cozy Christmas story, learn whether Michael and Shay will get a second chance at love under the mistletoe.