Forgotten Flowers

Madeline Orsini had retired as Executive Director of Magnolia Garden, an exclusive assisted living facility in Charleston, South Carolina. Her life's dream of a husband and children long ago crushed by a savage assault, Madeline had resigned herself to a life of solitary contemplation of what might have been. However, a seemingly inconsequential project conceived by Jane Lincoln, Madeline's replacement, to construct family trees for residents of Magnolia Gardens would uncover her painful past and reunite her with a dream. For Jane Lincoln, Magnolia Gardens and its residents would become the home and family she had never had. When she and Daniel Kilgore married, there were supposed to be no secrets between the two. For several years, no need existed for either to reveal the hidden truth. However, with Jane's emerging desire to have children and Daniel's determination to never again experience the excruciating pain of losing a child, their marriage was on the precipice of ending. The Family Day Celebration at Magnolia Gardens would result in an epiphany for Daniel Kilgore and the realization of a life's dream for his wife, Jane. Their euphoric life would last a mere three months when an unspeakably horrific accident would bring Jane home to Magnolia Gardens and, ironically, provide Madeline with the second part of her life's dream.

Eddy Pinafore loathed the word. If it had a human form, he would have killed it without a second thought. Dementia had no human form. Eddy Pinafore could only stand helplessly by as the heinous disease ate away the mind of his precious wife, Maddy. Maddy became increasingly dependent on Eddy for the basic needs, feeding, dressing, and bathing. He found he loved her with more passion, more tenderness than he thought possible. He knew he had to find a place, where Maddy could get the care she needed. He hoped Magnolia Gardens was the answer. Eddy's daughter, Tina, had her own burden. The father of her special needs' child Missy, Trevor Barrington, had rejected any parental responsibility for child with physical and mental impairments. A chance encounter with a young police officer, Ryan Callahan, sparked hidden feelings in both. Tina feared he would shy away from her because of Missy. Ironically, his job would solve one dilemma and his heart would answer the other.