Showing results by narrator "Becky Doughty" in All Categories

This short story is the perfect introduction to best-selling author Virginia Smith's latest series, Tales from the Goose Creek B&B. Set in the years before the Richardsons launch their bed and breakfast scheme, the quirky residents of the small Kentucky town are all in a tizzy over the upcoming Fall Festival. Alison, Al and Millie's headstrong daughter, astounds everyone with the news that she's getting married - in three weeks - to a Colombian!

Tess Spencer hadn't planned on returning to her hometown, but when her ex-prisoner mom puts in a special request, Tess overcomes her hesitance to help her turn over a new leaf. Pearletta Vee's drug-dealing past is resurrected when the body of an overdosed teen shows up - right next to her trailer. Tess decides to stick around and investigate, yet the evidence is stacked against Pearletta. Tess suspects a setup - but why? Never one to back down from a challenge, Tess takes on a wayward teen, an abusive grandma, and more than one drug dealer in her quest for the truth.

Liz Nemesek's first visit home in forever is tough enough before Mason Waterman shows up. Despite her best efforts, she's never forgotten - or forgiven - him for the hurt he once caused. Former bad boy Mason Waterman has returned to northern Idaho to raise his five-year-old twins. The kids are determined to find a new mommy, but Liz is the last person they should latch onto...and the last person he should find himself falling for. Again.

Renata Gustafson Dixon has it all. Just ask her; she'll tell you. Until the day one of her sisters dredges up a name from the past and starts a chain of events that will rock the foundation of all their lives. Suddenly, the world Renata has worked so hard to build begins to resemble nothing more than a house of cards, and she no longer knows who she can trust. Certainly not her sisters, and apparently not her husband, either. Maybe not even herself. When tragedy rips the last vestiges of control out of her hands, will Renata set aside her wounded pride and lean on those who love her?

Darren Buttars is cool, collected, and quiet—and utterly devastated when his girlfriend of nine months, Farrah Irvine, breaks up with him because he wanted her to ride her horse in a parade. But Farrah doesn't ride anymore, a fact she made very clear to Darren. When they run into each other again in small-town Island Park, the spark between them is as hot as ever. But they can't seem to agree on anything and end up arguing as much as they kiss. Darren's the only Buttars brother who isn't married, and he wants to make Island Park his permanent home—with Farrah.

Cowboys looking for a second chance at life, love, and happiness. Ted Burrows is ready to start his life over again, even if he has to go to a work-parole ranch to get out from behind the walls that have caged him for the past 30 months. He's got a contact at Hope Eternal Ranch, and the day he gets word that he'll be released into the Residential Reentry Program and serve out the rest of his sentence under the open sky of the ranch is the best day of his life so far. But when he meets Emma Clemson, he's completely thrown off his game.

Cowboy Elliott Hawthorne has just lost his best friend and cabin mate to the worst thing imaginable—marriage. Elliott would be happy for his friend if he weren’t quite so jealous. When his brother calls about an accident with their father, Elliott rushes down to Gold Valley from the ranch only to be met with the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. His father’s new physical therapist, Holland Marsh, likes the handsome face and gentle spirit she sees in Elliott too. The spark between them is instant and Elliott’s grateful he’s finally found someone he can connect to.

Commander Brett Murphy left his family’s construction firm in Oklahoma City for a life of hard work at Three Rivers Ranch. Alone, without a wife and kids, Brett needs the camaraderie he enjoyed while serving overseas with his Army buddies, Squire Ackerman and Peter Marshall. What Brett doesn’t need is the reappearance of his ex-wife. They strike a deal: She’ll stay at Three Rivers for the summer so Brett can have the opportunity to get to know his son. How far will they have to go, and how much will they have to forgive in order to become a family?

Excitement is in the air in Goose Creek, Kentucky, as the small town prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary and the veterinarian's upcoming wedding. But trouble is brewing in this provincial paradise. Al Richardson agreed to open a B&B with his wife after his retirement in two years, but Millie secretly invites some guests to stay for the wedding. She plans to be the most gracious Southern hostess - until a tumble down the stairs leaves her unprepared for their quirky and cantankerous first guest.

A successful walrus hunt means Anna and her beloved Kinauquak will soon be joined in marriage. But before they can seal their promise to one another, a tsunami wipes their village from the rugged shore ... everyone except Anna and her little sister, Iya, who are left alone to face the Alaskan wilderness. A stranger, a Civil War veteran with golden hair and blue eyes, wanders the untamed Aleutian Islands. He offers help, but can Anna trust him or his God? And if she doesn't, how will she and Iya survive?

