The high-powered high life loses all its allure in the face of family tragedy. A return to the Gulf Coast life and a chance to reconnect and reclaim what really matters leads to unexpected passion and a final chance at true love in this tumultuous summer romance from best-selling author Gerri Hill!

College professor Johanna Marshall swore she would never fall in love again. She especially did not want to become involved with someone who has a reputation as an extreme womanizer...someone like Kelly Sambino. But on a hot summer night, Jo finds herself unable to resist Kelly. What follows is something Jo would like very much to quickly forget. Embarrassed after their night of passion, Jo hopes she will never have to see Kelly again. Then, when Fall classes begin, Jo finds herself face to face with the college's new Literature Professor - Kelly Sambino.

When Laura Fry returns to her childhood home to care for her invalid mother, she hopes the writer’s block that has swallowed her writing career will disappear. She doesn’t plan on turning into a “yard girl” but her mother’s long neglected lawn beckons her to return it to the lush and colorful display it had been before her mother’s accident. She also doesn’t plan on making friends with the “nympho lesbian” next door but she finds it impossible not to watch the parade of playmates the neighbor brings to her pool.

Park ranger Kyler Clemons had loved the vibe and the beach of Mustang Island. Getting caught with her boss’ wife, however, got her transferred to the wild and remote Davis Mountains State Park - in the middle of nowhere. Now after four years, she’s forgotten about the beach and has embraced the mountain life, feeling like a local. She hangs out at the Cottonwood Creek Bar and Grill. She watches football with Mark Walton. She’s taken up birdwatching and stargazing. She is perfectly content. No stress. No drama. And no desire to date. Then Lexie Walton waltzes into her life.

Abby Carpenter is in a tailspin knowing she is about to spend 10 days in the company of her ex-girlfriend - who is now engaged to her brother - for a family holiday gathering in Red River, New Mexico. The same ex-girlfriend who last year at Christmas had lured her into bed. Abby’s solution? A pretend girlfriend for the holidays would surely keep her ex away and in her own room at night, right?

Homicide detective Tori Hunter was used to doing things her way. But even after six different partners in seven years, she was not prepared for the hot-tempered Samantha Kennedy. Samantha, on the other hand, was trying to juggle a new job and a demanding boyfriend and now finds herself with an even greater challenge - being partnered with the most difficult detective in the entire squad.

Photojournalist Reagan Bryant has just returned from six-month stint in Afghanistan. Haunted by the tragedy that ended her last assignment, she's searching for some peace - something to end the guilt and chase the trauma away. Two weeks at the resort hotel owned by her future sister-in-law's father seems like the perfect escape.

Grieving over the loss of her family and feeling like her life is unraveling, Lindsey McDermott quits her job, gets a puppy, and retreats to her grandparents' home in the Texas Hill Country. She spends her solitary days walking childhood trails and reminiscing, trying to reconcile the conflict within her as she struggles with survivor's guilt. After the death of her husband, Hannah Larson needs a change. At the suggestion of her mother-in-law - and against her better judgment - she and her son Jack move to tiny Utopia and into her husband's grandmother's house.

Was it an earthquake? A meteor? Or something else entirely? Running from a marriage proposal in Seattle, Dana Ingram returns to her parents' farm in Western Colorado for a two-week vacation in Paradox Valley. Only a couple of days into it, however, a small earthquake leaves them without power. Cars won't start, batteries don't work, and cell phones are useless.

Ashleigh Pence had been the all-American high school girl: cheerleader, prom queen...and in love with another girl. Gina Granbury hasn't thought about Calloway High in 20 years, but the arrival of the invitation to the class reunion brings back memories of Ashleigh and the betrayal that drove them apart. With no real choice, Ashleigh has to go the event, hoping that it's not the one reunion that Gina decides to attend after all these years. Gina's curiosity is suddenly strong. Her long-broken heart has never mended, but that's no reason to go back in time...is it?

