Showing results by author "Elana Johnson" in All Categories

Joy Bartlett needs a blueprint before she takes a single step in any direction. She loves seeing what she's getting into before committing, and just because half of her Supper Club has moved 1200 miles away doesn't mean she's going to start packing boxes. She is terribly lonely in Sweet Water Falls without Bea, Cass, and Lauren, and as another member of their monthly dinner party gets ready to leave Texas in the rear-view mirror, Joy starts creating her own blueprint.

Cassandra Haslam loves plans. Lunch plans, wedding plans, and floor plans—they all bring her joy. In fact, she's had her entire life planned out—career, marriage, and family—since age 10. She's smart, hardworking, and a go-getter, and everything has fallen into place so far. Until her husband dies suddenly, right when she's about to enjoy the fruits of all of her hard work and planning, leaving Cass reeling and...well, without a plan. When her youngest graduates three months later, making her an empty-nester, Cass decides it's time to make a new plan for herself. A paradise plan.

Nathaniel Mulbury is released early from his six-year term in prison to care for his brother's four-year-old son. Dealing with grief over his brother's death and continued guilt for his role in the embezzlement scheme that landed him in jail, Nate has one more problem. He's never been a father and has no idea how to take care of Connor.

Lauren Keller understands strategies. She adores them and never enters a marketing meeting without Strategy A, B, and C tucked away in the back of her mind. She's one of the top executives at her firm...until it all comes crashing down with the news that her boss has been stealing money from their clients for almost a decade.

Travis Cooper is the youngest son in a family stuffed with loud opinions and ginger-haired powerhouses. Yes, he has a loud bark, too. He has to in order to get the 10,000 dairy cows he's responsible for to listen to him. But when he happens upon Shayla Nelson stranded on the side of the road, he probably doesn't need to tell her: A, that he used to date her best friend, and B, that Shayla stole her successful outdoor outfitters company from that best friend. When she runs into Travis again a few months later, there's still plenty of sparks flying between them.

Bessie Clifton adores baking. With her daughter Wynona by her side, she's turned her passion for the perfect loaf of bread into a dream for a bakery. They move to Hilton Head Island and work to get their shop open with the help of Bessie's five best friends. It's not just a relocation. It's a reinvention. Bessie's life has been all about kneading dough, raising her daughter, and supporting her Supper Club ladies, but she's never felt truly loved or appreciated for her gifts.

Cherry Cooper isn't thrilled to be back in Sweet Water Falls, though she knows it's the right place for her right now. Her parents are aging and unwell, and she's been gone long enough. She wants to help Mama and rekindle her relationships with her siblings, which would be easier if they weren't all so blissfully happy. She's not unhappy, and a certain cowboy at the farm next door definitely makes a smile brighten her face faster than anything or anyone else has in a long time. But Jed's already broken up with her once because of his short temper and quick tongue.

Ashley Fox has known three things since age 12: she was an excellent seamstress, what her wedding would look like, and that she'd never leave the island of Getaway Bay. Now, at age 35, she's been right about two of them, at least. With an ill parent to take care of and her trusty sewing machine, Ash loves living in Getaway Bay and owning her own custom wedding dress shop. But the husband and wedding she's always dreamed of? Those seem like they're never going to happen for her.

Zara Reddy comes from a very traditional Indian family, but she's chosen a different path than the generational restaurant. She performs in some of Getaway Bay's biggest shows as an acrobat and synchronized swimmer and takes other odd jobs - anything to stay off her mother's "where's your boyfriend?" radar. When she lands a lucrative house-sitting job in the biggest mansion hideaway on the bluffs above the beach, Zara thinks she'll get some rest, plenty of sun, and time to make her life plan. But when she walks in, she comes face-to-face with Noah Wales, a man who makes her blood boil.

Tyler Rigby left his ritzy nightlife in New York City when he sold his half of the Online poker company for more than six billion dollars. When he needs a date for a high society function, he looks no further than the beach yoga instructor his dog has led him to several times. But Tawny Loveless isn't impressed with Tyler's lack of social skills - even if he did bring her favorite drink as a peace offering. When her dangerous ex-boyfriend shows up at the gala, she introduces Tyler as her fiance, much to his surprise.