“Please give us a call as soon as you get home. The doctor would like to see you and Luke to discuss the results of your blood test,” the receptionist said. A knot formed in Madison’s gut. She hadn’t had a baby before, but her nurse’s training took over as she began to contemplate everything that could possibly go wrong. It seemed like a red flag that the doctor wanted to see both of them. What Madison and Luke are about to learn will break their hearts and lead them on a journey no parents want to take. Will their faith carry them through this devastating time?

Phoebe has been running wild for most of her life. A gifted and passionate artist, she portrays life the way she sees it, but her jaded perspective is borne out of disillusionment, betrayal, and heartbreaking loss. Rather than face the past and deal with all the reasons she keeps running, Phoebe charges full throttle into the future, never investing in anything—or anyone—for longer than it takes to finish a job. When Trevor, a charming, talented musician, causes a roadblock she can't find a way around, Phoebe's fast-paced life comes to a screeching halt.

Widow Anna Brown is content with her quiet ranching life. A single mother to two, she has things under control, except for the kitchen remodel that wasn't. When her former builder absconds with her deposit and leaves the job undone, she's desperate to have her kitchen back - but has no way to pay for renovations all over again. Then contractor Kelly Matthews reappears in her life with an offer to complete the kitchen. In lieu of payment he wants only one thing: for her to listen to his apology.

Rachel never expected to be caught up in another murder investigation, especially at a wreath-making party. But when a member of the Four Santas, a Juniper Grove caroling group, dies at the party, minutes after telling her he fears for his niece’s safety, she is determined to act. Eager to hunt down the truth, Rachel throws herself into solving the case, despite her blossoming romance with the town’s police chief. Convinced a killer is targeting the carolers, she must act quickly to get to the bottom of the mystery.

She could handle the nightmares. Not the terrifying visitation. Summoned by her father to Elk Park, Colorado, Melinda Maxwell hopes to finally learn why he cut off all contact with his family and became a "monster", as Melinda calls him. Four days into her stay, and frustrated by his silence, she hires genealogist Anna Denning to locate her long-lost grandparents. Already immersed in trying to locate the family of a murdered man for the Elk Park Police, Anna agrees to the challenge.

Blaine Donovan has a secret, but so far his plan to keep the rest of the world in the dark about who he really is and what's really going on in his life has worked. If he can just finish school before the demons catch up with him, he knows he can make life make sense once again. However, when he runs into Melody Todd, a semi-friend he had thought was long-gone, life takes a turn Blaine wasn't at all expecting.

Eight years ago, Sydney Patterson’s ex-husband used threats and fear to coerce her teenage daughter into the unthinkable. Haunted by guilt and condemned by her in-laws, she flees to Garfield Oklahoma to build a new life. Now, with a new job, new friends, and a new commitment to Christ, Syd is rebuilding, confident that no one ever needs to know a thing about her humiliating and shameful past.

Charlene Hubbard wanted the dream - a loving husband, a fulfilling career, and a few kids. When it looked like she’d have to settle for two out of three, God dropped a child into her empty arms. For 15 years Charley kept the secret of that adoption close. Kinsley Hubbard has lived her whole life under the shadow of a secret. The shadow dissipated in the harsh light of truth the day she opened an Instagram message from a new friend. "You’re adopted. Ask your mother about her old college friend". What are you supposed to do once you find out your whole life has been a lie?

A ship bearing the souls of sinful sailors drifts upon a ghostly sea. An abbey looms as the final defense between mortals and ghouls of the underworld. In the stillness of a throne room, statues stand forever frozen in a moment of terror. Monsters and men stalk their prey deep in the jungle's shadows. A rose blooms in the dead of winter, sheltered in the ruins of an ancient Scottish castle.

Scottish widower Ian MacLean is plagued by a mischievous grannie, bitter regrets, and an ache for something he'll never have again. His only hope for freedom is to bring his grannie's sister home from America. But first, he'll have to convince her young companion, Emily Chapman, to let the woman go. Emily devotes herself to foster youth and her beloved Aunt Grace. Caring for others quiets a secret fear she holds close to her heart. But when Ian appears, wanting to whisk Grace off to Scotland, everything Emily holds dear is at risk.