A pioneer woman searches for a happier life in this dramatic debut historical romance by the New York Times bestselling author of the Honey Creek novels. Texas Ranger Josh Weston is a stranger to Bethanie Lane—and her only chance to escape from her lecherous uncle’s grasp. Without hesitating, she strikes a deal with the rugged lawman to take her with him when he leaves San Antonio. And on the journey to his family’s ranch near Fort Worth, they forge a bond as powerful as it is unexpected. When Bethanie’s dream of a future with Josh falls apart, she’s forced to make a harrowing choice. Yet through every danger and revelation, one thing remains—a love worth living and dying for . . . Praise for Beneath the Texas Sky “Thomas managed quite creatively to follow the life of a woman who embodied all the characteristics of a survivor and yet still made her compassionate and vulnerable—quite a dichotomy. This is a story rich in details that draws you in from the first page and manages to create quite a few surprises along the way.” —Fresh Fiction
To flee the lecherous advances of her uncle, Bethany makes her escape with Texas Ranger Josh Weston by offering to be a cook at his ranch. A man of the law, his devotion to duty will put the life he wants with Bethany in jeopardy and pit brother against brother.
Declared Texas State Photographer for 1997, the author celebrates his native state with a collection of some 114 pages of color photographs, along with a thoughtful, accompanying essay by John Graves that captures the essence of Texas. UP.
New York Times bestselling author Jodi Thomas lassos the heart of Texas with these four spellbinding stories, available together for the first time, where love shows up unexpectedly. . . Hank Harris wasn't even looking for a woman when he ended up with a wife. Aggie is exactly who he needs as a business partner--if only she weren't so damn beautiful, spirited--and in his bed. . . Rowdy Darnell was born to be wild and Laurel Hayes knows she shouldn't get involved with him--but oh, how he can kiss. . . When Annalane Barkley whispers her dreams to Wynn McCord, the Texas Ranger knows he's found a woman worth fighting for. . . If Cozette Camanez's groom doesn't show up for their wedding by dawn, she'll lose her family ranch. Trouble is, the groom doesn't exist--until unsuspecting thief Michael Hughes comes along. . . "The undisputed queen of Texas romance." --RT Book Reviews Praise for Jodi Thomas "Thomas knows how to tell a story." --Love Western Romances "Jodi Thomas's writing is breathtaking. . .her name should be at the top of everyone's favorite author list." --Affaire de Coeur
Explore Texas with this classic children's guessing game. In this colorful rhyming book, young readers learn about famous Texas state symbols, from the state bird (the mockingbird) to the state plant (the prickly pear cactus). Author and illustrator Deborah Kadair presents clever what-am-I riddles, encouraging children to guess which state symbol is the answer to the question. With engaging illustrations to brighten each page, "I Spy in the Texas Sky" is full of facts about Texas's fascinating history, wildlife, and spirit.
'He writes history like nobody else. He thinks like nobody else ... He sees the world as a whole, with its limitless fund of stories' Bryan Appleyard, Sunday Times Where have the people in any particular place actually come from? What are the historical complexities in any particular place? This evocative historical journey around the world shows us. 'Human history is a tale not just of constant change but equally of perpetual locomotion', writes Norman Davies. Throughout the ages, men and women have endlessly sought the greener side of the hill. Their migrations, collisions, conquests and interactions have given rise to the spectacular profusion of cultures, races, languages and polities that now proliferates on every continent. This incessant restlessness inspired Davies's own. After decades of writing about European history, and like Tennyson's ageing Ulysses longing for one last adventure, he embarked upon an extended journey that took him right round the world to a score of hitherto unfamiliar countries. His aims were to test his powers of observation and to revel in the exotic, but equally to encounter history in a new way. Beneath Another Sky is partly a historian's travelogue, partly a highly engaging exploration of events and personalities that have fashioned today's world - and entirely sui generis. Davies's circumnavigation takes him to Baku, the Emirates, India, Malaysia, Mauritius, Tasmania, Tahiti, Texas, Madeira and many places in between. At every stop, he not only describes the current scene but also excavates the layers of accumulated experience that underpin the present. He tramps round ancient temples and weird museums, summarises the complexity of Indian castes, Austronesian languages and Pacific explorations, delves into the fate of indigenous peoples and of a missing Malaysian airliner, reflects on cultural conflict in Cornwall, uncovers the Nazi origins of Frankfurt airport and lectures on imperialism in a desert oasis. 'Everything has its history', he writes, 'including the history of finding one's way or of getting lost.' The personality of the author comes across strongly - wry, romantic, occasionally grumpy, but with an endless curiosity and appetite for knowledge. As always, Norman Davies watches the historical horizon as well as what is close at hand, and brilliantly complicates our view of the past.