Esther Pinnett has a two-year-long crush on the billionaire pineapple plantation owner she drives to and from work every day. But when she decides to give him a puzzle book for his birthday, he starts to see her as more than his chauffeur. Marshall Robison has been running the Hawaiian pineapple empire for years, and it will become his in just two more. After a marriage that ended badly eight years ago, he's closed himself off to dating or finding love...until Esther's birthday gift literally lands in his lap.

Gwen Heartwood has a love-hate relationship with nearly everything in her life. She likes managing the dining services at the family owned and operated Heartwood Inn...unless she's dealing with angry customers, crushing deadlines, and not enough kitchen staff.

Bennett Patterson is content with his boring firefighting job, puttering around in his wood shop, and spending evenings with his big Great Dane. At least he thinks so. He's been divorced for seven years, and at least he knows what each day is going to bring—and it's not heartache. When he gets called out to a fire, he comes face-to-face with his high school girlfriend, Jennie Zimmerman, who swore she'd never return to Hawthorne Harbor.

Bradley Keith is a Carter's Cove native, despite his professional football career. He's not interested in dating a journalist on his hometown island, and to get her to back off, he tells her he's engaged. The only problem? He's not. Doesn't even have a girlfriend. When the journalist shows up at The Heartwood Inn, where Brad is installing a new VIP swimming pool, demanding to know who his fiancée is, he names the first woman he literally sees walk by—Celeste Heartwood. Will Celeste put her reputation—and her heart—on the line for the football star?

Janey Germaine is tired of entertaining tourists in Olympic National Park all day and trying to keep her 12-year-old son occupied at night. When longtime friend and chief of police Adam Herrin offers to take the boy on a ride-along one fall evening, Janey starts to see him in a different light. Adam has had a crush on Janey since college. But she married his best friend and started a family before her husband died in a tragic accident.

Sheryl Heartwood loves everything to do with plants, flowers, and trees. She tends to the grounds around The Heartwood Inn, and she's content with the beach-side life she's always known. But she's not very happy about the ex-boyfriend who keeps showing up on her front step, following her around the expansive grounds at the inn, and scaring her. So she hires Gage Sanders to be her "boyfriend" to keep the other man away. The lines become blurred on the very first day, when she kisses him, which is so unlike Sheryl.

Olympia Heartwood is running the family empire, and she works long days and lives at The Heartwood Inn, making her entire life about her job. Which is just fine with her, because the last man she was involved with was married. When the truth came out, her heart shattered, and she's never been the same. And men? She can't trust them. Doesn't need them. Chet Christopher took the heat for something that wasn't his fault, lost his prestigious job at the country's largest luxury hotel chain, and has been living in his car for a few weeks.

Lee Cooper hasn't been interested in getting his heart stomped on again, thank you very much. He's the oldest brother, and the entire future of Sweet Water Falls Farm rests on his shoulders. Oh, and he's got his eight-year-old son to consider. So he doesn't laugh or even smile that often. Big deal. Lots of people barely smile, don't they? Maybe not Rosalie Reynolds, who is seriously the brightest ray of sunshine in Texas. At least in Lee's opinion. She develops educational video and board games, and she's the one who had him star-struck and silent after the demo.

She's the pastry chef for the on-site restaurant, lonely, and not happy when her ex-boyfriend comes into town looking to buy the land where the inn sits. Alissa Heartwood captains a fishing boat and is the pastry chef for her family-owned and operated empire on an island off the coast of South Carolina. With summer looming, she feels destined to be on the fishing boat before dawn and chained to the kitchen in order to get the pastries out for all the customers coming to the island.

William Cooper doesn't mean to see red the moment things start to go bad. It's the red hair, he swears. And the fact that his attention is pulled in a dozen directions, every day, all day. He just needs a break - and when he finally gets one, he almost sits in melted caramel and chocolate. Anyone would be upset by that, right? Maybe not everyone would then gripe about it right in front of the woman passing out the free apples. When he goes to apologize to Gretchen Bellows, a premier chocolatier in Sweet Water Falls, he's struck by her beauty and kindness.