Bøker av Jean Brashear

Days away from release from Attica after serving twenty years to guard a secret, Lucas Walker discovers that he's news again.The story once shocked the world: the son of renowned Shakespearean actor Martin Gerard, murdered while defending his twin sister Tansy from assault by Lucas Walker, the juvenile delinquent once taken under the wing of Gerard's wife Juliette.Gerard's triumphant return to the stage after a ten-year absence brings the old case to light. When Tansy is kidnapped, Lucas can't leave New York as he'd planned, no matter how badly he wants to-not until he lives up to a promise to her dying mother to protect her. Lucas goes after her, risking imprisonment once more to face the person responsible for the night that forever altered all their lives.WILL THE TRUTH SAVE HER...OR DESTROY HER?"A compelling family drama of heartache, murder and mystery." ~New York Times bestselling author JoAnn Ross

What is home, and how do you know when you've found it? Gifted pastry chef Spike Ridley knows most everything about cooking, but the recipe for home has eluded her. Have mixer will travel has been her motto, and now she has lost the one person who'd loved her from childhood. When she crashes-literally-into famed quarterback Tate Ransom, life takes an abrupt turn. Tate has suffered a deep personal loss of his own, and coupled with a career-threatening injury, the ground beneath him is shifting. Forced into a road trip toward uncertain futures, the snarky sprite and celebrity jock get glimpses beneath the other's veneer, and what they find surprises them. When Spike takes Tate to Sweetgrass Springs to hide out, the quirky town embraces him. Too soon his fame and the demands of his career catch up with them, and Tate faces a dilemma: to return to the glamorous life that feels barren, or to stay and fight for a future that won't mean anything if he can't make Spike see that she is already home in Sweetgrass-and he wants to share that home with her. "Jean Brashear's distinctive storytelling voice instantly draws in the reader. She writes with warmth and emotional truth." ~ #1 NY Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

What is home, and how do you know when you've found it? Gifted pastry chef Spike Ridley knows most everything about cooking, but the recipe for home has eluded her. Have mixer will travel has been her motto, and now she has lost the one person who'd loved her from childhood. When she crashes-literally-into famed quarterback Tate Ransom, life takes an abrupt turn. Tate has suffered a deep personal loss of his own, and coupled with a career-threatening injury, the ground beneath him is shifting. Forced into a road trip toward uncertain futures, the snarky sprite and celebrity jock get glimpses beneath the other's veneer, and what they find surprises them. When Spike takes Tate to Sweetgrass Springs to hide out, the quirky town embraces him. Too soon his fame and the demands of his career catch up with them, and Tate faces a dilemma: to return to the glamorous life that feels barren, or to stay and fight for a future that won't mean anything if he can't make Spike see that she is already home in Sweetgrass-and he wants to share that home with her. "Jean Brashear's distinctive storytelling voice instantly draws in the reader. She writes with warmth and emotional truth." ~ #1 NY Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

Days away from release from Attica after serving twenty years to guard a secret, Lucas Walker discovers that he's news again.The story once shocked the world: the son of renowned Shakespearean actor Martin Gerard, murdered while defending his twin sister Tansy from assault by Lucas Walker, the juvenile delinquent once taken under the wing of Gerard's wife Juliette.Gerard's triumphant return to the stage after a ten-year absence brings the old case to light. When Tansy is kidnapped, Lucas can't leave New York as he'd planned, no matter how badly he wants to-not until he lives up to a promise to her dying mother to protect her. Lucas goes after her, risking imprisonment once more to face the person responsible for the night that forever altered all their lives.WILL THE TRUTH SAVE HER...OR DESTROY HER?"A compelling family drama of heartache, murder and mystery." ~New York Times bestselling author JoAnn Ross

