TERESA THOMPSON

Army veteran Sheriff Megan Holloway has a lot on her mind: a dog with a belly full of smuggled diamonds, a terrified woman hiding at the Bailey’s Boarding House, and a mafioso who is likely connected to both. What's that city crook doing in her town, anyway? She saw Aaron, the man in her life, flirting with another woman. Add to that, she relived her personal nightmare of the war in Afghanistan, again. Calling in the proper government agencies, Megan manipulates them, keeping control of the investigation in the background. Fortunately, she has an ace-in-the-hole the Feds don't.

Signs of Life is book three in The Riverwood Series; it's Asha Hamilton's story. She's on the U.S Olympic Three-Day-Eventing team and it's five days before the opening ceremonies at the summer games in Atlanta. That's the worst day of her life, as she learns how bitterly she's been betrayed by the two people she loved and trusted most. The American team fails to medal and Asha finds herself in Vermont, ostracized and alone, struggling to re-build her life.

When venture capitalist Luc Deschaines' daughter, Stephanie, is accepted by his Ivy League alma mater, the proud father arranges for her to spend her summer before college on the Round Top Ranch, one of his Texas investments. Where better for her to enjoy a few months of riding, swimming in the creek, and improving her Spanish language skills? Luc has no qualms about leaving her in the care of the ranch's manager and his large, close-knit family. Stephanie spends long days in the saddle on Elena Sauseda's breathtaking blue roan mare.

Riverwood is thriving, but Ronnie Deschaines senses impending changes in her orderly world, as the next generation comes of age. Ronnie's husband, venture capitalist Luc Deschaines, buys a building on the Riverwalk in San Antonio when his daughter, Stephanie, approaches him with a business proposal that will have far-reaching effects on all their lives.

Ronnie Chandler's past - especially the identity of her ex-husband - is a secret, held close and shared with only a trusted few. Planning never to see him again, she’d moved halfway across the country and found a job in a profession where he'd never in a million years look for her. Ready for a bigger challenge than selling small cabins, Ronnie and her colleagues at Horse Country Real Estate attract The Westlake Group, venture capitalists from Virginia, to underwrite the creation of Riverwood, a planned equestrian community. Senator Evan Parker is in Tennessee on a fact-finding trip.