hope solo north carolina home Audiobooks

An exclusive society of the world's most powerful gentlemen. Nothing will get between them and the women they want. Hope Malloy is not intimidated by rich, powerful men. So when she's hired to find a bride for billionaire Rafe Sterling, she’s certain the assignment will be easy. Not only is he sexy and a renowned philanthropist, the man is heir to one of the country’s largest hotel fortunes. Who wouldn’t want to marry him? Rafe Sterling does not want a wife. Too bad it's the one thing he desperately needs. His father ran off with a woman half his age, and Rafe can't become permanent CEO of Sterling Worldwide unless he's married. When he’s ambushed by the competent matchmaker, he’s captivated by her intelligence and seductive innocence. All of a sudden, he is thinking about a future and having her under his complete and total command. Will she run when she discovers his deepest, darkest secrets and shocking, sensual demands?

“Papa explains the war like this: ‘When the elephants dance, the chickens must be careful.’ The great beasts, as they circle one another, shaking the trees and trumpeting loudly, are the Amerikanos and the Japanese as they fight. And our Philippine Islands? We are the small chickens.” Once in a great while comes a storyteller who can illuminate worlds large and small, magical and true to life. When the Elephants Dance introduces us to the incandescent voice of Tess Uriza Holthe, who sets her remarkable first novel in the waning days of World War II, as the Japanese and the Americans engage in a fierce battle for possession of the Philippine Islands. The Karangalan family and their neighbors huddle for survival in the cellar of a house a few miles from Manila. Outside the safety of their little refuge the war rages on—fiery bombs torch the beautiful Filipino countryside, Japanese soldiers round up and interrogate innocent people, and from the hills guerillas wage a desperate campaign against the enemy. Inside the cellar, these men, women, and children put their hopes and dreams on hold as they wait out the war, only emerging to look for food, water, and medicine. Through the eyes of three narrators, thirteen-year-old Alejandro Karangalan, his spirited older sister Isabelle, and Domingo, a passionate guerilla commander, we see how ordinary people must learn to live in the midst of extraordinary uncertainty, how they must find hope for survival where none seems to exist. They find this hope in the dramatic history of the Philippine Islands and the passion and bravery of its people. Crowded together in the cellar, the Karangalans and their friends and neighbors tell magical stories to one another based on Filipino myth and legend to fuel their courage, pass the time, and teach important lessons.

This novella is also published as part of the collection SWEET HOME COWBOY. The Hathaway sisters might have grown up apart, but when they agree to move to Jasper Creek, Oregon, to revitalize their grandfather’s farm, it seems a straightforward decision. Until they meet their neighborhood cowboys… Prickly baker Georgie can’t resist the temptation of the most forbidden cowboy of all. The sisters’ feelings are anything but simple, but with the love and support of each other, they discover that a cowboy might be the sweetest thing of all about coming home.

Bestselling author and renowned Zen teacher Steve Hagen penetrates the most essential and enduring questions at the heart of the Buddha's teachings: How can we see the world in each moment, rather than merely as what we think, hope, or fear it is? How can we base our actions on reality, rather than on the longing and loathing of our hearts and minds? How can we live lives that are wise, compassionate, and in tune with reality? And how can we separate the wisdom of Buddhism from the cultural trappings and misconceptions that have come to be associated with it? Drawing on down-to-earth examples from everyday life and stories from Buddhist teachers past and present, Hagen tackles these fundamental inquiries with his trademark lucid, straightforward prose. The newcomer to Buddhism will be inspired by this accessible and provocative introduction, and those more familiar with Buddhism will welcome this much needed hands-on guide to understanding what it truly means to be awake. By being challenged to question what we take for granted, we come to see the world as it truly is. Buddhism Is Not What You Think offers a profound and clear path to a life of joy and freedom.

Chocolatier Lanie Heaven has good friends, a booming business, and the adoration of the citizens of Merritt, Alabama. But she also has a secret. After the devastating breakup with her long time college boyfriend, she lost a baby and the hope of ever having a child - the thing she desires above all else. Though still grief-stricken eighteen months after the accident that killed his wife and best friend, Judge Luke Avery is lonely for the company of someone other than his three-year-old daughter, Emma. When Luke moves into the apartment above Lanie's candy shop, Lanie and Emma fall in love at first sight and Luke finds himself along for the ride. It's so easy for the three of them to slip into a life as sweet as the candy in Lanie's shop. But when Emma calls Lanie Mommy, Luke realizes things have gone too far; he has to propose to Lanie or walk away. He isn't ready for marriage, but engaged isn't married. Lanie eagerly accepts but as the evidence stacks up, she must accept that Luke's love is not equal to her own. Can Luke find a way to slay his demons before the sweet life they have created goes completely south?

