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Secrets Ate At His Soul…And Derek Fontaine wanted only to escape them. Now a legacy from the father he'd never known had brought him to a ramshackle ranch in Texas–and introduced him to Amber Laughton, who possessed a loving spirit that acted as a soothing balm on his wounded soul.Cast out by a society with its own secrets to safeguard, Amber knew nothing of trust, let alone how to trust a man who didn't see her for the woman she truly was. But with her future resting in his protective hands, Derek awakened an all-consuming passion in her. And made Amber determined to claim the love she'd been denied for so long….

RAKE’S MISTRESS…OR WIFE?Against all advice, Juliet Lockwood is intent on working in the household of Lord Dominic Lansdowne – notorious society rake. Rumour has it a different woman warms his bed each night. But that is of no concern to prim, proper Miss Lockwood!Dominic Lansdowne may have a hardened heart, but contrary to popular belief he’s always been a man of principle – doe-eyed innocents are not for him. But this new addition to his staff is pure forbidden temptation… Honour binds him from seduction…unless, of course, he makes her his wife!

Indulge your fantasies of delicious Regency Rakes, fierce Viking warriors and rugged Highlanders. Be swept away into a world of intense passion, lavish settings and romance that burns brightly through the centuriesSecond chances are rare in Annie MacAllister's life, and the sudden opportunity to pose as a respectable schoolteacher is too good to pass up.Annie plans to stay in the friendly Texas town of Trail's End just long enough to earn money for a new start. But she never dreams that in helping herself, she would help her students–and the one man who could uncover her truth. . .As Trail's End's most righteous citizen, John Sullivan thinks that believing in God is only about right and wrong. But he's challenged by the new schoolteacher's unconventional methods–and her unexpected past. Now, he and Annie will need some divine forgiveness to reignite their faith. . . and find a future together.

Kidnapped!The word tore at Rebecca's heart. Her child was gone. And standing before her was Luke Scanlin, U.S. Marshal, the only man who could save her son. But how could she trust him again when she knew that Luke held the power to ruin her life forever?Luke had thought no woman could ever hold him, yet the memory of Rebecca had haunted him for years. He had passed up their chance at happiness once before. But this time he wasn't going to let her out of his sight until she realized that she belonged with him – forever… .

A LADY WITH A SECRET SORROWReeling from heartbreak, Lady Laura Campion has transformed herself into the infamous Scandal’s Virgin of high society – flirtatious, alluring and utterly shocking – and yet she has always stopped short of absolute ruin. But now she has new hope. The daughter she thought lost is alive, and under the guardianship of the powerful Avery Falconer, Earl of Wykeham.Going into battle against Lord Wykeham might be her only option to win little Alice back, but she doesn’t expect the irresistible attraction that simmers between her and the formidable Earl. Laura finally has a chance at happiness – but can she persuade Avery to forgive her past?

Indulge your fantasies of delicious Regency Rakes, fierce Viking warriors and rugged Highlanders. Be swept away into a world of intense passion, lavish settings and romance that burns brightly through the centuriesWho is the father of her child? Lady Wexin, once the Ton’s foremost beauty, has been abandoned by her family and friends, and creditors hound her. Her husband’s scandalous death has left her impoverished, and the gossip-mongering press is whipped into a frenzy of speculation when it becomes clear the widow is with child.Who is the father? Only one man knows: Adrian Pomroy, Viscount Cavanley. He has cultivated the reputation of a rake, but in truth yearns for something useful to do. Delicate beauty Lydia Wexin could pose an intriguing – and stimulating – challenge…

