Family of Love

A lonely widow . . . a hopeless drifter . . . and happily ever after? Now that Marie has become used to her lonely life of helping transients through their worst times, she can forget about the intense sadness that plagues every waking moment-until she meets a drifter who changes everything. A man with nothing to offer, a horrible injury, and a nearly unquenchable thirst . . . and nothing to lose. Jake Collins once had everything a man could ever want, a nice home, clothes, and a wife who loved him, until he threw it all away like a bad poker hand. In fact, the cards and drink are what he blames most for his downfall in life, though he knows deep down that it is his own inability to control either that cost him his happiness. When she comes across a weary, beaten and battered drifter right in front of a church, Marie knows that another chance for grace and mercy has come her way. She has a chance to help yet another stranger, though there's just something different about the handsome Jake that she can't explain . . . even when his constant lies and truth-hiding threaten to ruin the reputation she's achieved in the small yet bustling town of Wickenburg. Once the rakish ruffian has been nursed back to health, it is time for him to start paying his dues or move on, but can Marie handle the idea of being alone again? Or will the self-depreciating gambler with the insatiable thirst for alcohol finally have met his Queen of Hearts?

Just when Sarah Engels thinks things can't get any worse when her abusive husband threatens to take her life on almost a daily basis-she finds out that she's pregnant with his child. A child he obviously doesn't want and will stop at nothing to rid himself of . . . including the unthinkable. Mike Collins has failed once to protect a wife, and it cost him the life he'd always dreamed of having. Without a wife or the children he's always wanted, he becomes a hermit deep in the woods and lives every day with only his dog for company. When he stumbles upon a nearly dead beauty, he knows that his time for redemption has finally come, but he has no idea just how much he's in for when it comes to rescuing her . . . and her unborn child. He must keep her safe at all costs, knowing that her insane, murderous husband could be lurking around any corner.

When his wife suddenly drops dead during a family picnic, Adam Collins doesn't think things could possibly get any worse. That is until they do. Family pressure begins to mount for Adam to find a new wife, far sooner than he would like, but he does need help with his young children. Alice Wesley just lost her sister. Her brother Nathan has lost his mind with grief. She will stop at nothing to protect her sister's children, even from her own brother. Now the unthinkable has happened, and it's up to Alice to find a way of escape, not only for herself but for the innocent children thrust into her care. She has two options: Hope for a rescue that seems impossible, or outthink the madmen who have taken her hostage.