Much to Tom's surprise, it was Gail who started a conversation he had been rehearsing all day. Tom never expected this conversation so soon. He figured maybe when they were back at home for a few days, so he was taken aback and unready for such serious talk. But, Gail brought it up. Tom, I need to tell you how sorry I am for the way I acted the past few days. I didn't know what hit me but I had a lot of time to think about it and realize I'm jealous. Remember how during the summer my dad and mother always took a week off on their boat by themselves? Mom always said it was a great time for them. It was as though they had run away. That's the way I've been feeling that we should run away once in a while Yes, but you ruined that for them one year when they had their boat on Block Island, You did get jealous, and made believe it was just a day trip to surprise them. We took the ferry from the mainland and joined them with the three kids. I think it was a shock to them, but they really made us feel comfortable and we stayed aboard with them for a few days. Tom, that was a long time ago and we only had the two boys at the time and my father was always glad to spend time with them. Gail, we ruined their runaways after that year. They never went off without some of their kids, relatives or friends with them. Tom continued. Somehow or other there were always people with them except when they took that cruise for their twenty-fifth anniversary. Mom was a little disappointed by the ship, I think she had a more luxurious type in mind. It was February and the weather was awful. Just remember what a disaster that cruise turned out to be? Yes, they could have died when that rogue wave hit the ship they were really lucky. But they had a good time anyway. In a way I'm still jealous. We just had our twenty-fifth and couldn't get away. Too much paperwork to get the boys registered for college, and it costs a ton of money. Allison's parochial school tuition is not much, but she will be graduating soon, and we'll have another college kid to worry about. I think we'll never be able to afford a real vacation. We don't have a real life of our own anymore. Remember when we used to go down to Second Beach in Newport, spend the days on the rocks, and run through the surf. We sure didn't have a care in the world. How did we get bogged down with all this responsibility? Good question, answered Gail, We were teenagers and now we're grown-ups. We got married, we both worked hard, bought our house, had kids, bought cars, made the house bigger, the kids got sick from time to time, I had an operation, and we had to take care of all those animals. And our circle of friends kept getting larger. Then there are our families, you know how close I am with my sisters and brother. You only have your brother who we don't see too often, his two children will probably be getting married soon, and our extended family will just keep getting larger. Gail, we are still working hard, maybe harder since the boys started college. It's not family responsibility that comes between us. You're forgetting that your high-powered job not only keeps you away from home a lot, and you really work more hours a day than I do. Also you make so much more money than I do that you are the main breadwinner. Not that I'm complaining, but sometimes it just seems as though it doesn't matter if I work or not. Tom, you're wrong It's your income that puts us over the top. We seem to spend every cent I earn, and it's your earnings that give us a really good life. I realized how important your income was when you were sick last year and couldn't work for six months. Sick? I wasn't 'sick' I had a 'little' stroke.' That is worse than just being sick. I don't know if or when it could happen again, and it changes the way I think about things. Life is so tenuous. We never know what will come next. Before we know it, both our

An epic spanning three generations, Leaves of the Banyan Tree tells the story of a family and community in Western Samoa, exploring on a grand scale such universal themes as greed, corruption, colonialism, exploitation, and revenge. Winner of the 1980 New Zealand Wattie Book of the Year Award, it is considered a classic work of Pacific literature.

Leah is a single female who headed west to become a pioneer. She encounters a lot more than she ever could have imagine. She falls for a rustic mountain man that takes her on wild adventures. She stands against renegades, the army, gunslingers, robbers, and more. The town never new a city girl could save their town. This is only the first book of many to come in this series. It's full of lies, murders, mysteries with a twist that will leave you wanting more and so much more. My books will always have the same peple, setting, and all. The whole town knows secrets about Leah and her devoted mountain man that you could never imagine. Even their own parents are in on the mysterious life they have among the Cheyenne Indians and the president of the United States. The trust is always an issue from the shy school teacher to the owner of the saloon.

