Showing results by author "Jessie Gussman" in All Categories

When Lavender met billionaire hunk Thaddaeus Hart five years ago, she thought he was a jerk who needed a major attitude adjustment. She would be absolutely fine to never see him again. She’s perfectly happy working in Sweet Water at her family’s auction barn and taking care of an elderly lady who’s keeping her daughter’s two small children. She never even thinks of Thad anymore. Hardly ever.

In the friendly town of Sweet Water, North Dakota, Ellen and Travis's friendship flourished, firmly rooted in shared laughter and dreams. As Travis returned to Sweet View Ranch, his purchase of Ellen at auction seemed to shatter the boundaries they had once embraced. Stirred by newfound emotions, Ellen grappled with conflicting feelings when Travis asked her to assist him in finding a wife.

When Smith Long strides into his new hometown, he doesn't expect to get bowled over by a woman chasing her cow whom she claims has fallen in love with a pig. Doesn't every small town have that one crazy person?

When Matt Landry sees a woman with two little girls and a broken down car, of course he stops to help. When he finds out she needs a job and a place to stay, he hires her because he knows his mother will take her under her wing. What he doesn't expect is to start falling for her himself. Reeling from her divorce and the death of her mother, Jubilee Jones is trying to hold herself together and make a life for her girls. With no other options, she seeks refuge and a fresh start in the nostalgic embrace of Strawberry Sands.

He's a billionaire that's supposed to be dead. She's the woman who chose his best friend over him. They've forged a strong online friendship over two decades as she's raised her eight kids alone, and he kept the promise he made to her husband.

After losing his country music superstar sister in a plane crash, Jones Dunn brings his niece to Sweet Water so they could stay where no one will recognize or bother them. He doesn't intend to stay in town long, but a marriage proposal from an unlikely source makes him think that maybe his plans should change.

After 15 years of her husband never having time for her, Lindy Coats moves with her teenaged daughter to their summer cottage on the shores of Lake Michigan outside the town of Blueberry Beach. With a lonely single dad on one side of her, a crochety old business owner on the other, and a young mother with terrible secrets and a son fighting leukemia across the road, it doesn’t take Lindy long to discover that learning to enjoy life is less about what she chooses to do for herself and more about what she chooses to do for others.

Rancher Cordell Stryker just wants to settle down on his ranch, and he’s convinced the twin sister of his best friend to tie the knot with him. But as the wedding day approaches, he finds himself drawn more to her sister. That just can’t be, because she’s his best friend.

After being fired from her waitressing job and coming face-to-face with her ex, Rose Baldwin lets a little lie escape. She forgot there is no such thing as a “little” lie. Knowing she has to go and confess that she lied, she allows herself to be talked into playing The Piece Maker’s Dating Game and somehow ends up “fake dating” her partner. Derek Fields is a rancher intent on buying his grandparents' farm. His wife left him, and he’s ready to come home and settle down.

Palmer wouldn't trade his family's land for the world. But the only way to save the ranch from financial disaster and claim his billion-dollar inheritance is to find himself a wife. His happily-ever-after would be complete if he could just hitch his wagon to the woman who sees him only as her best friend.

Lark Stryker, a compassionate veterinarian with a heart full of hope, can't forget the man who broke her teenage heart. She has built a fulfilling life centered around caring for others. But beneath her selfless exterior lies a lingering longing for the man who shattered her heart years ago. As she tends to her animal patients and nurtures the teenage girls in her shelter, Lark wonders if God has a greater love in store for her.

Gage has been happy in Blueberry Beach, living above the store on the Main Street, working from home, and raising his two girls. Alone. The tightknit community supports each other and his daughters enjoy working in the ice cream shop and playing in the beach band. When Zariah and her teenage niece, Macie, move in across the street, opening a clothing boutique, Gage's attraction to her is immediate. Their relationship seems too good to be true. Or maybe it’s Macie that’s too good to be true.

Braxton Emmerson was born and bred in the heartland. He loves his farm and his family, but he was willing to give it all up for the woman who stole his heart. But she didn’t want to give up her career and insisted on keeping their romance a secret. But then her business partner doubled crossed her, and she ended up with a prison sentence for tax evasion. Now she’s out and she’s much wiser.

On the day Deacon Hudson was set to be ordained, a bundle shows up at the church with a simple note on it. Deacon Hudson is the father. Take care of her. Deacon knows he’s not the father. The Immaculate Conception was a one time thing. But the baby needs a parent, and he has to decide if he will give up his life dream of being a pastor to take the child, despite the fact that the note is a lie. Can he do it without resenting the child?

A place of comfort. A place of rest and peace. A place where divorcee and single mom, Kim Tinsley, can go to try to make a new life for herself, raising her baby while praying for her older child who has left the faith of her childhood and is questioning everything she’d ever taught her.

Ivory Haines is the daughter of the town’s resident retired prostitute and possibly the town drunk, although her mother wasn’t entirely certain. She resents her position in the town – and especially resents the teasing she’d been subjected to – and has vowed to show everyone that she is just as good as they are. She can hardly believe her luck when Chandler Hudson donates a month of his time to the highest bidder at the charity auction to benefit local victims of the recent tornado damage.

After losing her husband in the line of duty, Annie Brooks moves in with her mother in Sweet Water, North Dakota with her two small children to try to put the pieces of her life back together.

As they agreed on the night of their high school graduation, Leiklyn and her two friends, Tiffany and Willen, meet on the porch of the Manor at Blueberry Beach on April Fool’s day, 18 years after being given their diplomas. Life hadn’t turned out as expected for any of them. A single mother for 15 years, Leiklyn recently lost her job and her unemployment is running out. Could the manor she and her friends bought for one dollar be the change she needs to move forward in her life? Or will it just complicate things when she finds out the explosive secret her daughter is hiding?

I thought it would be a good idea to buy a dog…. I ended up with an ATV I have no idea how to drive. I’m not sure how this happened, especially since the man I purchased it from, Justin Gabriel, introduced himself by running his remote-controlled monster pickup into my high heeled shoe. I’m serious, studious, and a high school English teacher at Good Grief High. Needless to say, Justin Gabriel is not my type.

Vera Miller, a talented garden designer, comes to Raspberry Ridge with a heavy heart, planning a garden in memory of her son. Dominic, her estranged husband, joins her to help. Working together, they reminisce about their youth spent by Lake Michigan's shores.