Rumors in Ross County

When Jennifer Smiley's grandmother, Ginny, leaves her an old farmhouse on Edgewater Road in seemingly quiet Ross County, Ohio, Jennifer can't pass up the opportunity for a new beginning. Almost immediately she meets a group of men, who generously help her move in. When she realizes that they work for Lincoln Bennett, her next-door neighbor, she's intrigued. Lincoln is gorgeous and has dark, lapis-blue eyes she could get lost in... but he doesn't seem all that friendly. She's torn between getting to know him and sticking with the solitude she knows so well. Maybe she could let down some of those walls she's built around her emotions? Lincoln Bennett likes to keep his head down and get his work done. He's been to prison and he knows that a lot of folks don't take kindly to a man with that kind of history. Plus, he's busy helping other ex-cons get back on their feet. But, when he meets Jennifer, he can't help but feel an instant attraction. Will she be able to look past his unsavory history? Will she be able to accept the men he's working so hard to help? While Jennifer gets to know Lincoln and his friends, she also begins to unravel her grandmother's story, putting together the pieces from scraps of memories and things she finds in her new home. She soon discovers that Ginny Smiley harbored some dark secrets on Edgewater Road, and that those secrets include both Lincoln and her own absent father. Is learning the truth worth the heartache it could bring? As the weeks pass and she and Lincoln become closer, Jennifer learns there is a lot to uncover in Ross County-wonderful friendships, darling towns... and more than one secret that might be better left buried.

There's a lot going on in Joy Howard's life. She's got an ex-husband who's suddenly thinking he doesn't want to be an ex anymore, a ten-year-old daughter in need of a guiding hand, orders for paintings that she doesn't have time to paint, and a roster of men and women she tutors who occasionally need far more than she can give. What she doesn't have is time for a new relationship. Samuel "Bo" Beauman is a lot of things. He's a volunteer firefighter, a good friend to many, a counselor for transitioning ex-cons, a part-time construction worker, and even an occasional model for a high-end sportswear catalog. What he isn't is a man in need of a girlfriend. That doesn't seem to matter, though. From the moment he heard Joy's kind voice in the middle of a coffee shop, Bo knew she was someone he needed to know better. Eventually, the two of them hit it off-much to the dismay of practically everyone they know. Bo could care less. He feels at peace whenever he visits Joy at her home on Sycamore Circle. When he's there, helping her cook, watching movies with her daughter, or desperately trying not to do anything more than kissing Joy goodnight, everything is perfect. Too perfect to let go of without a fight. When Joy starts getting mysterious texts and phone calls from unknown numbers, she goes on alert. When the danger escalates, she gets scared. When she gets hurt, Joy realizes that there are too many people in her life who could run havoc on it. A jealous ex-husband, a handful of men and women with little to lose, and a brand-new boyfriend who spent several years behind bars. When the police start running out of ideas, Joy realizes she needs to trust someone with both her heart and her daughter's safety. All she has to do is figure out who that someone might be, all while hoping and praying that she makes the right choice before she runs out of time.