Archaeologist Berit Katsaros travels the world in search of treasures from ancient times. A serious injury forces her to take a break from fieldwork and accept an interim teaching job at Whitman College. She finds nothing redeeming in her frustrating sabbatical…except her sexy landlord, Tace. When Stacy “Tace” Lomond takes charge of her brother’s failing microbrewery, she discovers a passion and talent she never realized she possessed. After years of putting herself last and supporting others’ dreams, she’s ready to make a name for her artisanal beer among the academics and sophisticated wineries in Walla Walla, Washington. Berit might be a tempting distraction, but she’s only a temporary fixture in town and in Tace’s life. Slow-crafted beer and time-worn artifacts. Both women recognize what’s important in their careers, but can they learn to appreciate the value of love?

Sergeant Rachel Bryce's determination to uphold the rules at any cost has made her a pariah on the Tacoma police force. When she is put in charge of the new mounted division, dissension in the ranks seems to guarantee the program's failure. Rachel asks an old college acquaintance to help her train the horses and their riders before they make their public debut amid the fireworks and crowds on the Fourth of July.Callan Lanford doesn't play by the rules. She invents her own. The scion of a polo-playing dynasty, Cal has been riding since before she could walk, and she scores both on and off the field with equal ease. But she isn't prepared for the emotional ride she takes as Rachel forces her to confront her achievement-oriented family's rejection. Cal's attraction to Rachel grows, but both their future together and the future of the mounted unit are uncertain, plagued by "accidents" and threats. As Rachel and Cal battle a corrupt politician's greed in the face of mounting...

After a lifetime of moving and change, Jan Carroll wants nothing more than to settle down and build a home. Then her father gets sick, and the stable—if solitary—life she’s made as a high school geometry teacher in Spokane, Washington, threatens to crumble around her. She wants little to do with newcomer Tina Nelson, a shallow and unreliable playgirl. Especially since their mutual friend Brooke Stanton has been not-so-subtly matchmaking…Tina, a graphic artist and musician, has vowed to spend her life free from the obligations that characterized her youth. No ties, no long-term commitments. But she agrees to travel to Spokane to help her cousin promote his business and, in a second moment of weakness, promises to contact Jan. Tina is certain her acquaintance with the too-logical and inflexible woman will be a short one.Sometimes, though, love makes you throw away life’s careful script. Can these women learn to improvise?About the AuthorKaris is a Pacific Northwest native with a BA in English from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, and a few years of postgraduate work in Classics at UW in Seattle. Naturally, this education led to a career as a horseback riding instructor. She has been teaching for over twenty years and has been published in a national equestrian magazine. She lives on a small farm in Washington with a black cat, goats, and a foster horse from a local equine rescue group. She spends most of her free time reading, playing the violin and viola, and riding with friends.

Mounted police officer Billie Mitchell has come back from the memories of war to a place of peace: a job she loves, partners she trusts, and a new home in Tacoma’s rough and neglected Hilltop Area. But when a businessman is murdered and one of her neighbors becomes a suspect, her calm shatters yet again. Heiress Merissa Karr has earned her own fortune working in urban renewal. After she witnesses her boss’s murder, she becomes the next likely target, and for once, money can’t buy her out of trouble. She needs to rely on Billie and other Hilltop residents—people who amount to nothing in her social circles—for her very survival. On pristine polo fields and run-down city blocks, two worlds collide. Can hearts and minds open wide enough for acceptance and friendship to expand into love?

When architect Kendall Pearson finds an injured osprey on her property, she expects to simply drop it off at a local wild bird rehabilitation center and be done with it. Quick and painless, like every other relationship she has. But wildlife biologist Bailey Chase has other plans for Ken. First, as surgical assistant, and second, as the designer for her new raptor sanctuary.Bailey protects her privacy with the vigilance of a hawk, hiding in her rescue center where she has complete control over her life and her work. Isolated on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, she's surrounded by natural beauty and plenty of solitude. Until sexy Ken Pearson walks in with a wounded bird and Bailey finds her life has been invaded by more than just an extra beak to feed.Sometimes pain is invisible, and only love can soar over protective barriers and heal a wounded heart.