Special Forces veteran Gabriel Coronado is haunted by nightmares that keep him in the shadows, exiling himself from human companionship as he wrestles with his demons. Walking the night to outrun his memories of those he wasn't able to save, he comes to the rescue of a small, valiant woman who puts herself in danger to save a young runaway.Jilly Sullivan's life is dedicated to making a difference for the poor, championing one hopeless cause after another, spending time in the worst parts of town. When a desperate criminal overpowers her and a nameless hero saves her from harm, both their courses are altered forever.Gabriel finds himself drawn to the vibrant light that is Jilly, and she lures him from the darkness in which he's most comfortable. The more time they spend together, the more powerful their bond becomes. He comes to the defense of a young boy victimized by a brutal drug dealer, and when that drug dealer assaults Jilly in retaliation, Gabriel rescues her but quickly retreats to the darkness where he believes he belongs. Can Jilly, rocked by her brush with evil, convince this man to believe that he deserves to live in the light?

Detective Sean Fitzgerald is hot on the trail of a man who is key to breaking a human trafficking ring, but he needs a way to get close without arousing suspicion. His opportunity comes in the form of film star Annabelle Quinn, who's in town and in need of a bodyguard. Her best friend is his top suspect, and he can use the connection to break his case.But when Annabelle comes mean so much more than a means to an end for Sean, his objectivity is in danger, and he's painfully aware that the lies between them could doom any hope for a future for them. Lives depend, however, on him closing the case. When his deceptions endanger Annabelle's life, can he convince her to trust him enough that he can save her?

Vanessa Porter's brilliant career as a hotelier goes up in flames after a scandal, and she pours herself into rehabbing an old mansion to become a boutique hotel, doing much of the work herself because her funds are running out.Hotshot adventure photographer Dane Sullivan's career is grounded after a near-death fall, and he's no longer sure he wants the life of death-defying risk that energized him for so long. While he's recovering and assessing his options, his kid sister Jilly volunteers him to help her friend Vanessa with handyman skills he and his brothers learned from their dad.The irascible, too-handsome photographer turned handyman won't be around long, which suits Vanessa just fine-until the sparks between them turn from aggravation to smoldering attraction. Though her life has been filled with loss, can she survive losing this man who's come to mean so much to her?As Dane begins to contemplate sinking roots, the once-in-a-lifetime trip to a forbidden land suddenly is his for the taking, and he will have to choose between a life he never imagined and the dream that would restore the career that was once all he ever wanted.

Clarice Sutton, daughter of privilege, was raised to lead society, but that life feels empty, and she's taken a job her parents abhor: police department psychologist. Santino "Saint" Valdez-hardnosed detective who is anything but saintly-is under investigation by Internal Affairs for killing a predator who richly deserved it. Now he's supposed to spill his guts to Miss Prim and Prissy? No way-not ever.Yet the powerful attraction both feel from their first meeting complicates both their lives, and time spent together only makes their improbable bond grow. Saint's future depends on Clarice's professional opinion, and her feelings toward him are anything but professional. When Clarice learns that her whole life is a lie, the only person she trusts to understand how lost she feels is the very man she must avoid in order to save him.

Franny Morgan is a small-town café owner with an insatiable need to rescue lost souls the way she couldn't hang onto her two sisters after their parents died. Now she's involved in a letter-writing campaign to save the small dusty town where she winds up.Nathan Russell is a down-on-his-luck carpenter who shows up on her doorstep, willing to trade work on her rundown building for food and a roof-not because the wealthy investor needs either but because he's determined to fulfill the obligations his brother abandoned, and the first step is to meet the blue-haired crackpot who won't stop writing him demand letters. Finding that the crackpot is actually a curvy blonde fairy with a heart as big as the world would be a very pleasant surprise, if not for the fact that he's lying to her with every breath.Falling for each other is a very bad idea, and being together is an impossible dream…until fate steps in and forces their hands.