From New York Times bestselling author Jodi Thomas comes the story of a Confederate widow looking to start her life over and the Yankee captain on a mission to uncover dark secrets still lurking in the South after the war. Maggie, born and bred in Texas, has inherited a sprawling house that sits atop untold secrets. Grayson, hell-bent on hunting down traitors, is the last thing she expected to find. Can their passion and love overcome the many deceptions and deceits as they both try to rebuild in the aftermath of a war that torn a country apart?
Sometimes it takes a stranger to see you as you really are. Born and raised on sprawling Texas land, Margaret O’Brien prides herself on her competence as a rancher. But her father believes she’s made for more than just dawn-to-dusk work. He wants her to have the love of a good man, to raise children, to build a life. But Margaret gave up such dreams years ago. She’s convinced no man would have her, that the ranch is her life now. So when Margaret’s father hires Daniel Cutler as a new foreman, she’s frustrated and suspicious. Then an overheard conversation links him with a gang of bank robbers, and she’s downright worried. Daniel swears he’s not involved, but Margaret’s not convinced. She knows the man still has secrets. But would a criminal be so kind and talk so convincingly of his faith? As a series of tragic “accidents” threatens all she holds dear, Margaret must decide what to trust: her own ears, her best judgment . . . or what her heart keeps telling her. From the author of the best-selling Blue Moon Promise . . . an exciting tale of danger, romance, and faith played out under Texas stars. “Romantically tense, but with just the right touch of danger, this cowboy love story is surprisingly clever—and pleasingly sweet.” —USAToday.com for Blue Moon Promise
Hauntingly beautiful Perry McLain is desperate to escape the powerful Union Army captain who pursues her, seeking vengeance for her rebellion. Yet, her vow to save the handsome Hunter Kirkland plunges her deep into enemy territory—and into the tortuous flames of desire. To Hunter, weak with fever, Perry is nothing but an alluring dream visiting him in the darkness, a sultry vision he could embrace only in the heat of his own imagination. Yet the memory of her warm caresses refuses to fade in the morning light. He doesn’t realize that underneath the dirt-caked, boyish clothes of his daytime companion is the body of the woman whose nighttime passion he craves.
The New Yorker recently referred to Pat Metheny as “possibly the most influential jazz guitarist of the past five decades.” A native of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, just southeast of Kansas City, Metheny started playing in pizza parlors at age fourteen. By the time he graduated from high school he was the first-call guitarist for Kansas City jazz clubs, private clubs, and jazz festivals. Now 66, he attributes his early success to the local musical environment he was brought up in and the players and teachers who nurtured his talent and welcomed him into the jazz community. Metheny's twenty Grammys in ten categories speak to his versatility and popularity. Despite five decades of interviews, none have conveyed in detail his stories about his teenage years. Beneath Missouri Skies also reveals important details about jazz in Kansas City during the sixties and early seventies, often overlooked in histories of Kansas City jazz. Yet this time of cultural change was characterized by an outstanding level of musicianship. Author Carolyn Glenn Brewer shows how his keen sense of ensemble had its genesis in his school band under the guidance of a beloved band director. Drawn from news accounts, archival material, interviews, and remembrances, to which the author had unique access, Beneath Missouri Skies portrays a place and time from which Metheny still draws inspiration and strength.
