Kirjahaku

In the heart of Virginia where the forests hide secrets and the creeks run strong and deep Libbie Havens doesn't need anyone. When she chances upon the secluded house on Cub Creek she buys it. She'll prove to her cousin Liz, and other doubters, that she can rise above her past and live happily and successfully on her own terms. Libbie has emotional problems born of a troubled childhood. Raised by a grandmother she could never please, Libbie is more comfortable not being comfortable with people. She knows she's different from most. She has special gifts, or curses, but are they real? Or are they products of her history and dysfunction? At Cub Creek Libbie makes friends and attracts the romantic interest of two local men, Dan Wheeler and Jim Mitchell. Relationships with her cousin and other family members improve dramatically and Libbie experiences true happiness-until tragedy occurs. Having lost the good things gained at Cub Creek, Libbie must find a way to overcome her troubles, to finally rise above them and seize control of her life and future, or risk losing everything, including herself.

Chasing happiness and finding joy are two very different things--as Jaynie Highsmith has discovered. Can she give up searching for the one and reclaim the other? Or is she fated to repeat the mistakes her mother made? Jaynie Highsmith grows up in Cub Creek on Hope Road acutely aware of the irony of its name, Hope, because she wants nothing more than to escape from it and the chaos of her childhood.Desperate to leave her past behind and make a new life, she is determined to become the best version of herself she can create. But when she does take off, she also leaves and forgets important parts of her past and herself.The new life is everything she wants, or so she thinks until she finds herself repeating the same mistakes her mother made. Is Jaynie destined for unhappiness? Is it like mother, like daughter? Did running away only delay the unhappiness she fears she is destined for?Seventeen years after leaving home, Jaynie needs a new fresh start and returning to Cub Creek is critical, but she promises herself that the visit will be as short as possible and then she'll be out and free again. However, a longer stay may be vital to her future because if she has any hope of changing her destiny, Jaynie must reconcile the past she turned her back on with her present.

Beth Kincaid left her hot temper and unhappy childhood behind and created a life in the city free from untidy emotionalism, but even a tidy life has danger, especially when it falls apart. In the midst of personal disasters, Beth is called back to her hometown of Preston, a small town in southwestern Virginia, to settle her guardian's estate. There, she runs smack into the mess she'd left behind a decade earlier: her alcoholic father, the long-ago sweetheart, Michael, and the poor opinion of almost everyone in town. As she sorts through her guardian's possessions, Beth discovers that the woman who saved her and raised her had secrets, and the truths revealed begin to chip away at her self-imposed control. Michael is warmly attentive and Stephen, her ex-fianc , follows her to Preston to win her back, but it is the man she doesn't know who could forever end Beth's chance to build a better, truer life.

Love and suspense with a dash of Southern Gothic...From the award-winning author of Beach Rental and Kincaid's Hope Rachel Sevier, a lonely thirty-two year old inventory specialist, travels to Wynnedower Mansion in Virginia to find her brother who has stopped returning her calls. Instead, she finds Jack Wynne, the mansion's bad-tempered owner. He isn't happy to meet her. When her brother took off without notice, he left Jack in a lurch.Jack has his own plans. He's tired of being responsible for everyone and everything and wants nothing more than to shake his obligations, including the old mansion. The last thing he needs is someone who'll complicate his life further, but he agrees to allow Rachel to stay while she waits for her brother to return.At Wynnedower, Rachel becomes curious about the house and its owner. If rumors are true, the means to save Wynnedower Mansion from demolition are hidden within its walls, but the other inhabitants of Wynnedower have agendas, too. Not only may Wynnedower's treasure be stolen, but also the life of its arrogant master unless Rachel can save them all.

BEACH WEDDING at Emerald Isle, NC Maia helped her friends find their happily-ever-afters Now she's ready for her own Along the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the Crystal Coast from The Front Street Gallery in Beaufort, NC, to the beaches of Emerald Isle and across Bogue Sound to Morehead City... Maia Donovan watched her friends find true love, and has dreamed of her own happily-ever-after, but wishes and reality don't always match up. When Maia met Joel Sandeford, she thought she'd found a man worth the risk of another broken heart. But she's hesitant. Joel lives out of town and always seems to be working. Maia, too, works long hours and spends most of her time managing The Front Street Gallery. She fears the distance and their work ethics may spell disaster. Both Joel and Maia have assumptions and memories from their pasts that make living fully in the present a challenge. Maia doesn't realize the biggest obstacle to her happily-ever-after may be herself, and the memories she's hiding in her heart-that part of her heart that still belongs to her first true love. If Maia can't resolve her fears or give up those old feelings, then finding her happily-ever-after may become an impossible dream.