FBI agent Alex Sandoval has never forgiven himself for not protecting a young girl from seeing her mother murdered during his first hostage negotiation twelve years ago. Now Jade Butler is a cop herself, assigned to a prestigious multi-agency task force hunting for the killer of several young girls in Austin, Texas-and Alex is the agent in charge of the case.They never met all those years ago, but Jade recognizes his voice as the one she still hears in her dreams, the voice that has comforted her through many a terrifying flashback. Her role on the task force is undercover, serving as bait for a madman, yet Alex cannot stop trying to protect her as he was unable to do years ago. Tensions ratchet between them as old memories vie with a powerful new attraction, and when Jade is taken hostage by the killer, it's Alex's worst nightmare as he must negotiate once again-only this time, it's to save the woman he loves.

Hollywood's hottest heartthrob Liam Sullivan has escaped the paparazzi and celebrity gossips after a sensational tragedy, reexamining his high-flying lifestyle and his priorities. In disguise, traveling through the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, he encounters a rail-thin, starving woman who has lost everything but the dilapidated cabin where she once lived with her grandmother in happier days. Raina Donovan is determined to make her stand there, but winter is coming, and Liam cannot desert her until he can make her safe, however much she tries to make him leave.Day by day, they draw closer, but Raina has secrets and so does Liam. Before they can trust enough to confide in each other, the world catches up with them. Can they overcome the stunning shock of their deceptions to find a way to be together, or will the price of their lies ruin any chance they might have for a future?

Brilliant and driven cardiac surgeon Diana Morgan's whole life centers around her career, now threatened by an injury that may prove insurmountable. She is desperate enough to accept a forced sabbatical to the Davis Mountains of West Texas, where she meets Rafael Sandoval, a former Special Forces medic who understands exactly how it feels to have the life you planned taken from you. After losing his men and nearly losing his life, Rafe has returned home and found a measure of peace combining his Western medical training with the curanderismo or folk healing traditions of his Latino heritage.Diana desperately needs the healing Rafe is dedicated to providing, but his hard-won peace is threatened by the growing attachment neither welcomes. Too many people in his valley count on him for the only medical help available for many miles, and too many lives back in her world-one he once wanted with everything in him-will be lost if she cannot regain her skills. But healing her means losing her, for she can't stay in his world…and he can't leave.

Special Forces veteran Gabriel Coronado is haunted by nightmares that keep him in the shadows, exiling himself from human companionship as he wrestles with his demons. Walking the night to outrun his memories of those he wasn't able to save, he comes to the rescue of a small, valiant woman who puts herself in danger to save a young runaway.Jilly Sullivan's life is dedicated to making a difference for the poor, championing one hopeless cause after another, spending time in the worst parts of town. When a desperate criminal overpowers her and a nameless hero saves her from harm, both their courses are altered forever.Gabriel finds himself drawn to the vibrant light that is Jilly, and she lures him from the darkness in which he's most comfortable. The more time they spend together, the more powerful their bond becomes. He comes to the defense of a young boy victimized by a brutal drug dealer, and when that drug dealer assaults Jilly in retaliation, Gabriel rescues her but quickly retreats to the darkness where he believes he belongs. Can Jilly, rocked by her brush with evil, convince this man to believe that he deserves to live in the light?

Detective Sean Fitzgerald is hot on the trail of a man who is key to breaking a human trafficking ring, but he needs a way to get close without arousing suspicion. His opportunity comes in the form of film star Annabelle Quinn, who's in town and in need of a bodyguard. Her best friend is his top suspect, and he can use the connection to break his case.But when Annabelle comes mean so much more than a means to an end for Sean, his objectivity is in danger, and he's painfully aware that the lies between them could doom any hope for a future for them. Lives depend, however, on him closing the case. When his deceptions endanger Annabelle's life, can he convince her to trust him enough that he can save her?

