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, is small and unpretentious, and even though Frannie isn’t a ‘beach person,’ 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...

A woman returns home to hide from her past mistakes and discovers one more chance at happiness. Sandra Hurst has left her husband. Again. After dropping out of college to marry Trent, divorcing him, then remarrying him, she’s shown up on her parents’ doorstep nursing her wounds. But her parents refuse to help this time—emotionally or financially. Desperate to earn money and determined to start over, she accepts an offer from her aunt to house-sit at the old family home, Cub Creek, in ruggedly beautiful rural Virginia. But when Sandra arrives, she finds the house has grown shabby, her aunt’s dog is missing, and the garden is woefully overgrown. And she suspects her almost-ex-husband is on her trail. As she begins to settle into the familiar homestead, powerful secrets and hurtful memories are unearthed. But Sandra discovers that to move on from the pain of her past, she must embrace...

In the heart of Virginia, where the forests hide secrets and the creeks run strong and deep ~ Libbie Havens doesn’t need anyone. She’s fine on her own. When she chances upon the secluded house on Cub Creek she purchases it. She’ll show 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...

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...