Books in the Artists & Cottages series

Francis Barrett returns to her hometown of Storm Lake, Iowa to take care of the family holdings after her father passes. While turning his garden shed into a small but livable cottage, she runs into an old flame she admired from afar but never dared speak with during their high school days. Using her secret passion of oil painting to unwind from long days of clearing out the mess, Francis finds her father also had a secret passion and left behind a tale of a man she didn't truly know. George Frederick McKenry never left the Midwest town where he was born other than brief travels with his four children, who he now has custody of since his ex moved into a condo with her new boyfriend. Running into the one girl from school who rebuffed him when he asked her out, G.F. can't help checking on her and making sure she's getting along alright. False assumptions and past resentments fade as Fran and G.F. let down their guards in order to create new memories.

Holli Jacoby is one of Williamstown, West Virginia's glass jewelry artists. She spends her days painting intricate nature scenes on beads and pendants at the renowned factory along the Ohio River. After work hours, though, she hides away in her grandma's cottage throwing clay as a way to battle the effects of her bipolar disorder. Abandoned by her family, and marked as being "off" by those who have dealt with her, Holli avoids personal contact with everyone except Brenna, her life-long friend and anchor. Isaac Bradshaw's "free" time is split between the local bar playing pool with his buddies and helping his parents due to his father's declining health. An easy-going welder with a love of adventure, Isaac is drawn to Holli's fire and mystery, but her roller coaster emotions and her asocial tendencies might be more than he's willing to handle. When tragedy strikes and her stability disintegrates, their relationship is strained to its core.