Vanessa Porter's brilliant career as a hotelier goes up in flames after a scandal, and she pours herself into rehabbing an old mansion to become a boutique hotel, doing much of the work herself because her funds are running out.Hotshot adventure photographer Dane Sullivan's career is grounded after a near-death fall, and he's no longer sure he wants the life of death-defying risk that energized him for so long. While he's recovering and assessing his options, his kid sister Jilly volunteers him to help her friend Vanessa with handyman skills he and his brothers learned from their dad.The irascible, too-handsome photographer turned handyman won't be around long, which suits Vanessa just fine-until the sparks between them turn from aggravation to smoldering attraction. Though her life has been filled with loss, can she survive losing this man who's come to mean so much to her?As Dane begins to contemplate sinking roots, the once-in-a-lifetime trip to a forbidden land suddenly is his for the taking, and he will have to choose between a life he never imagined and the dream that would restore the career that was once all he ever wanted.

Clarice Sutton, daughter of privilege, was raised to lead society, but that life feels empty, and she's taken a job her parents abhor: police department psychologist. Santino "Saint" Valdez-hardnosed detective who is anything but saintly-is under investigation by Internal Affairs for killing a predator who richly deserved it. Now he's supposed to spill his guts to Miss Prim and Prissy? No way-not ever.Yet the powerful attraction both feel from their first meeting complicates both their lives, and time spent together only makes their improbable bond grow. Saint's future depends on Clarice's professional opinion, and her feelings toward him are anything but professional. When Clarice learns that her whole life is a lie, the only person she trusts to understand how lost she feels is the very man she must avoid in order to save him.

Franny Morgan is a small-town café owner with an insatiable need to rescue lost souls the way she couldn't hang onto her two sisters after their parents died. Now she's involved in a letter-writing campaign to save the small dusty town where she winds up.Nathan Russell is a down-on-his-luck carpenter who shows up on her doorstep, willing to trade work on her rundown building for food and a roof-not because the wealthy investor needs either but because he's determined to fulfill the obligations his brother abandoned, and the first step is to meet the blue-haired crackpot who won't stop writing him demand letters. Finding that the crackpot is actually a curvy blonde fairy with a heart as big as the world would be a very pleasant surprise, if not for the fact that he's lying to her with every breath.Falling for each other is a very bad idea, and being together is an impossible dream…until fate steps in and forces their hands.

FBI agent Alex Sandoval has never forgiven himself for not protecting a young girl from seeing her mother murdered during his first hostage negotiation twelve years ago. Now Jade Butler is a cop herself, assigned to a prestigious multi-agency task force hunting for the killer of several young girls in Austin, Texas-and Alex is the agent in charge of the case.They never met all those years ago, but Jade recognizes his voice as the one she still hears in her dreams, the voice that has comforted her through many a terrifying flashback. Her role on the task force is undercover, serving as bait for a madman, yet Alex cannot stop trying to protect her as he was unable to do years ago. Tensions ratchet between them as old memories vie with a powerful new attraction, and when Jade is taken hostage by the killer, it's Alex's worst nightmare as he must negotiate once again-only this time, it's to save the woman he loves.

Brilliant and driven cardiac surgeon Diana Morgan's whole life centers around her career, now threatened by an injury that may prove insurmountable. She is desperate enough to accept a forced sabbatical to the Davis Mountains of West Texas, where she meets Rafael Sandoval, a former Special Forces medic who understands exactly how it feels to have the life you planned taken from you. After losing his men and nearly losing his life, Rafe has returned home and found a measure of peace combining his Western medical training with the curanderismo or folk healing traditions of his Latino heritage.Diana desperately needs the healing Rafe is dedicated to providing, but his hard-won peace is threatened by the growing attachment neither welcomes. Too many people in his valley count on him for the only medical help available for many miles, and too many lives back in her world-one he once wanted with everything in him-will be lost if she cannot regain her skills. But healing her means losing her, for she can't stay in his world…and he can't leave.