Part memoir, part cultural exploration, this book covers the author’s journey as she grows up in an evangelical Christian home, leaves religion behind as a young adult, and goes on to raise children in a family outside of religious belief. Maria Polonchek weaves a personal story with up-to-date studies and philosophic exploration of what it means to raise secular children in an otherwise religious world. Offering careful and respectful advice for other parents who are raising their children outside of a particular religious belief system, she explores the many other ways of instilling identity, belonging, and meaning into our lives and the lives of children. Honest and irreverent, the author admits to her religious “baggage” and searches for better understanding of such topics as religious education, morality, awe, death, purpose, and meaning, and tradition from secular perspectives. She interviews experts, looks at various studies, and turns to a variety of sources for answers, while maintaining a casual and personal tone. While she ultimately argues for parents to let their children shape their own beliefs, she encourages families to tend to existential and social needs that sometimes go unnoticed or unconsidered in life outside religion.

On the day that Yasmin Starr gets divorced, a divorce agreement becomes the number one trending topic."The divorce is due to the man's inability to fulfill his basic duties as a husband!"That night, Yasmin is dragged into a car. Blake Ford chomps down on her lip, looking fierce. "You can test me out tonight to see whether I'm able to fulfill my duties, Ms. Starr."After the divorce, Yasmin becomes an internationally renowned designer. Countless handsome men surround her.As the line of men waiting for her hand grows longer, Blake can't sit still anymore. He finds opportunities to show up before her, begging for her love domineeringly yet tenderly. "Yasmin, come home with me, okay?""Belated love isn't worth anything, Mr. Ford.""Yes, I'm the worthless one and a lapdog to boot. I was wrong, Yaz. Come home, please …"

Take her! She is ours! The little wolf in front of me seemed as frozen as me, but that ancient old need only turned stronger now that she stood in front of me. I reached out and grabbed her by her neck. She gasped, shocked, and then I pushed her backwards, closing the door behind us and locking it. Yes, she was trapped now with the big, bad lycan king. *** Anastasia lost everything when she was a young child. Her entire family was killed by mysterious lycans. It leaves her scarred for life and burned after a violent fire takes her home from her. Anastasia swore revenge after she is found by her aunt and taken in. She will find the lycans who took her family from her and end them all. At a party where the lycan King Roman will introduce his new queen, Anastasia runs into the lycan king after he finds her in a bathroom. Suddenly he becomes the center of her world. But can she trust him when she has sworn she hates all lycans? Roman never wants to fall in love or even meet his mate. He chooses a queen. A friend he has known for many years, but at the very party where he is going to present her to all wolves and lycans, he runs into Anastasia. She is like no other woman he has met, and while he knows he must have her, Ana wants nothing to do with any lycan. Can Roman convince her to trust him? Or will Ana keep her heart closed forever? The scars on her body tell her never to let anyone in, but the lycan king's hands on her make her feel so warm. *Book 1*

MERGING BOOK 1 & 2 "Rainbow! You should be the one begging to stay! We both know that no one else would love you as I do! Who else is going to accept a scarred and wolf-less woman like you if not me?" Jean roared and shattered my heart. "You're so ugly that babies will take one look at you and scream! To top it up, you're wolf-less! You are an abomination!" Jasmine— Jean's supposed sister hurled hurtful words at me. _________________________________________ Wolf-less and Scarred; Unwanted and Ugly, will Rainbow ever find true love? Rainbow was once the eye of beauty itself until two days before her eighteenth birthday. A fire starts and in order to save her boyfriend— Jean, she jumps into the fire despite her wolf's warnings. In saving Jean, she suffers unimaginable burns and the pain is so unbearable that her wolf falls into a hopeless sleep. Therefore, causing her to be wolf-less. Due to her scars, she starts suffering abuses from her pack. The only thing that keeps her going is because she believes her boyfriend loves her despite her scars. Until she catches him cheating on her with his adoptive sister and instead of feeling remorseful, they hurl hurtful words at her because of her condition.This shatters her heart into pieces and when all hope seems lost, the goddess sends her another man in the form of the beautiful Alpha of the pack. Will she finally find true love and her place in the world?Or will she be mocked and played like Jean had done? Unbeknownst to her, her unpredictable journey just began. Follow Rainbow into this fantasy world and find out the twisted things that the goddess has in store for both her and her Alpha mate. NB: Not your typical werewolf story.

In my previous life, I found myself as the unwanted presence in my marriage to Henry Pelham. He was deeply in love with another woman, which eventually led to our broken marriage and my tragic death.After my rebirth, I realized that the best course of action was to give up and stop caring about our marriage. So, I patiently waited for Henry to bring up the subject of our impending divorce.But things took a strange turn. Suddenly, that very man, who had been gone for months, began returning home frequently."Will you believe me when I say that you will soon long for my complete disappearance from your life?" I asked."Stop daydreaming," he replied. "We are destined to torment each other until we die."I sighed. I was convinced that Henry would soon meet his true soulmate, as had happened in my previous life.The time had finally come for Henry to cross paths with her, and I thought that I was just one step away from freedom.Yet, to my astonishment, he retorted, "Who ever said I wanted a divorce?"He not only opposed the idea of our divorce, but he also became increasingly obsessed with me, to the extent that he abandoned his soulmate!