Together (Garee)

World War II is over at last, and the pier amusement park at Buckeye Lake, the "Playground of Ohio," is lit up, loud, and ready to welcome a summer of better days. The energy of dance hall and roller coaster, though, is disorienting for Sgt. Drew Mathison, weary from battle and trying to track down the one man who can testify in his brother's murder trial. He's not in the mood to celebrate when he simply cannot find that witness. Especially when he suspects Emily Graham, publisher of the Buckeye Lake Beacon, is hiding him. Doesn't she understand the danger the fugitive has brought to Buckeye Lake? Determined to save her childhood friend, the beautiful and quirky young woman manages to frustrate not just Drew but her family and community as she tries to fix a whole host of problems by herself. As Drew and Emily square off amidst secrets and a dangerous game of hide-and-seek, falling in love might be the only way to save the summer... and another life.

On the day of her sister's wedding, Rosie Graham and all the guests find themselves snowed in by the holiday blizzard of 1946 at the last place she wants to be: the inn owned by Fairchild Resorts at Buckeye Lake. Instead of preparing for Christmas at home, she must dodge her summer sweetheart from a decade ago and pray no one guesses the secret she has kept ever since. That fateful summer, Rosie allowed herself to be talked into the biggest compromise of her life by Keith, the Fairchild heir. She refuses to call that compromise a mistake because it resulted in her son, Charlie. Even though the stigma she's lived under as a result now may block her from adopting a little girl who desperately needs her love. But don't expect a holiday romance that reunites former sweethearts. Gabe Adams, Keith's best friend and the Fairchilds' business manager, is spending the holidays with the Fairchilds at the resort. He has come to the lake with a proposal in mind: a power match that has nothing to do with a single mother and artist, but rather her best friend, fashionable, clever, ambitious Dot Berkeley. The chaos of the wedding guests invading the sleepy hotel mirrors the chaos in Gabe's heart as his plans unravel, even as Rosie fears she has no faith in her own heart as she's drawn to him. Rosie and Gabe tell themselves the whole mess may simply stem from the unpredictability of the weather or the sentimentality of the holidays. As soon as the wedding guests can leave the hotel, their lives will return to normal. But do they want to return to normal and the plans they've made? They'll both need a great deal of discernment to step out in faith for this kind of love.

As a powerful, educated businesswoman (and occasional drag race winner), Dot Berkeley has never minded standing out at Buckeye Lake. After all, by 1947, she's been helping her father run the amusement park since she was a girl. Yet, when she is accidentally involved in the tragic death of a beloved local icon, she finds herself unable to handle both the wrath of the community and her own trauma. She ends up in full runaway-and-retreat mode out at Festival Farms. After all, the same accident left war hero Levi "Smokey" Black needing a hand with pumpkins and Christmas trees. His idealism in a hurting post-war world turns out to be what Dottie needs, too, as she buries her pain in labor and marketing ploys. The problem is, Smokey's holiday wonderland is far from where she knows her own path ultimately lies, and Dottie is just as far from the sweet, domestic wife Smokey had planned to seek when he returned from battle. Having grown up competing, they butt heads over everything from flirtation to religion. When their personal projects both bend to accommodate others who also need healing, though, they find themselves accidentally bending toward one another, as well. Obedience based on faith comes at a cost - but also comes with joy - as Dottie and Smokey find their way from shame and guilt to purpose and love throughout the growing season, the harvest, and the holidays.