Bøger af Darlene DeLuca

They say, 'lightning doesn't strike twice.' But they're wrong.Claire Stapleton is living proof. First, she loses her beloved son to war. Then, her husband to another woman. As the life she's known implodes, she struggles to pick up the pieces - to fit in. And in a small community like Whitfield, that's harder than she ever dreamed.Overnight, Claire falls from toast of the town to talk of the town. Long-time friends rally around, but confused and off-balance, Claire finds herself traveling a lonely, unfamiliar road without a map. And there are no detour signs to help her get back on the right track. Spiraling on a self-destructive path, Claire fights to find her way - and a reason to start over.They say, 'what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.' Could they be right?

A mistake. A blessing. A tragedy.And now, Mandi Evans has made it her goal to fade into anonymity. Once a straight-A student with her choice of colleges, she's withdrawn into a life that consists of two jobs, an online class, and memories. Crippled by the past, she feels unworthy of a better life - until Lane Whitmore walks into the diner where she works six nights a week.An urban planner, Lane is looking to revitalize the rundown part of town where Mandi's hidden herself away. He can't help but notice this diamond in the rough as well, and what starts as simple good times grows to . . . something more.With Lane, Mandi feels alive again, and she makes a bold decision - one that could chart her course on a path to redemption. But will keeping her plan a secret from Lane turn out to be the biggest mistake of all?

She wants her old life back . . . He wants to leave his behind. After her mother's death, Megan Monroe is convinced her life has been tossed into a high-speed blender. Normal is long gone. While dealing with a grieving father, single-handedly running the family's floral business and trying to re-shape her own career, she's suddenly confronted with a troublesome new neighbor and an explosive secret from her mother's past. She can't tell her father, and her sister refuses to believe, so Megan presses on alone, forced to carry a secret she didn't even want to know. Determined to uncover the truth, she finds herself turning to a man she's not sure she can trust. Tom Blake has fled his city life to escape the publicity of a high-profile divorce. Planning to lie low, he has no intention of being drawn into someone else's family angst. But he runs into more than he bargained for when he meets his new neighbors. In an unexpected turn of events, he finds himself thrust into the role of confidante and on the last path he wanted to travel - a path that threatens his plans for the future.

Mary Logan believes in the goodness of people. She believes in grace under pressure. But when the ugliness of human nature touches her family, and a series of seismic events shake up her world, she's put to the test again and again.She and her husband are supposed to be enjoying the benefits of early retirement. Their nest is empty. It's time to travel and re-focus. It's their time. Then an alarming diagnosis and an unexpected announcement from their daughter change everything. Facing the possibility of heart-wrenching loss, Mary finds herself breaking commitments, forcing smiles, and keeping secrets.Until now, her cup has always been half full. Will a positive outlook be enough to withstand the challenges ahead?

Matt Dalton's world is spinning off its axis. Without warning, he's thrown into the world of parenting a teenager. Matt meets his son for the first time when the sixteen-year-old is dealing with the consequences of a tragic car accident. Not only has Brady lost his best friend, he faces disability and scars both physical and emotional.Determined to do whatever it takes to give his son a second chance, Matt looks to his alma mater to step up and help Brady regain his athletic abilities and sense of self. But sparks fly when he meets the high school principal, the captivating Kate Austen. Kate is ready to take Brady under her wing, but to her that means helping him refocus and find a new passion - using his brains rather than his brawn. Kate fully expects the younger Dalton to come with issues and challenges . . . his father may prove to be the biggest one of all.Though the chemistry is hard to ignore, Kate fights to keep her personal feelings and professional life separate. At the same time, Matt struggles to gain his son's trust, and Brady must face the road to recovery and find a way to accept the changes in his life.

Clashing over the fate of a historic building, Jennifer Aukland and Michael Reynolds are on course to become adversaries. She's an architect devoted to green building and restoration. He's a developer hell-bent on ripping down the old hotel she's racing to save to make way for a new casino. Chemistry leads to compromise, and for a time, they're on the same team. Jennifer adds Michael - and marriage - to her safe and steady plan for the future. But when Michael throws caution aside and lands in a life-threatening situation, Jennifer's world comes crashing down. In her family, she's learned that recklessness leads to tragedy. She must decide if she can commit her life to someone who takes unnecessary risks with his. Will she take control of her own destiny, even if it means leaving Michael behind? Or will she risk everything for love?

When a devastating tornado rips through the small town of Whitfield, Dana Gerard's home is reduced to rubble and her well-ordered life to chaos. In the wake of the disaster, she finds herself in financial straits and confronted by challenges that test her limits.With support from longtime friends, Dana tries to rebuild her home, but that's not her only worry, and may be the least of her concerns. Change greets her from all directions - at work and within her own family. At a crossroads, Dana is forced to see her life with a new vision and to trust the one person she's determined to push away.

Her agent warned her not to get attached to a fan. But children's book author Kristen Hanover is about to break the rules. Kristen meets a young boy who is a victim of a tragic accident and is drawn into the heartbreaking situation. Six years ago, Reed Armstrong never imagined he'd actually become guardian of his sister's boy. Now he is, and mos...