The summer of 1965 changes the lives of two children in such a way that they will never view life through the eyes of innocence again. Carol Lynn and her cousin Tom are spending the summer with their grandmother on her farm in rural Virginia. It's a quiet little place hiding the secrets, stories, and gossip the darker side of people entertain. It doesn't take the children long to become fascinated by the Horten family living near their grandmother. It's Carol Lynn's burning interest in the Horten family that leads them to trespass on their property. She wants to know the secret of the pond. It's on one of these forays that she meets Horten's stepdaughter, Clovie, a pitiful waif who longs to learn how to read. When Carol Lynn makes friends with the girl, it sets in motion events past and present that expose deception, incest, murder, suicide, and infanticide. When the truth is discovered, those involved are changed forever. The startling conclusion will take many by surprise.

New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne brings readers another heartwarming story of community and romance in Blackberry Summer, the first book in the Hope’s Crossing series. Claire Bradford needed a wake-up call. What she didn’t need was a tragic car accident. As a single mom and the owner of a successful bead shop, Claire leads a predictable life in Hope’s Crossing, Colorado. So what if she has no time for romance? At least, that’s what she tells herself, especially when her best friend’s sexy younger brother comes back to town as the new chief of police. But when the accident forces Claire to slow down and lean on others—especially Riley McKnight—she realizes, for the first time, that things need to change. And not just in her own life. The accident—and the string of robberies committed by teenagers that led up to it—is a message to the people of Hope’s Crossing. The sense of community and togetherness had been lost during those tough years. But with a mysterious “Angel of Hope” working to inspire the town, Riley and Claire will find themselves opening up to love and other possibilities by the end of an extraordinary summer… Previously published. Check out the rest of the books in the Hope’s Crossing series: Book 1: Blackberry Summer Book 2: Woodrose Mountain Book 3: Sweet Laurel Falls Book 4: Currant Creek Valley Book 5: Willowleaf Lane Book 6: Christmas in Snowflake Canyon Book 7: Wild Iris Ridge

As Robert Parker's body is lowered into the grave, Herman Camm introduces himself to the mourning family. He is a beady-eyed, small-framed man with nice clothes and hat - and he is about to drastically change the lives of three women: Mae Lou Parker; her daughter Carrie; and Pearl Brown. On Christmas Eve, trouble arrives when Carrie reveals Herman is abusing her. Mae Lou is fed up with Herman spending time with other women but when she goes to confront him, she finds Herman pointing a gun at her friend Willie. All of the stories converge when Herman is found dead

Claire Bradford needed a wake-up call. What she didn't need was a tragic car accident. As a single mom and the owner of a successful bead shop, Claire leads a predictable life in Hope's Crossing, Colorado. So what if she has no time for romance? At least, that's what she tells herself, especially when her best friend's sexy younger brother comes back to town as the new chief of police.

The first installment of Thayne's classic Hope's Crossing trilogy is reissued in this edition that includes a bonus story, "Home to Honeymoon Harbor" by JoAnn Ross. Reissue.

What do you do without your best friend? Jamie isn't afraid of anything. Always ready to get into trouble, then right back out of it, he's a fun and exasperating best friend. But when something terrible happens to Jamie, his best friend has to face the tragedy alone. Without Jamie, there are so many impossible questions to answer -- how can your best friend be gone forever? How can some things, like playing games in the sun or the taste of the blackberries that Jamie loved, go on without him?

This dictionary aims to help users to find the most appropriate word to use on a wide range of occasions. It is designed in particular for students, those writing reports, letters and speeches, and crossword solvers, but is also useful as a general word reference. Special features include: an alphabetical A-Z listing; numbered senses for words with more than one meaning; British and American variants; and specially marked colloquial uses.