Hollywood's hottest heartthrob Liam Sullivan has escaped the paparazzi and celebrity gossips after a sensational tragedy, reexamining his high-flying lifestyle and his priorities. In disguise, traveling through the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, he encounters a rail-thin, starving woman who has lost everything but the dilapidated cabin where she once lived with her grandmother in happier days. Raina Donovan is determined to make her stand there, but winter is coming, and Liam cannot desert her until he can make her safe, however much she tries to make him leave.Day by day, they draw closer, but Raina has secrets and so does Liam. Before they can trust enough to confide in each other, the world catches up with them. Can they overcome the stunning shock of their deceptions to find a way to be together, or will the price of their lies ruin any chance they might have for a future?

The Billionaire meets the Tomboy…Empire builder Dominic Santorini is surrounded by women angling to share the luxurious life his wealth will buy. Eccentric, colorful tomboy Lexie Grayson encounters a hot guy in a hotter classic car broken down on the side of the road, and an afternoon as his mechanic leads to a scorching night with a man she knows only as Nikos-but when dawn arrives, he's vanished, never to be seen again.She buries her heartache in her new job, staging an extravaganza launch for a video game that will give her a chance to snoop around for clues that the company is responsible for stealing from her best friend. But when she meets her new employer--He's an ice-cold version of that magical night's unforgettable lover.What kind of man did she fall for on that incredible night? Does he know his company has stolen from her best friend? Why does he act as if they've never met? Was the magic they shared only a lie?He's as shocked as she is. Was the fairy sprite who touched his heart an illusion as false as the ones she is creating for his gala? Worse, could the woman he can't forget be behind the leak that's endangering his company's survival? What is truth, and who is real…and is love a luxury neither can afford?"Jean Brashear's distinctive storytelling voice instantly draws in the reader. She writes with warmth and emotional truth."? ~ #1 NY Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

Her dream house is the scene of his darkest hours. With his own hands, artist Micah Smith built every inch of the cottage for the fragile wife he cherished and the child who cost her life. His dreams gone and his heart broken, he left everything familiar behind, including the cottage he'd built with such love. A foster child most of her life, bar owner Jezebel Hart has spent her life longing for family and home. In this abandoned, neglected cottage she sees a chance to create her dream at last. That she cherishes what he can't bear to be near is bad enough, but that sparks fly between them adds insult to injury-yet their attraction will not be ignored. Discovering that her bombshell exterior wraps a generous heart, that her inner strength matches the power of her compassion, endangers the hard exterior that has been his only protection from the grief he cannot let go. For Jezebel, learning that his anger masks a heart in desperate need of healing only strengthens her attraction to him. Her capacity for joy draws Micah from his darkness and makes him want to hope. But a secret could shatter their fragile bond…before it ever has a chance to grow. "Jean Brashear's distinctive storytelling voice instantly draws in the reader. She writes with warmth and emotional truth." ~ #1 NY Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

Can her family forgive what she can't forgive herself? Ria Channing ran from a tragedy of her own making six years ago, a pariah in the family and home that were once perfect…until she destroyed them. But a deathbed promise to her only friend forces her to return for the sake of the grandson her parents have never met. Homeless, hungry and worn out from fighting for survival, she carries with her no expectation of forgiveness-only heartfelt hope that the house that love built will welcome and care for her child, if not his bad seed mother. Sculptor Sandor Wolfe owes his career and his future to Ria's mother. There is nothing he wouldn't do to protect Cleo from the thankless daughter who has hurt her so deeply and now threatens the life she has rebuilt from the ashes of the old. What he doesn't expect, however, is to find a vulnerability and a courage that touch him as Ria tries to make up for all she has cost the family she destroyed. The battle is one she seems destined to lose, and Sandor finds himself torn between love and loyalty, with the stakes being his friend's broken heart and a valiant, fragile woman's survival. (A companion to The House That Love Built,a different perspective of the story seen through Ria's eyes and going beyond) "Jean Brashear's distinctive storytelling voice instantly draws in the reader. She writes with warmth and emotional truth." ~ #1 NY Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