Dr. Carly Cambridge, wildlife biologist, returns to the Texas Gulf Coast to manage the latest Habitats for Nature project, restoring the woods and wetlands to their natural state. She's devoted to the environmental cause with a passion usually reserved for a lover - something she hasn't had since a disastrous love affair 10 years earlier. Having sworn off women and relationships, She's content to live her life alone, focusing on her latest project. Wildlife photographer Pat Ryan, duped into volunteering her talents to Habitats for Nature, wants no part of the overzealous Dr. Cambridge.

Lauren Voss has a nice, quiet, orderly life running her grandmother’s Heron Bay Resort on the Texas coast. Three years removed from a break-up that left her ex - and her life - behind in San Diego, she’s adjusted to the slow pace in Rockport, seeking out neither new friends nor lovers. Vandalism at the resort’s clubhouse - and a cryptic message written in blood - brings Detective Harley Shepherd, with her obnoxious Hawaiian shirts, into her life.

As interior designer Jay Burns watches her long-term relationship slowly unravel, she runs into - literally - landscape designer Drew Montgomery. As their paths cross, both professionally and personally, a friendship develops, one they each try to maintain despite the obvious attraction between them. But still, Jay is not willing to throw away an eight-year relationship, even when it becomes painfully obvious the end is near.

Megan Phenix - bar and grill owner in gay-friendly Eureka Springs - is labeled as "playing hard to get" and finds herself the object of much unwanted attention. If only she were seeing someone...maybe the women would leave her in peace. Leah Rollins thinks 50 is too young to retire, so instead she opens a store in the touristy shopping district of Eureka Springs, next to the popular Phenix Grill. She soon learns that Megan Phenix is a bit on the grumpy side as they spar over parking spaces....

Jennifer Kincaid, on her way to a writer's workshop in the Colorado mountain town of Lake City, gets lost and is stranded by an avalanche. Catherine Ryan-Barrett, running from the fame and fortune of her family name, wants nothing more to spend the winter alone and sequestered in her high mountain cabin. She is not prepared for a party crasher. After spending two months together, they form an unlikely friendship that deepens even further.

As interior designer Jay Burns watches her long-term relationship slowly unravel, she runs into - literally - landscape designer Drew Montgomery. As their paths cross, both professionally and personally, a friendship develops, one they each try to maintain despite the obvious attraction between them. But still, Jay is not willing to throw away an eight-year relationship, even when it becomes painfully obvious the end is near.

Grieving over the loss of her family and feeling like her life is unraveling, Lindsey McDermott quits her job, gets a puppy, and retreats to her grandparents' home in the Texas Hill Country. She spends her solitary days walking childhood trails and reminiscing, trying to reconcile the conflict within her as she struggles with survivor's guilt. After the death of her husband, Hannah Larson needs a change. At the suggestion of her mother-in-law - and against her better judgment - she and her son Jack move to tiny Utopia and into her husband's grandmother's house.

Finley Knight, ex-cop turned private investigator, lives a lonely, solitary life. She uses her downtime to reflect on the past and wonders what could have been. Detective Dee Woodard transferred to Corpus Christi nine years ago to put distance between herself and her ex...an ex she was still in love with. A murder investigation leads her to Moonlight Avenue and Finley Knight.

Was it an earthquake? A meteor? Or something else entirely? Running from a marriage proposal in Seattle, Dana Ingram returns to her parents' farm in Western Colorado for a two-week vacation in Paradox Valley. Only a couple of days into it, however, a small earthquake leaves them without power. Cars won't start, batteries don't work, and cell phones are useless.

Abby Carpenter is in a tailspin knowing she is about to spend 10 days in the company of her ex-girlfriend - who is now engaged to her brother - for a family holiday gathering in Red River, New Mexico. The same ex-girlfriend who last year at Christmas had lured her into bed. Abby’s solution? A pretend girlfriend for the holidays would surely keep her ex away and in her own room at night, right?

Megan Phenix - bar and grill owner in gay-friendly Eureka Springs - is labeled as "playing hard to get" and finds herself the object of much unwanted attention. If only she were seeing someone...maybe the women would leave her in peace. Leah Rollins thinks 50 is too young to retire, so instead she opens a store in the touristy shopping district of Eureka Springs, next to the popular Phenix Grill. She soon learns that Megan Phenix is a bit on the grumpy side as they spar over parking spaces....

