Showing results by narrator "Scott R. Smith" in All Categories

We all tend to hold onto things that have happened in the past. It can feel like we are pulling a cart behind us with all are troubles and worries; it slows us down, and we can become tired, depressed, even jealous, as life seems so easy for others. All we need to do is let go of the cart, and we will feel lighter and free, but often we have held onto it so long that it has become part of us. Many of the people we know are also carrying carts, so it can seem normal.

For the past two months, Detective Reed Mattox and his K-9 partner Billie were in limbo. Victims of their own success, they were plucked from their posts on the graveyard shift at the Eighth Precinct and thrust into a newly created role working with the governor’s office when a young woman is shot down outside her front door. Immediately written off by some in the small town as nothing more than a tragic hunting accident; closer examination proves it to not just be a murder, but an execution.

My best friend roped me into baking for her stepson’s wedding. I had just moved into town and I couldn’t exactly turn that kind of money down. But getting drunk enough to sleep with that tall, dark blond wedding guest? That was all on me. I should have known he’d leave without a word or even a proper introduction. But that wasn’t the last I saw of him. Kiefer just turned out to be my brand-new neighbor.

When 45Buster was a child, his parents didn’t attend church. He wasn’t taught about the Bible. But God still revealed himself to 45Buster, personally speaking to him, performing miracles, and encouraging him to document their relationship. After thirty years, 45Buster finally surrendered his life completely to God’s love.

Detective Roese looked up, a strand of lank hair hanging across her face. Blood staining her bare hands and forearms, she kept her weight pitched forward, pressing down on the sucking chest wound, fighting desperately to prevent another tally on the list of recently deceased. “You can’t go out there. Best case, you never find him in the middle of all this. Worst, it’s a trap". Outcomes Reed had already considered and dismissed, his faith placed in the inky black K-9 partner by his side. “Even a ghost leaves a scent".

Jason Thorpe was content living a quiet life in New Orleans. He and his best friend, Ode, opened their cozy curios shop in the French Quarter, and he was making some new, albeit interesting, friends.... Then Jason met Varic Maedoc, the prince of the vampyrs, and his life changed forever. Named the prince’s consort, Jason quickly became the most important subject in the vampyr realm, the man who holds the wolf of Maedoc’s heart - a position that comes with certain obligations and no small amount of influence.

Rowan Headley tops the list of people I never wanted to see again. She shattered my best friend's heart, turning him into a shell of his former self. I hate her for what she did. But guess who my company's new hire is? Yep, the last person I expected - Rowan Headley. It's awkward, it's tense, but we have to put up with each other. Except the longer I'm around her, the less I feel like avoiding her.

Roughly a month after going head-to-head with the copycat killer who had singled Detective Reed Mattox and his K-9 partner Billie out in an attempt to capitalize on their recent success, the duo is still reeling. Faced with uncertainty over where they are and what they are doing for the first time since partnering together years before, they retreat home to Oklahoma for the holidays to regroup.

When Reed Mattox and his K-9 partner, Billie, received a direct summons to the personal residence of Governor Thomas Cowan, he assumed it was another escalation over the particulars of their new position as liaisons between the Columbus Police Department and the state Bureau of Criminal Investigations.

For much of the last year, the liaison position thrust on Detective Reed Mattox and his K-9 partner Billie, forcing them to split time between the Columbus Police Department and the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation, saw them doing an increasing amount of work for the latter. Cases handpicked by the governor with the hope of currying goodwill on his own behalf, sending them to nearly every corner of the state.

In his third book, Your Soul’s Love, author Robert Schwartz explores the pre-birth planning of challenges related to romantic relationships or their absence: infidelity, impotence, raising children alone after the death of one’s partner, being single, and celibate relationships.

Eighteen months ago, Detective Reed Mattox didn’t just lose his partner, the woman he met on his first day at the police academy and worked with for the entirety of his career thereafter. He lost his confidante. His sounding board. His support system. His best friend. Victim to a senseless shooting during a routine traffic stop, the details of that night are still as elusive to Reed as they were more than a year before.

