Showing results by author "Tess Thompson" in All Categories

Breck Stokes is back where he belongs. After years at university, he’s returned to Emerson Pass and taken over his mother’s veterinarian practice. He loves the small ski community, spending time with his buddies and healing big and small animals. The moment he meets lovely but reserved Tiffany Birt, he’s drawn to her in ways he can’t explain. Can he break through her walls to win her heart?

Two years after her husband’s death on a ski trip, Crystal Whalen is devastated when a fire destroys her quiet Colorado mountain home. And when she can’t keep her hands off the gorgeous divorcé who’s become her new temporary housemate, it only feeds her grief and growing guilt. Garth Welte won’t be burned again. After his ex-wife took most of his money, the downhill-skiing Olympic medalist is determined to keep things casual with the sexy woman he can’t resist. But the more time they spend with each other, the harder it is to deny his burgeoning feelings.

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.

The year 1904. Twelve-year-old Luci Quick never forgot the boy who saved her life that fateful Christmas Eve. But when he disappeared without a word after bringing her food, she was forced to focus on raising her baby sister when her mother suddenly died. Now six years later and struggling to make ends meet with an alcoholic and gambling-addicted father, the poverty-stricken woman can’t believe her hero has returned...and he’s all grown up. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

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?

Genevieve Banks is one of Hollywood’s most successful actresses. While on set in the small Oregon town of River Valley, she forms a deep friendship with her handsome male co-star. He wants more, but trauma deep in Genevieve’s past holds her back. When her closely guarded secret is revealed, Genevieve must make a painful choice: stay silent and let others suffer at the hand of the man who victimized her or confront the violence in her past and hold her abuser accountable.

After four years at a university, Delphia Barnes returns home to Emerson Pass as America prepares to join the war. Determined to resist a conventional life of marriage and children, she fights her attraction to her old pal Jack Depaul. However, her heart won’t listen to reason and falls in love anyway.

Fiona Barnes has a secret. One so big she's afraid it will destroy everything she holds dear. Not even her beloved music can save her. Li Wu has fought prejudice his entire life. But he's always felt safe and protected within the fierce love of the Barnes family. If only the object of his desire were free to be his, all would be well. Will he risk everything to be with the one he loves or will societal pressures keep them apart?

Englishman James West came to Colorado with his best friend before following his dreams to New York City as a book editor. He's content with his new life, if not a little lonely. All that changes when he receives a letter from his father. His family is in dire financial trouble and they need his help. The solution? Marry a woman he hardly knows so that he might save his mother and father, as well as his little sister, from ruin. He sets out to Colorado for his trip to see the Barnes family with a heavy heart, knowing it could be his last. Then, something very unexpected changes everything.

Her love died on a battlefield. He carries a torch for a woman he’s never met. Can the tragic death of a soldier entwine the souls of two strangers? Colorado, 1920. Josephine Barnes wrote every day to her beloved fiancé battling in the trenches of the Great War. Devastated when he’s killed...

Colorado, 1924. Louisa Lind is a dutiful daughter to her adoptive parents. After the boy she loves marries someone else, she vows to assist her father and mother with church work and forget all about marriage. But when tragedy strikes, the suddenly penniless young woman reluctantly accepts a marriage proposal… from her dream man’s twin brother.

Flynn Barnes and his wife Shannon have had an idyllic marriage. Until she discovers the dangerous secret he kept from her. One that threatens to ruin their marriage and the stability of a happy home for their two little girls. When his siblings suggest a way to gain back Shannon's love and trust, they embark on a seven-day journey to do so. Can Flynn win back her love before it's too late?

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…

Cymbeline Barnes declared Viktor Olofsson her arch-enemy when they were children. When he saved her beloved sister, she started to see him as a hero instead. Still, she can't let go of the idea that her destiny is waiting somewhere else in the world. Viktor Olofsson has cared for Cymbeline his whole life. However, when she continues to rebuff him, he allows himself to entertain the idea of newcomer Emma. Will Cymbeline come to terms with her life and wake up to the idea of love before it's too late?

1921 Estelle Cast out and alone, I lost everything weeks before my weddingmy betrothed, my family, my future. With nowhere to turn, I accept the help of a compassionate stranger, not knowing it may lead me towards a path I swore never to tread. Percival After my wife succumbed to a psychotic...

I didn’t mean to kill my husband. All I wanted was to escape his abuse and start a new life with my daughter as far away from him as possible. But in one life-altering second, I had to decide—run or stay and face his family and a possible murder conviction. I ran. What else could I do? I’m all my daughter has in this world. I’ll do anything to make sure she’s safe.