When high school teacher Sara Hansen witnesses a drive-by shooting, the Detroit police advise her to leave town for awhile. She goes to her brother’s Sugar Island home off Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, but finds no refuge.

She’s dropped by a rifle shot as she enjoys a snowy morning stroll. Her brother and sister-in-law are out of town at the time.

Daniel Leeds, a former Detroit homicide detective who has resigned in disillusionment, hears the shot from his cabin on the next property and finds Sara bleeding in the snow. He takes her home and cares for her until help arrives. He follows the ambulance to the hospital where he keeps vigil.

An idealistic educator and a dispirited ex-law enforcement officer. Can he keep her safe while solving the mystery? Can she make him see she’s a grown woman and can take care of herself? Come to the snowy Upper Peninsula with us and watch it all unfold.

Jessie Bluefeather Holgrave is thrilled when her best friend Ellen gives birth to an adorable baby girl. She'd love to find a great man like Ellen's husband, Mike, and settle down but the past has taught her to be wary of men--especially men in uniform.

So when Mike arrives at the hospital with flowers and a new co-worker in tow, Jessie decides she's not interested. However, Marsh Abbott, a Texas Ranger, is blond and blue-eyed, and Jessie can almost picture him in the role of husband, in spite of her fears.

Marsh is immediately struck by the raven-haired beauty before him. He'd like to get to know her, but she doesn't seem interested. Yet he is both patient and persistent. Marsh wants to prove that he's worthy of her, even though he is a lawman.

When his job takes him away and into danger, Jessie is both surprised and frightened by the depth of her feelings. Will Marsh be able to prove himself to her before she closes him out forever?

Dawn Miller's youthful marriage couldn't withstand the tragedy of losing her toddler daughter to illness. Her husband sought solace elsewhere, forever destroying her dreams. Now Dawn is on her own, with a new job in a new town. Rooming with her younger sister, she's landed the position of assistant to Ivan the Terrible.

Matt Ivans is short-tempered and caustic. His sole focus is his job and the emotional females around him are a puzzle he doesn't care to solve. A former Army helicopter pilot, he harbors a secret sense of guilt for the death of a female crewmember in a crash landing. If only Sergeant Smith had been home with her children she would still be alive.

Dawn is determined to make it on her own. Matt believes women need to be protected. Though their opposing philosophies drive them in opposite directions, the chemistry between them draws them relentlessly closer.

Megan Stallings has hit the road to escape the heartbreak one man brought into her life, only to land in the arms of another.

Blue-eyed rancher Chad Winslow has a penchant for rescuing damsels in distress, especially spunky, independent ones with big brown eyes.

Megan's stranded by the roadside when Chad rides to the rescue. He's immediately smitten, but Megan has more important things to worry about. Chad takes her to his family's truck stop, where his parents welcome her like a long-lost daughter.

As the truck stop diner's newest waitress, Megan settles in nicely, only to find herself more attracted to her irrepressible savior with each passing day. Just as she's about to give in to her heart's urging, fate steps in with today's blue plate special--heartbreak topped with a heavy dollop of deceit. Chad is married!

Cheri's Bookshelf

Inspirational-anything by
• Carla Rossi
• Kathy Marie Hake

Classic Romance-anything by
• LaVyrle Spencer

Cozy Mystery
• Suzanne Hurley’s Chances and Shades of Envy
• Dorothy Bodoin’s A Time of Storms and Another Part of the Forest

Mystery/Suspense
• Teri Thackston’s To The Rescue and Deadly Climb
• Colleen Thompson’s Bone Lake and Deadlier Than the Male

Hot & Spicy
• PJ Mellor’s Pleasure Beach and Island Night
• Robin Badillo’s Journey of the Damned: Retribution