A family torn apart. A daughter determined to stay together.When the parish guardians send Lydia, daughter of convict James Knowles, to be an apprentice in the cotton mill at Caton, she is distraught at being parted from her younger siblings and mother, Martha, but she has no choice. At the mill, Lydia is bullied by some of the other girls and things do not go well when she stands up to the ringleader. Fearing she has killed someone and with the word murderess ringing in her ears, Lydia runs for her life. Meanwhile, Martha and her children have been granted passage to Australia to join her husband, but Lydia cannot be found so Martha is forced to leave without her. When Lydia arrives home to find her family has gone she is determined to follow them, all the while avoiding the law who seek to return her to the mill. A dramatic and emotional family saga for fans of Emma Hornby, Joanne Clague and Kitty Neale.

A faded, yellowing piece of paper holding the power to hurt or heal; CJ stared at it; thinking he would never see that note again. God in Chains is a compelling story of two families spanning the distance between truth, reality and the lies that move between three generations. The journeys of the characters in this book twist and turn until the reader comes to the final sentence. Life and death stand side by side, like forks in the road. One road leads in a new direction while the other road appears worn from travel and the scenery seldom changes. There are always choices and these characters are like pioneers that have to leave baggage along the way enabling them to reach their destination. At times, it seems impossible for some of them to make a choice of what to take and what to leave behind. The book concludes with life moving forward. But even then, the past reaches out from the shadows of the grave with one last jolt.

Megan ?Meggie? Foy has had a tough life. Living with her mother and step-father is a complete nightmare. They seem to have the perfect little family, but appearances can be deceiving. When her body and mind can take no more abuse at the hands of her step-father, Meggie finally decides to run, hoping her father, MC President of the Death Dwellers?. Christopher ?Outlaw? Caldwell deals in a world of violence, sex, drugs, and crudity. As current president of the Death Dwellers' MC, he presides over a club in chaos after the death of their longtime president and his mentor, Joseph ""Boss"" Foy. Outlaw is trying to keep everything with the club in his control. What happens when more trouble arises in the form of a blonde haired, 18 year old, beauty with the same eyes as his former mentor? Meggie discovers her daddy is gone and now there may be no one to save her and her mother. Alliances are made, loyalties tested, lives are lost, but will love conquer all in the world of bikers and revenge?

If you love Dilly Court, you'll love Sunday Times Bestseller Rosie Goodwin. 1884, Nuneaton. Fourteen-year-old Sunday Small has never lived outside the Nuneaton workhouse. The regime is cruel, and if it weren't for Miss Beau - who comes in every week to teach the children their letters - and her young friend Daisy, Sunday's life wouldn't be worth living. And now she's attracted the unwelcome attention of the workhouse master. With no choice but to leave behind everything she knows, Sunday strikes out on her own to make her fortune and to fulfil her promise to come back for Daisy. And, secretly she dreams of finding the long-lost mother who gave her away. But she's about to discover that, try as she might to escape, the brutal world of the workhouse will not let her go without a fight . . . Mothering Sunday is the first book in Rosie Goodwin's Days of the Week Collection. Why not try the rest, The Little Angel, A Mother's Grace, The Blessed Child, A Maiden's Voyage, A Precious Gift and Time to Say Goodbye?

The Sweet family have run the local bakery for as long as anyone can remember.Twins Ruby and Mary Sweet help their widowed father out when they can. Mary loves baking and has no intention of leaving their small Gloucestershire village. while Ruby dreams of life in London. But as war threatens, there will be changes for all of the Sweet family, with brother Charlie off to serve and cousin Frances facing evacuation. But there will be opportunities, too, as the twins' baking talent catches the attention of the Ministry of Food.... The gripping first instalment in Lizzie Lane's bestselling heartfelt, gripping Sweet Sisters trilogy. Praise for Lizzie Lane: 'A gripping saga and a storyline that will keep you hooked' Rosie Goodwin 'The Tobacco Girls is another heartwarming tale of love and friendship and a must-read for all saga fans.' Jean Fullerton 'Lizzie Lane opens the door to a past of factory girls, redolent with life-affirming friendship, drama, and choices that are as relevant today as they were then.' Catrin Collier 'If you want an exciting, authentic historical saga then look no further than Lizzie Lane.' Fenella J Miller