On the Crystal Coast of North Carolina, in the small town of Emerald Isle... Juli Cooke, hard-working and getting nowhere fast, marries a dying man, Ben Bradshaw, for a financial settlement, not expecting he will set her on a journey of hope and love. The journey brings her to Luke Winters, a local art dealer, but Luke resents the woman who married his sick friend and warns her not to hurt Ben-and he's watching to make sure she doesn't. Until Ben dies and the stakes change. Framed by the timelessness of the Atlantic Ocean and the brilliant blue of the beach sky, Juli struggles against her past, the opposition of Ben's and Luke's families, and even the living reminder of her marriage-to build a future with hope and perhaps to find the love of her life-if she can survive the danger from her past.

Off-season at Emerald Isle In-season for secrets of the heart... Frannie Denman has been waiting for her life to begin. After several false starts, and a couple of broken hearts, she ends up back with her mother, with whom she doesn't get along, until her elderly uncle gets sick and Frannie goes to Emerald Isle to help manage his affairs while he's recovering. Her uncle's oceanfront home, CAPTAIN'S WALK, isn't fancy, and she isn't a 'beach person, ' but she decides CAPTAIN'S WALK in winter is a great place to hide from her troubles. But Frannie doesn't realize that winter is short in Emerald Isle and the beauty of the ocean and seashore can help heal anyone's heart, especially when her uncle's handyman is the handsome Brian Donovan. Brian has troubles of his own. He sees himself and Frannie as two damaged people who aren't likely to equal a happy 'whole' but he's intrigued by this woman of contradictions. Frannie's mother wants her back home and Brian wants to meet the real woman he senses is hiding behind the good manners and expensive clothing, but Frannie wants to move forward with her life. To do that she needs questions answered. With the right information there's a good chance she'll will be able to affect not only a change in her life, but also a change of heart.

BEACH WEDDING is the fifth story in the Emerald Isle, NC Stories series and the third full-length novel. If the reader would like to read the Emerald Isle series in order (recommended), here's the list: BEACH RENTAL (novel), BEACH TOWEL (short story), BEACH WINDS (novel), BEACH WALK (novella), and BEACH WEDDING (novel). Book Description: Maia helped her friends find their happily-ever-afters Now she's ready for her own Along the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the Crystal Coast from THE FRONT STREET GALLERY in Beaufort, NC, to the beaches of Emerald Isle and across Bogue Sound to Morehead City... Maia Donovan watched her friends find true love, and has dreamed of her own happily-ever-after, but wishes and reality don't always match up. When Maia met Joel Sandeford, she thought she'd found a man worth the risk of another broken heart. But she's hesitant. Joel lives out of town and always seems to be working. Maia, too, works long hours and spends most of her time managing THE FRONT STREET GALLERY. She fears the distance and their work ethics may spell disaster. Both Joel and Maia have assumptions and memories from their pasts that make living fully in the present a challenge. Maia doesn't realize the biggest obstacle to her happily-ever-after may be herself, and the memories she's hiding in her heart-that part of her heart that still belongs to her first true love. If Maia can't resolve her fears and give up those old feelings, then finding her happily-ever-after may become an impossible dream.

In the heart of Virginia, where the forests hide secrets and the creeks run strong and deep Libbie Havens never fit in. She bought the old Carson place on Cub Creek and moved to the Virginia countryside to prove she could live on her own terms. In the process, she learned some truths about herself and found love but love, acceptance and belonging can be easier to find than to keep. While on a trip to Sicily with Libbie, Jim Mitchell must leave suddenly because his son is injured in an accident in California. Now alone, Libbie is surprised by an old friend, Dr. Barry Raymond, but Dr. Raymond is a reminder of her troubled past and she's glad to see the last of him when she leaves Sicily until he shows up at her house on Cub Creek. Years before, Dr. Raymond told Libbie that if troubles weren't dealt with, they'd keep coming back. With Jim still away helping his son, Libbie's troubles are returning in force and wreaking havoc on her confidence and their relationship. Libbie would rather hide than risk rejection, but she must face down the past and fight for what she wants, or the troubles that haunt her past and present will forever doom her future.