The Lamberts of Pacific Knoll Series

When Alexis McCord's abusive boyfriend is arrested, she seizes the opportunity to escape with her young son. Now she and 5-year-old Chance are building a life in the tiny, remote beach town of Sandy Reach, Washington. Lexi is even acting on her dream of becoming a baker with her own shop—if only Hugh never finds her. Fletcher Lambert, distraught after the death of his wife and baby daughter, Sandy Reach is a handy place to escape his memories, away from his law office and his large, well-intentioned but intrusive family, who are watching and waiting for him to move on. He's not sure that will ever happen. Then Fletcher meets Chance. When he learned that the waitress serving him at Omar's pub is the boy's mother, sparks fly in in spite of his intentions never to get close to a woman again. Lexi feels them, too, but her mistrust of men forces her to ignore Chance when he declares that Fletcher would make the perfect dad. After all, who listens to a five-year-old in the midst of all this grown-up angst?

High school counselor and middle daughter in the Lambert family, Debra Lambert discovers a student bleeding from an attempted suicide. She doesn't know what to think, when her boyfriend, a professor at Lambert-Knoll College, Sawyer Quinlan, is suspected of having been involved. Lawyer Todd Prescott is determined to get to know Debra; unfortunately for him, she's already spoken for. But when she breaks up with Sawyer, Todd's hopes soar. As much as she's attracted to him, Debra's hesitant to trust Todd to guard her heart any better than other men who have let her down. Moreover, she's determined to prove she's a strong woman, capableto taking care of herself. But Todd becomes as frustratingly protective as Debra's brothers. Does he risk driving Debra away by trying to protect her from a stalker? And how can Debra find a way to stand on her own two feet, without losing her chance at real love?

Chris Lambert and Theodora Jameson have lots in common. He wants to concentrate on building houses and refurbishing furniture, a creative endeavor much like Teddy's love of carving and stained-glass artwork. They've been friends forever, but never connected romantically, something Teddy has dreamed of since she was a teenager. It takes a series of disasters for clueless Chris to take a good hard look at Teddy. He begins to see beyond her on-the-job skills, to the kind of woman she is—and realizes he's missed the boat in never asking her out. But when Chris finally gets up enough nerve to ask for a date, Teddy mistakes his interest for a maneuver to control her and make her a partner in his construction firm. When she turns him down, Chris is forced to rethink how to convince Teddy that he's serious about deepening his relationship with her.

Eden Brinker is eager to rejoin the work force now that her children are in school. Then she learns she's pregnant. Her mixed feelings about adding another child to their family turn to apprehension when she learns her baby may carry a genetic marker for a fatal disease. Meanwhile, someone is stealing scholarship funds from her family's college foundation right out of the office where her husband, Hale, works. Could Hale be the the guilty party? She knows how worried he has been about money. Under the dark clouds of possible embezzlement and a complicated pregnancy, will Hale be able to trap the thief and prove himself innocent? Can the Brinker marriage survive the dilemma of whether to carry to term a child predestined to a tragically short life?

Elaine Lambert, youngest daughter of Iona and Nathan Lambert, has always known her own mind and taken the lead with her boyfriends. But after her fiancé dumps her, she no longer trusts her own judgment when it comes to men. She embraces a no-dating mantra, and her recently adopted dog, Bandit, seems to agree with her policy. He won't let any man come near her. Except for Cliff Wyecliff, her niece's former kindergarten teacher and seasonal wildfire fighter. Could it be that Bandit knows something she doesn't know? Cliff seems ready for more than a casual friendship, and Elaine slowly becomes convinced that she might make an exception for the one male her canine companion approves of. But when Cliff realizes their relationship is turning serious, he pulls away. After tragically losing his first love, can he risk losing another? Elaine and Cliff face a trial by fire, literally—not to mention the disapproval of the Lambert family matriarch. Can their relationship survive or should they go their separate ways?

In this final story in the Lamberts of Pacific Knoll series, parents Nathan and Iona Lambert have had a good life together for more than forty years. Only their youngest son, Logan, still lives at home.  But when he and big sister Debra are caught and injured in a landslide, Logan's true parentage is revealed, shocking the entire family.   Nathan, with whom Logan has been especially close, reacts badly to the news. But it's Iona's reaction that makes the least sense to the rest of the family. How could she not have known that Nathan wasn't Logan's birthfather? And if she did know, why has she never said anything to anyone?    Iona's subsequent health crisis forces Nathan to take stock of what he really wants in his marriage. But what does Iona want, now that everyone knows she cheated on her husband? Will their marriage survive what has come to light so unexpectedly?