Showing results by author "Donna Ball" in All Categories

Dogleg Island Police Chief Aggie Malone has spent years searching for the identity of her birth father. Now, thanks to a home DNA test, she has a lead...but it’s taking her in a direction she never could have imagined, and desperately does not want to go. Because the evidence suggests that Aggie could be the daughter of the infamous Angelo, head of the deadly Ghost Syndicate crime empire. Matters become more complicated when Aggie’s canine partner, Flash, discovers an abandoned child on the beach.

A deadly explosion at an archaeological dig on Dogleg Island plunges police chief Aggie Malone and her canine partner Flash into a dark mystery from the past. On the other side of the bridge, Deputy Sheriff Ryan Grady, still reeling from the brutal assassination of his ex-partner, stumbles onto the site of a mass murder. In the midst of a state-wide manhunt for a desperate fugitive, Aggie deals with a new island administrator who threatens the future of police department, while a mysterious stranger with an agenda of his own stalks Grady.

Hollywood has come to the scenic Smoky Mountain community of Hanover County, and dog-trainer Raine Stockton can’t resist the opportunity when her dogs are offered a chance at a role in the film. Filmmaking turns out not to be as exciting as Raine had expected, and the only upside to the long, mostly boring days is the new friend she makes on the set, a stuntwoman by the name of Dallas McKenzie. But it doesn’t take Raine long to discover Dallas is a woman of secrets and lies, and trouble seems to follow her wherever she goes.

Times are hard in the small Smoky Mountain town of Hansonville, North Carolina, and for former forest service employee Raine Stockton this Christmas will be harder than most as she prepares to spend her first holiday without her family, without a job... and without a dog. When a mysterious Secret Santa starts making dreams come true all over the county everyone's spirits are on the rise, but Raine can't help but wonder whether there is more to this enigmatic philanthropist than meets the eye.

Raine Stockton knows dogs, not kids. Nonetheless, she is supremely confident in her ability to take care her fiancé’s 10-year-old daughter Melanie for a week while he is out of town. After all, how hard could it be? But things get complicated when Raine and her golden retriever Cisco rescue a dog who is locked in a hot car in a remote Smoky Mountain park and subsequently discover the owner of that car drowned in the creek only a few dozen yards away. Was it an accident, or was it murder?

The name Stockton has always carried weight in the small Smokey Mountain community of Hanover County, North Carolina, and Judge Jonathon Stockton was one of the most respected men in the county… until a scandal was uncovered that destroyed his legacy and shook his daughter, Raine, to the very foundation of her being. Now her father’s misdeeds are once again threatening to upend Raine’s world, this time in the form of a relative she never knew she had.

This anthology contains Angels in the Snow, The Good Shepherd, and Welcome to Bethlehem.

Paul and Derrick have hit their stride with the Hummingbird House Bed and Breakfast, a destination in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. Guests come from all over the country to enjoy their Christmas weekend extravaganza. Of course there are a few glitches: 20 Christmas trees to be decorated in less than a week, an absentee massage therapist, and - perhaps most distressing of all - the unexpected presence of three school-age children, courtesy of their saucy young housekeeper Purline.

When Bridget, Cici and Lindsay left behind their safe suburban lives for a stately old mansion in the Shenandoah Valley, they redefined the concept of family. The friends, like the house, have faced many challenges and undergone major changes over the years. But the one thing they never imagined was that one day they would be expanding their house of women to make room for a husband.

Paul Slater and Derrick Anderson set about opening the Hummingbird House B&B with their usual style and flair, only to find that they may have taken on more than they bargained for. Despite constant coaching from their friends Cici, Bridget and Lindsay, they don't seem to be able to do anything right. Before they know how it happened, they are at odds with their teenage housekeeper, overwhelmed by a zany spiritualist who seems determined to take over their lives, and, most horrifying of all, on the wrong side of the law.

It's Christmas Eve, and Cici, Bridget and Lindsay are busy preparing for their annual holiday party. The tree is sparkling, the turkey is roasting, the stockings are hung and the eggnog is chilled. The scene is set for the perfect Christmas...with one or two exceptions. The entire state is in the midst of a heat wave. No one can find any mistletoe. The Christmas tree lights keep exploding, and, perhaps worst of all, something has gone terribly wrong with Ida Mae's fruitcakes.

The vineyard has been restored and Ladybug Farm Winery is on the verge of bottling its first vintage. Their friends Paul and Derrick are building a house next door. High school and college graduations are just around the corner for the two young people they have shepherded for the past four years. Life couldn't be more perfect. But Ladybug Farm still holds a few surprises for them all...

Though still adjusting to a new job, a new town, and a new family, Buck is acutely aware that the probationary period specified by his contract with the City of Mercy is almost up. His relationship with the mayor has never been ideal, and he knows he could be fired at any time. It therefore seems imprudent to refuse when the mayor asks him to do a favor for an old friend and political ally, Jarrod Whitley.

On foot, on horseback, in covered wagons and mule carts they came, traversing treacherous rivers and wild plains in search of the Promised Land, drawn ever westward by the promise of the new American frontier. Katherine Carlyle, a desperate woman with a violent past, leaves behind the graves of her family and the only home she has ever known in search of a new life. An unwanted passenger on a westward bound flatboat, she is forced into the role of hero when catastrophe strikes...