My almost sister-in-law thought I, Lizabett McDonald, would be the first of the Sisterhood of the Dropped Stitches to marry? True, I've confided to my friends that I've had a crush on Rick Keifer since childhood. But will he ever see me as more than his best friend's kid sister? The Sisterhood wants to give me a beauty makeover to catch his eye. I've been preoccupied with a spiritual makeover, and with starting my own wedding-planning business—no time for romance. Yet with Rick as best man, maybe as I give Marilee her dream wedding, my own dreams will also come true!

When she ran away from the juvenile home she was raised in, Cat Barker left more than an unstable childhood behind. She also left her first love, Jake Stone. The two had more in common than anyone understood, but neither knew how to trust. Now Cat needs help, and there's only one person she can turn to—Jake, her daughter's secret father. Though Cat can see the tender man she once cared for, she still fears love and marriage. Until a daunting challenge renews her faith—and teaches them all a lesson about trust.

Just a Dropped Stitch is a memoir told in interlocking short stories. It's a family photo album; each snapshot tells a mini-story. You're sure you understand what you're seeing, but it's not until you've þnished ßipping through the entire album that you develop an intimate sense of who this family is. You thought you knew them, understood all the subtleties and dynamics, but, change the angle, soften the focus, ßip the page; there's a different story. Jesse, the narrator, is on a search. She's trying to identify the dropped stitches in her own life, to name them, and reknit them into a whole. As the book opens Jesse's mother is dying, but Jesse and her father þnd it impossible to face the inevitable. Turn the page: Jesse desperately wants to have children; she's a lesbian; she has to þgure out how to make that happen. Later we meet her children, Noah and Sophie; we're introduced to Anna, who becomes Jesse's spouse, before the world has caught up with the concept. We meet grandparents, and learn that in Jesse's family writing is revered, but infused with unspoken taboos. And we meet her brothers who each has a particular place to stand in the family portrait. Jesse has a story to tell, and she isn't sure it's safe to tell it. Loss and grief, being silenced and silencing oneself, becoming frozen, and the heat-generating, melting power of love, these are the themes in Just a Dropped Stitch. The importance of naming, the redemption that comes from breaking silences, these are the interwoven threads. Meanwhile, keep ßipping through the album and you see snapshots of everyday life: hiking with Noah, shopping with Sophie for a bat mitzvah dress. And Jesse's mother, who refuses to completely disappear, makes a surprise appearance, embarrassing Jesse at a job interview. As we close the album, we're keeping vigil with Jesse in the hospital while she waits to hear whether she has the disease that killed her mother. And, then, there's a þnal snapshot: a handmade Chinese box, with sides that drop open, revealing a blood-red interior where there's nothing to hide.

Previously published separately: A bride in Dry Creek, c2001; Shepherds abiding in Dry Creek, c2007.

Marry a secure businessman, or become a bunkhouse cook for twenty hungry cowboys on a cattle ranch? When Angelina Brighton chooses the ranch, she runs from the wedding her billionaire father arranged. Angelina won't marry a man she doesn't love. Then along comes former special ops soldier Tyler Stone, barreling into Dry Creek to bring her back home. Or so she thinks. But Big Sky country is full of surprises for everyone—especially for a faithful gal and rugged cowboy who discover what home really means.

My Yuletide Resolution: Stop Living a Lie With Christmas coming, I, Carly Winston, know it's time to make changes in my life. I've spent way too much time hiding my family's past—and letting opportunities pass me by. Not even my boyfriend, Randy, or my friends in The Sisterhood of the Dropped Stitches know about my secret shame. I'm hoping my new role as Mary in the local nativity play will build my confidence and help me to open up to those I care about. My evolving relationship with Randy—and my future—are riding on my ability to share my heart.

A Match Made in Alaska Hunter Jacobson wants no part of his grandfather's matchmaking. The lone cowboy is certain that's what the old man is doing when he trades part of their Montana ranch for Scarlett Murphy's claim to an old Alaska gold mine. Or is he running one of his legendary scams on the sweet single mom? A trip to Dry Creek, Alaska, reveals the truth—and brings Hunter and Scarlett face-to-face with a past family feud and a vulnerable present. But surprisingly it's the future that intrigues Hunter most…if he can get Scarlett to make him her groom. NORTH TO DRY CREEK: The road to Alaska is paved with love Hunter Jacobson wants no part of his grandfather's matchmaking. The lone cowboy is certain that's what the old man is doing when he trades part of their Montana ranch for Scarlett Murphy's claim to an old Alaska gold mine. Or is he running one of his legendary scams on the sweet single mom? A trip to Dry Creek, Alaska, reveals the truth—and brings Hunter and Scarlett face-to-face with a past family feud and a vulnerable present. But surprisingly it's the future that intrigues Hunter most…if he can get Scarlett to make him her groom. NORTH TO DRY CREEK: The road to Alaska is paved with love