Weary of Cold War politics, CIA operative Gabriel Haines can't wait to leave the Company life for a job on his friend's isolated Texas ranch. All he needs to do is go to Dallas and seal the deal. But when President John F. Kennedy is assassinated just yards from where Haines stands, the former agent finds himself in tighter crosshairs than ever before. Keeping a low profile on the ranch couldn't come at a better time.
Motherless preteen Ivy Jean Pritchard is a worrier, but she's trying hard not to be suspicious when her father sends her to spend the weekend on a ranch with family she's never met. And with her troublemaker teenaged cousin, high-society aunt, and her uncle's mistress on the scene, it promises to be more than the western adventure Ivy had anticipated.
Now, marksmen have tracked Haines to the ranch, getting the entire family involved in something very adult and very worrisome. When the weekend turns deadly, Haines and Ivy Jean are the first to learn that secrets, especially those devised and perpetuated "for the good of us all," can breakdown a family--or a nation--in the blink of an eye.
A criminal mastermind makes a bold move against a wealthy client to put himself in a position to retire in comfort. He has no idea what he's up against when a young widow, desperate to make ends meet, sets her eyes on earning the bounty set on his head.
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Newly widowed housewife Melody Scott needs to earn some major cash, fast. When her bright and busy children learn that a priceless ruby bracelet has been stolen and a six-figure reward is being offered, they convince her to try to do what the police, museum security, and the best private investigators have failed to do. Working against them is a notorious thief who has met people from around the world, but who has never once encountered a woman like Melody Scott. When the sweet innocence of the Scott family clashes against criminal forces more dangerous than they ever imagined, Melody is all too aware that a mom's got to do what a mom's got to do to protect her family.
The Widow, Melody Scott is a 2021 Watty Award Winner!
Content Warning: This story does contain depictions of stalking behavior.