Kate Winters, author of a popular mystery series, finds herself in a bit of a predicament - she doesn't seem to be able to write any longer. So when her old friend and wealthy widow Brenda invites Kate to spend the summer in Coyote, New Mexico, Kate decides that a summer in Coyote might be just what she needs to clear her writer's block. Leaving behind the Dallas heat - and her girlfriend, Robin - Kate retreats to the high mountain desert and soon finds herself surrounded by Brenda's eccentric friends and artists. But it's the local sheriff, Lee Foxx, who soon grabs her attention.

The isolated, sleepy little village of Timber Falls—built on the bend of a swift mountain river—swells during the summer months as tourists flock to town to run the river, lured there by the Class IV and Class V rapids. A gruesome murder of a college student—a river rat—brings the FBI to town. Lynn Carter, a disgraced LAPD detective, was offered an out—a position on a team of unorthodox FBI agents. When her commander sent her to Timber Falls—a town by only the stretch of the imagination—she had no idea she would find her peace there. No idea she might find love.

Cassie Parker has grown used to denying her sexuality. Her father, the fire-and-brimstone Reverend Parker, has made that a necessity. Raised in a web of secrets, sadness, and under the heavy hand of her father's righteous wrath and intolerance, Cassie turns to her art to fill the hole in her heart and erase the memory of a mother who abandoned her in childhood. Then Luke Winston enters her life. Strong, mysterious, and beautiful, Luke sparks Cassie's desire, and takes her heart to places she's never known.

Photojournalist Reagan Bryant has just returned from six-month stint in Afghanistan. Haunted by the tragedy that ended her last assignment, she's searching for some peace - something to end the guilt and chase the trauma away. Two weeks at the resort hotel owned by her future sister-in-law's father seems like the perfect escape.

When six childhood friends get together for their annual girl's weekend at the beach in Port Aransas, none could have believed it would be for the very last time. Nina Evans had been saddled with organizing the weekend each year, pulling five of her oldest friends together for a few nights of fun and reminiscing, the one time a year they saw each other. Each year was much the same—laughter, dancing, and lots of drinking. This time was no different. That is, until Jones walked out of the dance club with a stranger.

Homicide detective Tori Hunter was used to doing things her way. But even after six different partners in seven years, she was not prepared for the hot-tempered Samantha Kennedy. Samantha, on the other hand, was trying to juggle a new job and a demanding boyfriend and now finds herself with an even greater challenge - being partnered with the most difficult detective in the entire squad.

Workaholic Erin Ryder was on the fast track to self-destruction. Reeling after her lover walked out on her, she turned to booze and caffeine to make it through each day. After a family intervention, she finds herself on a remote ranch in New Mexico - on womyn’s land - to detox and heal. No cell service, no internet - she’s convinced she won’t last three days, much less for the three-month sentence her father has mandated.

Ashleigh Pence had been the all-American high school girl: cheerleader, prom queen...and in love with another girl. Gina Granbury hasn't thought about Calloway High in 20 years, but the arrival of the invitation to the class reunion brings back memories of Ashleigh and the betrayal that drove them apart. With no real choice, Ashleigh has to go the event, hoping that it's not the one reunion that Gina decides to attend after all these years. Gina's curiosity is suddenly strong. Her long-broken heart has never mended, but that's no reason to go back in time...is it?

Jacqueline Keys was ostracized from her small hometown of Pine Springs, Texas, when she was 17, sent away because she was gay. Fifteen years later - long after she'd hitch-hiked to Los Angeles, put herself through college, and had written her first best seller - Jacqueline is persuaded to go back to the tiny town of Pine Springs after her father's death. The quick trip she'd envisioned for the funeral turns into weeks as she learns her father's business is suddenly hers to manage. And she is also again face-to-face with the woman who, as a teen, had been Jackie's first crush.