Alone on the couch one night, Reed and his partner are both summoned to the hospital to find two of their colleagues have been viciously attacked, left for dead on the side of the road with very little evidence to go on. With emotions high and the entire department vowing revenge, Captain Grimes assigns the case to Reed and Billie, offering them any resources available in finding the culprit. What at first seemed just an isolated incident soon begins to spiral as more bodies are found.

I planned a daddy-daughter getaway in our family cabin. The last thing I expected was to run into Juniper—my brother's best friend. The smart thing would have been to go our separate ways, but Mother Nature had other plans. Thanks to some crazy weather we are stuck together for the foreseeable future. I’ve known Juniper for years, and I’ve never seen her more than my brother's best friend…until now.

Ash is a walking red flag. He is domineering and always in a bad mood. Tragically widowed, yet still in love with his long-dead wife, a single dad to three mini versions of himself, and much too old for me. But I’ve wanted him since I was 16. Seeing him again more than a decade later, all those old feelings just rush back in. Every time when I look up into his deep green eyes, dark scruffy beard, and kissable dimples, all I want is to fall into his arms and never leave. Too much wine and one bed-rocking night later, everything changed.

Let's face it, the world these days can be very difficult to handle sometimes, especially if it starts to control you. This can get you down, leaving you stressed, worried, and anxious. But when you take back control, you will find positive things start to happen. You will feel your confidence and optimism returning - the real "you" starts to reappear - and you can enjoy life to the full again.

Would you like to understand the deeper spiritual meaning of miscarriage, abortion, caregiving, abusive relationships, sexuality, adoption, poverty, suicide, rape, and mental illness? In his groundbreaking first book, Your Soul's Plan: Discovering the Real Meaning of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born, Robert Schwartz brought the idea of pre-birth planning into the mainstream. Now, his brilliant sequel Your Soul's Gift delves even deeper by exploring these subjects and others, such as spiritual awakening and even the pre-birth planning we do with our future pets.

Fixer. Bodyguard. Advocate. Brann Calder is expected to play all these roles and more as a member of Torus Intercession, a security firm guaranteed to right what’s wrong. In the military, catastrophe was his specialty. Five months out of the service, Brann is still finding his way, so a new assignment might be just what he needs. Unless it includes two things sure to make a seasoned, battle-trained veteran nervous: life in a small town, and playing caregiver to two little girls.

It’s been decades since blackmail forced Troy Callahan to retire from playing professional hockey, and he’s built a successful career behind the bench. When he’s offered the opportunity to coach the Asheville Ravens—the most hated team in the ECHL—he’s convinced that his no-nonsense attitude is just what the team needs to put their focus back on hockey. But Troy is disheartened when he finds that the Ravens have signed Shane North, a player known for his aggression. And it only gets worse when Shane’s rough good looks give Troy inappropriate thoughts about a member of his team, even if Shane’s set to retire at the end of the season. Shane’s career in the majors never quite took off. Wanting to quit on his own terms, Shane agrees to a one-year contract with the Ravens and finds himself playing for a coach who thinks he’s an aging goon and with a team that doesn’t trust him, the coach, or each other. Despite his determination to not get involved, Shane unwillingly becomes part of the team… and is just as unwillingly drawn to the gruff out-and-proud coach. As the Ravens struggle to build a new identity, Shane and Troy succumb to the passion that might cost them everything.

Drafted to play for the Jacksonville Sea Storm, an NHL affiliate, 20-year-old Lane Courtnall's future looks bright, apart from the awkwardness he feels as a gay man playing on a minor league hockey team. He's put his foot in his mouth a few times and alienated his teammates. Then, during a rivalry game, Lane throws off his gloves against Jared Shore, enforcer for the Savannah Renegades. It's a strange way to begin a relationship.