Two sisters face love, rivalry, and a shocking disappearance amidst the luxury of Palm Springs from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Flowers in the Attic series and Landry series--now popular Lifetime movies.Like everyone else in Palm Springs, Gish idolizes her smart, beautiful, kind older sister. Even their parents compare Gish unfavorably to Gloria--threatening to send her to boarding school once the more perfect sister leaves for college. But Gloria has an unwavering love for Gish, even if that connection belies a weariness with her own accomplishments. Wanting a better life for her overlooked sibling, Gloria teaches Gish how to talk to boys, embrace her femininity, and finally develop a life of her own. And just as life is looking up for Gish, Gloria meets a handsome, mysterious boy. Obsessed with the stranger, Gloria closes off her life to her sister--then disappears without a trace. A police search yields nothing. Their father's manic investigation proves fruitless. And their already starstruck mother becomes increasingly lost in daydreams of the celebrities who partied in their house decades ago when the town was a Hollywood getaway. Untethered from the weight of her sister's presence--but also missing her sister's love--what will Gish do with this new terrible freedom, with this sense she could become anything?

Two generations, two wars, and three cultures intertwine in the southwest United States, Mexico, and Italy as as a Mexican-American family struggles to define itself in "The Treasure of Sergeant Guiterrez."Fortunata feels like a tumbleweed without her children but knows what spirit flows through their veins. After all, as a teenager, Fortunata left home to fight beside Pancho Villa in the Mexican Revolution. Fortunata's son, Francisco, born during his mother's days as a Villista, carries two cultures and two languages into World War II as part of an exclusively Mexican-American infantry. Her daughter, Rub, the product of Fortunata'slove for a Tarahumara Indian, joins a traveling band and falls in love with a zoot-suited musician.Meanwhile, in Chihuahua, Mexico, Fortunata's brother, Pablo, and his family maintain ties with the Tarahumara Indians and with Robrika, Rub 's father. Pablo's daughter, Mercedes, is following in her Aunt Fortunata's footsteps with her rebellious ways as family history begins to repeat itself."The Treasure of Sergeant Gutierrez" chronicles family stories on both sides of the Rio Grande, where bloodlines are stronger than borders.

All she wants is somewhere to call home...Frances Sweet can't really remember her real parents. Brought up by her uncle, her cousins Ruby and Mary have always treated her like their little sister. As the war continues to keep her cousins separated from the men they love - Frances is growing up fast enough to catch the eye of dashing American soldier Declan. But she also has a greater longing - to find the mother who abandoned her years before... Full of hardship, love and emotion, discover the final instalment in Lizzie Lane's bestselling Sweet Sisters trilogy. Praise for Lizzie Lane: 'A gripping saga and a storyline that will keep you hooked' Rosie Goodwin 'The Tobacco Girls is another heartwarming tale of love and friendship and a must-read for all saga fans.' Jean Fullerton 'Lizzie Lane opens the door to a past of factory girls, redolent with life-affirming friendship, drama, and choices that are as relevant today as they were then.' Catrin Collier 'If you want an exciting, authentic historical saga then look no further than Lizzie Lane.' Fenella J Miller

In Secrets at Bletchley Park by Margaret Dickinson, two young women from very different backgrounds meet in the Second World War and are plunged into a life where security and discretion are paramount. But both have secrets of their own to hide . . . In 1929, life for ten-year-old Mattie Price, born and raised in the back streets of Sheffield, is tough. With a petty thief for a father and a mother who turns to the bottle to cope with her husband's brutish ways, it is left to the young girl and her brother, Joe, to feed and care for their three younger siblings. But Mattie has others rooting for her too. The Spencer family, who live at the top of the same street, and Mattie's teachers recognize that the girl is clever beyond her years and they, and Joe, are determined that she shall have the opportunity in life she deserves. Victoria Hamilton, living in the opulence of London's Kensington, has all the material possessions that a young girl could want. But her mother, Grace, a widow from the Great War, is cold and distant, making no secret of the fact that she never wanted a child. Grace lives her life in the social whirl of upper-class society, leaving Victoria in the care of her governess and the servants. At eleven years old, Victoria is sent to boarding school where, for the first time in her young life, she is able to make friends of her own age. Mattie and Victoria are both set on a path that will bring them together at Bletchley Park in May 1940. An unlikely friendship between the two young women is born and together they will face the rest of the war keeping the nation's secrets and helping to win the fight. They can tell no one, not even their families, about their work or even where they are. But keeping secrets is second nature to both of them . . .