Hold Me

Mallery imbues her 19th visit to the town of Fool’s Gold, Calif. (after Until We Touch), with folksy charm and family drama. Destiny Mills, the daughter of two country music stars whose antics get as much attention as their singing, is determined to avoid the limelight. Despite having a fantastic voice, she makes her living as a nomadic computer consultant. Kipling Gilmore was once a gold-medal skier, but his athletic dreams were extinguished after a serious accident on the slopes. When Destiny comes to Fool’s Gold to train the local search and rescue team on new software, her plan to keep her heart safe from the very attractive Kipling falls by the wayside after he kisses her. But Kipling is cynical about everlasting love after growing up in an abusive home, and Destiny is frightened of emotional entanglement. While the story makes occasional swerves into melodrama, the appealing characters make up for it. Agent: Annelise Robey, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (May)