Indulge your fantasies of delicious Regency Rakes, fierce Viking warriors and rugged Highlanders. Be swept away into a world of intense passion, lavish settings and romance that burns brightly through the centuriesValerie Hansen's basic nature is to see the humorous side of life and enjoy every day to the fullest.She's always loved stories about people who have successfully met life's challenges and gone on to find happiness, so writing joyful love stories is a perfect outlet for her. Her personal life sounds a lot like a romance novel. She married her high school sweetheart and they raised two great kids before leaving California to pursue their dreams of a rural lifestyle in the Arkansas Ozarks.That relocation has also given her work a new, more spiritual focus than ever before. Valerie had gone to Sunday school as a child and attended church off and on as an adult, but didn't really understand what was missing in her spiritual life until daily problems drove her to seek answers from a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. What a surprise! And what a difference in outlook. In the years that followed, she was continually amazed at the extraordinary opportunities that came her way. She still is.Valerie has always loved to write. That, and the strong conviction that this is what she was meant to do, led her to Steeple Hill and the Love Inspired series. Besides extensive research, she has plenty of interesting experiences to draw upon when creating stories: She's been a veterinary assistant, teacher's aide, volunteer fire department dispatcher, Emergency Medical Technician, bank worker, professional artist, store clerk, bookkeeper, 4-H leader, Sunday school teacher, gospel singer/songwriter, winning quiz show contestant, dog trainer, college extension-class instructor, and antique restorer. She's built dulcimers and a psaltery, laid bricks and tile, designed stained-glass windows, roofed a house, decorated store windows for the holidays, helped pour cement, raised fancy guinea pigs and finches, driven a long-haul moving van, and was once the proud owner of 23 Newfoundland dogs at one time. Her advice? Don't try that at home!Valerie and her husband now live on an 80-acre farm in northern Arkansas. She loves to hike the rocky, wooded hills behind the picturesque old house they renovated, watch for the wildlife so abundant in the area and think up new ideas for her books. She's always been a dreamer, a romantic who invented happier endings for books and movies that didn't already end on a lighthearted note. She was an adult before she realized that everybody didn't automatically do the same thing!Valerie Hansen can be reached at: P. O. Box 13, Glencoe, AR 72539-0013. Or via e-mail at: val@valeriehansen. com.

WANTED: A HUSBAND BEFORE THE DAY IS OUT. MUST HAVE A WICKED STREAK AND THE FASTEST TRIGGER IN THE WEST! Sitting in the finest second-hand wedding dress she can find, Emma Parker watches the clock tick down. She needs the most willing cowboy in town to become her husband before the sun sets – or she’ll lose her first ever real home.Then Matthew ‘Singing Trigger’ Suede saunters in, and his cover as the Robin Hood of the West is almost blown as he escapes from a bank. So Emma offers the renegade an alibi to save him from the noose…if only he’ll escort her down the aisle – immediately!

TO REFUSE HIM ONCE WAS A MISTAKE – TO REFUSE HIM TWICE WOULD BE MADNESS! Viscount Rothersthorpe can’t tear his eyes from Lydia Morgan any more than he can calm the raging fury coursing through his veins. Is there no end to the irony?Come to town to find a wife, only to be taunted by the past? Furtive glances across the ballroom are not helping to ease Lydia’s state of shock – the man who once uttered a marriage proposal as one might remark upon the weather has returned.But when he stuns her with a second, outrageous but now wickedly delicious proposal, it is clear that despite the rumours the rake from her past has not reformed!

A Scandalous ArrangementAmerican merchant John Raven had stolen the toast of the London season out from under ton's very nose! He had offered the lovely Lady Catherine Montfort freedom in exchange for marriage and she'd accepted – despite her father's assertion he'd rather see the interloping colonial dead than wed to his daughter!Catherine had expected nothing from Raven, but her enigmatic and seductive husband-in-name-only made her wish for a real wedding night. He'd married her for convenience's sake, but she feared he'd gotten more than he'd bargained for – had she, by accepting his hand, put Raven in grave danger?

The Rake's ReformCassia Penny runs a fashionable gaming house in Regency London. Her inspired style has always set the fashion…which is just the sort of talent Richard Blackley needs.Blackley is a self-made millionaire, determined to establish himself as a proper London gentleman. When Cassia loses a wager, he collects by demanding her services to refurbish his decrepit estate–but finds her beauty the most gracious adornment his home could have.Now, as she transforms the old house, she transforms Richard, as well. The unlikely pair are drawn together–until an old secret from Richard's past reappears. Will it tear them apart…or unite them forever?

REFORMING A RAKE…Desperate to support her widowed mother, Marina Beaumont had agreed to become a companion to a dowager countess and found herself in an impossible situation. She had never anticipated the position would force her to deal with Kit Stratton–a renowned rake who would stop at nothing to get the revenge he sought…even if it cost Marina all that she held most dear.For unable to restrain the dowager's gambling habit, Marina soon found herself paying the price for Kit's sweet revenge on the widow. And the only way this rake would agree to her request to forfeit the money he was owed was if Marina gave him the reward he most desired….