Love struck me at the early age of five. The boy turned into a man, and I fell even deeper. Guy Webb had no idea my fragile heart belonged to him for so many years. He was too busy being my brother’s best friend and a star on the football field. He was my daydream and consumed every single thought, but he was always one step from my reach. Beartooth Ranch was our home. The rich ranch land raised us, fostered our laughs and losses, and even gained a new family member when Guy moved in for his sophomore year of high school.

Blue Williams shines no matter the circumstance. She's the prettiest girl in her hometown, the most talented cheerleader on her high school squad, valedictorian of the senior class, prom queen, and runner-up for Miss Teen Colorado. And the list goes on.... That's until college, when she finds out that nobody recognizes her, and if they do, they couldn't care less. Blending in is something Blue has longed for her entire life.

Baylor Jones and Stayton (State) Blake. Two lost souls raised on the streets. Young children vowing to always protect each other. He was only nine but he was her protector and best friend for years. Even when thrown in foster care he took care of her always like a king to his queen. A silent pinky promise shared between, it was their secret protection to one another. Then one morning he was gone. Leaving Baylor on her own to battle the streets and more importantly life in the Kings all by herself.

After serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where it all went wrong, hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. But the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild. Everyone in her daughter’s life is determined to shut Kenna out, no matter how hard she works to prove herself. The only person who hasn’t closed the door on her completely is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner and one of the few remaining links to Kenna’s daughter.

Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: He will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.

Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters.

For 18 years, Jude Farraday has put her children’s needs above her own, and it shows - her twins, Mia and Zach, are bright and happy teenagers. When Lexi Baill moves into their small, close-knit community, no one is more welcoming than Jude. Lexi, a former foster child with a dark past, quickly becomes Mia’s best friend. Then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable. Jude does everything to keep her kids on track for college and out of harm’s way. It has always been easy - until senior year of high school. Suddenly she is at a loss.

One word. Stay. It was all he had to do. Instead, he got on that bus and took my heart with him. That was 17 years ago. I moved on. Marriage. Kids. White picket fence. Everything I ever wanted, but my husband betrayed me and I was left once again.

Sleep, it was luxury I didn't have. I could hear it then, in the dark light of night, in the dusky morning; the click of the trigger, the smell of her blood, the sound of the rain. I never thought I would see her again. She was a ghost. She was dead. When Maggie Wright pushed her way into my life, she brought the phantom with her, and I was helpless to her pull. Everything I had, all of it, had been taken from me 10 years ago.

Life is over in an instant for sixteen-year-old Finn Miller when a devastating car accident tumbles her and ten others over the side of a mountain. Suspended between worlds, she watches helplessly as those she loves struggle to survive. Impossible choices are made, decisions that leave the survivors tormented with grief and regret. Unable to let go, Finn keeps vigil as they struggle to reclaim their shattered lives.

Lydia and Freddie. Freddie and Lydia. They’d been together for more than a decade and Lydia thought their love was indestructible. But she was wrong. On Lydia’s 28th birthday, Freddie died in a car accident. So now it’s just Lydia, and all she wants is to hide indoors and sob until her eyes fall out. But Lydia knows that Freddie would want her to try to live fully, happily, even without him. So, enlisting the help of his best friend, Jonah, and her sister, Elle, she takes her first tentative steps into the world, open to life - and perhaps even love - again.

Liam wasn't supposed to be my happily ever after. He wasn't even on my radar. He was my husband's best friend - forbidden. But my husband is dead, and I'm alone. I ache for him, and I reach for Liam. One night with Liam changed everything. Now I have to decide if I truly love him or if he's just the consolation prize.

Ambrose Young was beautiful. He was tall and muscular, with hair that touched his shoulders and eyes that burned right through you. The kind of beautiful that graced the covers of romance novels, and Fern Taylor would know. She'd been reading them since she was 13. But maybe because he was so beautiful he was never someone Fern thought she could have...until he wasn't beautiful anymore.

Beckett: If you’re reading this, well, you know the last-letter drill. You made it. I didn’t. Get off the guilt train, because I know if there was any chance you could have saved me, you would have. I need one thing from you: get out of the army and get to Telluride. My little sister Ella’s raising the twins alone. She’s too independent and won’t accept help easily, but she has lost our grandmother, our parents, and now me. It’s too much for anyone to endure. And here’s the kicker: there’s something else you don’t know that’s tearing her family apart.

Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me. Whoever coined that phrase is a bald-faced liar. Words are often the sharpest weapon of all, triggering some of the most powerful emotions a human can experience. "You're pregnant." "It's a boy." "Your son needs a heart transplant." Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me. Lies. Syllables and letters may not be tangible, but they can still destroy your entire life faster than a bullet from a gun.