That Second Chance

It's all about that second chance... Sometimes we're lucky enough to get that second chance, in life and in love. Pulling Home is a stand-alone story of a strong woman who battles heartache and loss with courage and determination to find new paths and true love. This is book one of That Second Chance series. She'll risk anything to save her child...even the truth. It's taken nine years and a cross-country move, but Audra Valentine Wheyton has kept her secrets safe. She's created the perfect life: a husband who loves her, a daughter she adores, and a position as head writer for an award-winning daytime soap. When her husband dies suddenly, Audra returns to her hometown for the funeral and faces a community that has not forgotten her meager beginnings and the man who has never forgiven her for marrying his brother. Jack Wheyton is a successful pediatric neurosurgeon who is about to become engaged when Audra walks back into his life with her daughter. He forgave his brother long ago for taking something that had been his, something he hadn't even realized he wanted until it was gone. But forgiving Audra is another story...and forgetting her? Near impossible. When a shattering illness strikes Audra's daughter, she turns to Jack to save her child and risks exposing a secret that will change their lives forever.

It's all about that second chance... Sometimes we're lucky enough to get that second chance-in life and in love. The Way They Were is a stand-alone story of a strong woman who battles heartache and loss with courage and determination to find new paths and true love. This is book two of That Second Chance series. It is also the prequel to Mary's bestselling family saga, A Family Affair: The Secret, Truth in Lies, Book Eight. They promised to love one another forever, but tragedy tore them apart. Now, destiny may just bring them back together. At eighteen, Rourke Flannigan and Kate Redmond thought they'd spend the rest of their lives together-until a family tragedy tore them apart. Fourteen years have passed, and they've both carved out separate lives hundreds of miles apart-hers as a wife and mother, his as a successful, driven businessman. But once a year, Kate pulls out a red velvet journal and writes a letter, which she'll never send, to the man who still owns her heart. Once a year, on the anniversary of the first and only night they made love, Rourke permits himself to read the annual investigative report detailing an ordinary day in Kate's life. When a subcontractor at one of Rourke's holding companies is killed, Rourke decides to pay the widow a visit and offer condolences, never dreaming the widow will be Kate. As they embark on a cautious journey of rediscovery, one far greater than they could have imagined, secrets and lies threaten to destroy their newfound closeness-forever.

Sometimes we're lucky enough to get that second chance, in life and in love. That Second Chance Series are stand-alone stories of strong women who battle heartache and loss with a courage and determination to find new paths and true love. What ties them together? A common theme: belief in the beauty of that second chance. If you enjoyed the small town sense of community and caring in A Family Affair you'll experience that same coziness in Simple Riches. There's heartache, betrayal, forgiveness, and redemption, all wrapped up and waiting for you. Alexandra "Alex" Chamberlain is a big city girl who knows nothing about close-knit families, sibling rivalry, or receiving an unsolicited opinion in the name of family. She's been raised by an aunt and uncle who've provided her with a wealthy lifestyle and a fancy education, but have withheld what she craved most-love and acceptance. Her uncle has taught her to disregard everything but the bottom line on a balance sheet and she'll do anything to earn his approval. She prides herself on excelling at her job, which is selecting small towns to buy, flatten, and replace with luxury resorts. When Alex decides to investigate Restalline, Pennsylvania, as a potential site for the next resort, she enters the town under the guise of a researcher gathering information for a documentary. Her uncle wants this project badly, and she's not going to disappointment him. This town should be like all the others. Only it isn't. This town has the Androviches, a family who values hard work, honesty, and doing the right thing. And this town has Nick Androvich, the town doctor with a battered heart who doesn't quite trust her, but can't deny the mutual attraction. Oh, but it's going to get messy when the truth about Alex's real purpose for being in Restalline sneaks out...and the truth always does. But fear not, the town is not going to sit by quietly and watch this meant-to-be-together couple lose their happily ever after...

It's all about that second chance...How does one see truly-with the heart or with the eyes? Matt Brandon has it all-wealth, power, looks, and talent. Women want him; men want to be like him. When a freak ski accident strips him of one of life's most basic needs-his sight-he struggles to accept the possibility that his blindness may be permanent. Enter psychologist Sara Hamilton, a woman who has known her own share of grief and loss and may just be the one person who can help Matt redefine his new world. Sara is every woman's woman-she's not a toothpick or a Cosmo girl, has never been prom queen, or dated the blond-haired god with the big white teeth. She's honest and decent and real...and lives on the perimeter, applauding her patients' successes, nursing them through their failures, but never acknowledging or accepting what she lacks in her own life. She's loved and lost once and has been so emotionally scarred, she's not willing to risk those feelings again. Of course, she's never met a man like Matt Brandon. As Matt and Sara explore the delicate balance between "blind" trust and hope, they will discover that sometimes you have to lose everything to find what you are truly looking for...

Sometimes we're lucky enough to get that second chance- in life and in love. That Second Chance Series are stand-alone stories of strong women who battle heartache and loss with a courage and determination to find new paths and true love. What ties them together? A common theme: belief in the beauty of that second chance. A wise and humorous tale of living large after 40 as women finally make peace with themselves-wrinkles, blubber, neuroses, exes, and all. Three women embark on a month-long "discovery" journey and uncover quite a few tidbits along the way...one bottle of Clairol Midnight will not cover a full head of red hair, and never talk to men wearing polyester pants hiked up with a tan belt. But most of what they unearth is about themselves-who they are, what they really want, what they really don't want. The center of controversy is a Maid-for-You mixer, which symbolizes a boring, routine suburban life with no second chances-then along comes insight in the form of Tula Rae, a sixty-something salsa-dancing, Dalai Lama-quoting, four-time widow in Spandex and a gray braid who gives them a different perspective on life, love, do-overs, and the real reason a man buys his woman a Maid-for-You mixer, which she says is all about S-E-X.

Sometimes we're lucky enough to get that second chance, in life and in love. That Second Chance Series are stand-alone stories of strong women who battle heartache and loss with a courage and determination to find new paths and true love. What ties them together? A common theme: belief in the beauty of that second chance. Sometimes love happens when you least expect it... Jenny Romano has never been a white-picket-fence, happily-ever-after girl. Despite a mother who rejected her free-spirited, unique ways as irresponsible and just plain wrong, Jenny has found happiness as a photographer, flitting around the country and snapping photos of other people's lives. Her older sister, Grace, has a husband, children, and a carpool schedule. She's the one their mother calls "perfect." But when tragedy strikes her sister's carefully constructed life, Jenny must step in and help. Soon, she's knee-deep in small-town, suburban life, the kind she's always avoided... Psychologist Elliot Drake spends so much time healing other people's pain that he prefers to keep his own relationships short and uncomplicated. He's loved and lost once and with a young daughter to raise, he's not willing to risk his heart again. Of course, he's never met anyone quite like Jenny. Outrageous and unpredictable, she's nothing like her well-controlled older sister. And the more he's around Jenny, the more he wonders if short-term is really what he wants... Elliot and Jenny are about to discover that real life happens whether you want it to or not. Will they let real love happen, too?