She deserved the world. I thought leaving was the only way to give her that. So I left... Allowing her to finish college, having faith in her talents and that her dreams would come true. Breaking both our hearts in the process. Seven years I lived without her. Putting my own talents to work in New York, making my own success. But, never forgetting her. My faith reassuring me I'd made the right decision. But how wrong can one man be! She never even left her hometown. No big cities. No career. No husband. No kids. It was all for nothing. Now I'm back! I'm not going anywhere. I'm not living without her anymore. ***Hometown Virgin is a stand-alone novella with no cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed HEA.***

Twenty years after his iconic memoir Losing My Virginity, the world’s ultimate entrepreneur is back with the rest of the story. Richard Branson’s Losing My Virginity shared the outrageous tale of how he built Virgin from a student magazine into one of the greatest brands in history. No challenge was too daunting, no opportunity too outlandish to pursue. And each new adventure started with five simple words: “Screw it, let’s do it.” Now, fifty years after starting his first business, Branson shares the candid details of a lifetime of triumphs and failures and what he really thinks about his unique life and career. Finding My Virginity is an intimate look at his never-ending quest to push boundaries, break rules, and seek new frontiers—even after launching a dozen billion-dollar businesses and hundreds of other companies. As he led Virgin into the new millennium, Branson fearlessly expanded the brand into new categories such as mobile, media, fitness, and banking and into every corner of the globe—all while preserving its iconoclastic, scrappy spirit. He even brought Virgin into space with Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceline. Finding My Virginity takes us behind the scenes of the incredible brains, heart, and sacrifices that have gone into making private spaceflight an imminent reality—even after the biggest crisis Branson has ever faced. But this book is much more than a series of business adventures. It’s also the story of Branson’s evolution from hotshot entrepreneur to passionate philanthropist and public servant, via Virgin Unite’s environmental and health initiatives and through the Elders, a council of influential global leaders. And it’s the story of his personal quest to become a better son, husband, father, and “grand-dude” to his four grandchildren. Featuring a supporting cast that includes everyone from Bill Gates to Kate Moss, Nelson Mandela to Barack Obama, this is the gripping account of a man who will never stop reaching for the stars, in more ways than one. Find out how Branson did it for the first time—all over again.

The third installment in the "Come and See" Catholic Bible Study Series, The Synoptics invites you on a journey through the Holy Land and the Gospel texts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Drawing insights from biblical archeology and the writings of the early Church Fathers, this study compares parallel passages from the three Synoptic Gospels to construct a vivid picture of the life and mission of Jesus Christ. - 22 lessons, approx. 60 min. each - Illustrated with classical art - Frequent references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church - Memory verses from Scripture, quotes from the saints, popular Catholic prayers - Practical guidance for leaders: how to organize a study, what to expect - Large workbook format, with ample space to write/respond to questions Level: Basic, Foundational About the Series: Especially designed for families to do together, "Come and See" Catholic Bible Study series presents the rich heritage of the Catholic Faith in clear and simple language. With its practical direction for leaders, easy-to-use workbook format, and appealing design, this Bible study series is ideal for use in the classroom, home study, or parish catechesis.

Welcome back to Virgin River with the books that started it all… Wanted: Midwife/nurse practitioner in Virgin River, population six hundred. Make a difference against a backdrop of towering California redwoods and crystal-clear rivers. Rent-free cabin included. When the recently widowed Melinda Monroe sees this ad, she quickly decides that the remote mountain town of Virgin River might be the perfect place to escape her heartache, and to reenergize the nursing career she loves. But her high hopes are dashed within an hour of arriving: the cabin is a dump, the roads are treacherous and the local doctor wants nothing to do with her. Realizing she's made a huge mistake, Mel decides to leave town the following morning. But a tiny baby, abandoned on a front porch, changes her plans…and former marine Jack Sheridan cements them into place.

Featuring new critical essays by scholars from Europe, South America, and the United States, At Home and Abroad presents a wide-ranging look at how whiteness-defined in terms of race or ethnicity-forms a category toward which people strive in order to gain power and privilege. Collectively these pieces treat global spaces whose nation building and identity formation have turned on biological and genealogical exigencies to whiten themselves. Drawing upon racialized, national practices implemented prior to and during the twentieth century, each of the essays enlists literature or performance to reflect the sociopolitical imperatives that secured whiteness in the respective locations they study. They range from examinations of whiteness in the literature of Appalachia and contemporary Argentinean poetry to an analysis of performances memorializing the colonial experience in Italy and an exploration into the white rap music of Eminem and contemporary multiracial passing. As the contributors show, literary and performance representations have the power to chronicle histories that reflect the behaviors and lived realities of our selves. Whether whiteness, in addition to its physical manifestation, presents itself as identity, symbol, racism, culture, social formation, political imposition, legal imposition, or pathology, it has been outed into the visible, even in national spaces where the term “whiteness” has yet to be translated and entered into the official lexicon. The ten essays collected here provide powerful insights into where and how the race for biological and genealogical whiteness persists in various geopolitical realms and the ways in which Nordic whites, as well as ethnic whites and nonwhites, resecure its ascendance. La Vinia Delois Jennings is professor of English at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her recent critical study Toni Morrison and the Idea of Africa won the 2008 Toni Morrison Society Prize for Best Single-Authored Book on the Nobel laureate and Pulitzer-Prize winning author.

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The woman I want is as off-limits as they come. I had an excuse two years ago when I met her on campus. She interviewed me for a story on major league baseball's rising stars, and we shared a hot, passionate night that ended far too soon, and without a mention of who her father was. Now I know the innocent but sexy woman I can't stop thinking about is the coach's daughter. That means her dad is the guy who determines if I bat fourth in the starting lineup in every game, or ride the bench. All the more reason to resist alluring, confident, brainy Reese every time I run into the reporter-turned-sports publicist. That ought to be easy enough, until the time she confesses she's still carrying her V card, and she's been wanting me to cash it in since the day we met. Staying away from her is going to be harder than resisting a fastball down the middle. Especially since I'm pretty sure she's the one who got away, and letting her slip through my fingers again would be a rookie mistake.