Once they had it all: a home with a man who adored her, three children they cherished, a life filled with passion and promise. Until one troubled child cost them everything. After a childhood of constant upheaval, all Cleo Formby wanted was to put down roots, to fill a house with family and love. When Malcolm Channing swept into her life, she gained it all: the home, the children, the love of a good man who adored her- Until their firstborn daughter tore their family apart, and even the love between Cleo and Malcolm wasn't strong enough to survive the devastation. Five years later, that daughter returns, destitute-with a child in tow. Cleo and Malcolm are thrown together again…and realize that their love has never died. But both have ties to others now, and their daughter is no less troubled than before. Being in constant proximity yet unable to be together is a constant heartache, but the welfare of this little grandson has to take first place. When Malcolm's new life is shattered by treachery, can he and Cleo overcome the wounds of the past and find their way back to the magic that once filled the house that love built? (A companion story to The Road Back Home, a different perspective of the story seen through Ria's eyes and going beyond) "Jean Brashear's distinctive storytelling voice instantly draws in the reader. She writes with warmth and emotional truth." ~ #1 NY Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

Once they had it all: a home with a man who adored her, three children they cherished, a life filled with passion and promise. Until one troubled child cost them everything. After a childhood of constant upheaval, all Cleo Formby wanted was to put down roots, to fill a house with family and love. When Malcolm Channing swept into her life, she gained it all: the home, the children, the love of a good man who adored her- Until their firstborn daughter tore their family apart, and even the love between Cleo and Malcolm wasn't strong enough to survive the devastation. Five years later, that daughter returns, destitute-with a child in tow. Cleo and Malcolm are thrown together again…and realize that their love has never died. But both have ties to others now, and their daughter is no less troubled than before. Being in constant proximity yet unable to be together is a constant heartache, but the welfare of this little grandson has to take first place. When Malcolm's new life is shattered by treachery, can he and Cleo overcome the wounds of the past and find their way back to the magic that once filled the house that love built? (A companion story to The Road Back Home, a different perspective of the story seen through Ria's eyes and going beyond) "Jean Brashear's distinctive storytelling voice instantly draws in the reader. She writes with warmth and emotional truth." ~ #1 NY Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

The golden boy and the rebel girl who cost him everything Tough prosecutor Callie Hunter left the small town and never planned to return, but an unexpected inheritance requires her to return to the scene of her life's greatest heartache. When she encounters the town's golden boy who once owned her young heart-only to learn he's fresh out of prison. All David Langley wants is to be left alone to scrape together a life unrecognizable to the boy who once carried the town's dreams on his shoulders. Until he let Callie Hunter derail him. The draw between them is still there, but having her see how far he's fallen is unbearable. The more she's with him, however, the more she knows that who he was didn't change. There has to be more to the story. But second chances don't happen for convicted murderers, and when old enemies conspire to send him back into the hell he barely survived, the only one who can help him is Callie. The last person on earth he's willing to ask for anything. "Jean Brashear's distinctive storytelling voice instantly draws in the reader. She writes with warmth and emotional truth." ~ #1 NY Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

The golden boy and the rebel girl who cost him everything Tough prosecutor Callie Hunter left the small town and never planned to return, but an unexpected inheritance requires her to return to the scene of her life's greatest heartache. When she encounters the town's golden boy who once owned her young heart-only to learn he's fresh out of prison. All David Langley wants is to be left alone to scrape together a life unrecognizable to the boy who once carried the town's dreams on his shoulders. Until he let Callie Hunter derail him. The draw between them is still there, but having her see how far he's fallen is unbearable. The more she's with him, however, the more she knows that who he was didn't change. There has to be more to the story. But second chances don't happen for convicted murderers, and when old enemies conspire to send him back into the hell he barely survived, the only one who can help him is Callie. The last person on earth he's willing to ask for anything. "Jean Brashear's distinctive storytelling voice instantly draws in the reader. She writes with warmth and emotional truth." ~ #1 NY Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber