Sacred Women's Circle

Diana Pettybone celebrated her fortieth birthday a few weeks before her Circle sister, Elizabeth's wedding in Ireland. Staying at The Manor with the newlyweds, she sees with devastating clarity how loveless her own marriage has become. Her growing jealousy of the love and happiness both Lily and Elizabeth have found threatens their friendships and their Sacred Women's Circle. Her desire to have a loving committed marriage battles with her fear no one will want her at her age. At a loss as to how to go forward, Diana turns to her Tarot deck, a Winter Solstice gift, for guidance. Her request? Show Me The Way. When her estranged husband attacks her, Matthew Houston, one of her community college business class students, becomes her champion. Tarot readings include the Knight of Pentacles. How will Diana find the strength to put her fear aside and include a younger man in her life?

Hunter Compton ran away at seventeen when she learned she was pregnant. Now she is a successful single mom, who is doing what she loves-teaching dance. A ghost from her past, the man who is the father of her daughter, appears a few months before the girl's high school graduation. Overhearing her mother argue with the man claiming to be her father, Logan Compton runs away. Grant Haywood Parker IV has always done his duty and lived up to the expectations of a Haywood Parker, especially a Haywood Parker IV-except for that long ago summer and now. He will do anything to claim Logan as his daughter. With the support of The Circle, dancing and drumming, Hunter must battle the demons and doubts that plague her, find her daughter and learn the lesson of forgiveness for her own transgressions as well as Grant's.

Gabriella Maria Moncrief is blessed. She survived childhood abuse and years on the streets before finding her way to the Sacred Women's Circle and good friends who sustain her now. But she still suffers nightmares she's certain have roots in the abuse. When she meets Giovanni, the gentle Italian reaches out, but Gabby is unable to reach back. Giovanni's invitation to his villa in Italy includes her circle sister, Sophia, who grieves the loss of a longtime friend. There Gabby begins her own healing process. But as she crafts the story of a young homeless girl, a composite of herself and other homeless teens she's known, Gabby slowly begins to feel different about herself, and her place in the world. And about Giovanni's place in her world. But when Gabby is offered a chance to remain in Italy and write, will she have the courage to make this leap of faith? With her circle sisters' support, how much more can she grow?

Widowed teacher Sophia Stewart looks for a new way to add purpose to her life after the death of a friend. Her plan: volunteer to check on vulnerable adults. On a dark November night, a home visit goes wrong when a younger man exploiting one of her clients harasses her. Afraid he will follow her up the overgrown path to her car, Sophia calls 911. Over twenty-five years on the force, where cruel and depraved actions come with the territory, have left Police Captain Cameron "Cam" Mitchell cynical and emotionally closed off. Though off duty, he responds to a radio dispatch to a nearby address. A woman is being threatened. When Sophia scrambles out of the darkness into his arms, the spark between them catches him off guard. Sophia's generous nature and love of life despite the tragedies she's experienced call to the black hole within Cam. The energetic work she and her circle sisters have been doing enables Sophia to see a glimmer of light within the officer's dark aura. She recognizes who he was-and can be again. With the support of her circle sisters and their husbands, Sophia and Cam struggle to find their way forward, to build a life of love in the light.

Dr. Mark Parker and his foster son face a social worker who is prejudiced against single parent adoptions. Jocelyn Edwards and her step-daughter flee the little girl's abusive father ending their cross-country ordeal in Fremont, OR. When a mutual friend brings them together, it is love at first sight for the battered little boy and broken little girl. But the path to love between Jocelyn and Mark is fraught with nightmares from the past and fears of future loss. To have the future they both desire, Mark and Jocelyn must persevere through the terror of loss to find love and claim their future.