Leslie's life is unrecognizable. One year can change everything. Fallen from grace in all her familiar circles, she's lost the titles she once held. PTO hero, bake sale queen, and super mom have all been washed away by the truth. She is the woman who lied. The mother who gave up one child and kept three others. There are not enough warm chocolate chip cookies in the world to redeem her.Gwen wants peace. Her very existence has been a wrecking ball through so many lives, and she hopes to have a hand in the rebuilding. The problem is, some don't even want to speak with her let alone hear her plea for understanding.With new happiness on the horizon, will either woman feel worthy? Or will they continue to stay locked in the prison of guilt they have built around themselves?

Motherhood adds and subtracts at a feverish pace. More belly laughs and moments of awe. Far less sleep and hardly any self-care. With the toddler years in full effect, Gwen has found herself both overwhelmingly happy and suddenly rudderless. Seeking a work/home balance proves baffling as she watches her identity float off like pollen in a summer breeze. When a family friend seeks out her expertise as a geneticist to solve a long-forgotten cold case, Gwen feels a bit of her old self returning. Being able to give someone their identity and provide peace for a family in turmoil is a purpose she deeply connects to. But the situation has the potential to create palpable danger she may not be able to avoid.

Being a grandmother suits Leslie perfectly. Lightheartedly sharing hard-won lessons and indulging and spoiling as often as she can. She's the keeper of the cookies and the soothing song that magically induces sleep. However, with the promotion to grandmother comes the uncanny ability to see and know when trouble is brewing. The urge to protect pushes her into overbearing territory.

Gwen and Leslie must once again navigate the complexity of their relationship as their roles continue to shift. Leaning on Griff and Mark, the women are forced to decide if self-preservation outweighs the chance to give a long-forgotten Jane Doe her identity back. And perhaps peace to her waiting family.

Book 1: The Bend in Redwood Road
Book 2: The Pier at Jasmine Lake
Book 3: The Bridge in Sunset Park
Book 4: The Stairs to Chapel Creek
Book 5: The Cabin on Autumn Peak
Book 6: The Shore at East Bonnet Beach
Book 7: The Field on Oakwood Farm

Mark Ruiz's life is a structured routine full of well-worn grooves. Board meetings. Dinner with clients. Preparing presentations. Exhaustingly long days strung together over forty-one years of hard work. Retirement is the promise he makes to himself. The item on his list he can't wait to check off.The problem? Retirement is better in theory than in practice. Three months in he realizes his new phase of life is as stale as the slice of cake they sent him home with on his last day at the office. His newly purchased cabin on Jasmine Lake is supposed to be an oasis of relaxation. The place and time in his life he's longed for. Rocking on the back porch overlooking the lake, he doesn't find peace. Instead, he finds a pervasive kind of boredom he can't seem to shake.Just as he resigns himself to retirement, Mark receives a letter that could change everything. A glimpse at the life he could have had. But like most things involving family, it's complicated. Dangerously so. Gwen is faced with the yet another dilemma when finding her father means taking on his struggles. With Griff by her side, she will have to decide if not knowing is better than the burdens of discovering the truth. Missing Pieces SeriesBook1: The Bend in Redwood RoadBook 2: The Pier at Jasmine LakeBook 3: The Bridge in Sunset Park

Gwen and Griff were supposed to be coasting through the first year of marriage. They'd known each other since childhood and there were no surprises left to discover. When their plans of growing their family take a detour, Gwen wonders if the road they're on will ever lead her to happiness. Can she mourn and hope all at once?Leslie has inched her way closer to making amends. Divorcing her husband and blindsiding her children with a painful, decades-old secret has left everyone in tatters. One thread at a time she's begun to sew them back together. She's pioneering new ideas in the business world. Falling in love with her old flame. Getting to know the daughter she abandoned at birth. But her sons are still out of reach. When one needs help she finally sees hope for a future. There are no perfect families. Only best laid plans and how to deal with what happens when they fall apart.

Book 1: The Bend in Redwood Road
Book 2: The Pier at Jasmine Lake
Book 3: The Bridge in Sunset Park
Book 4: The Stairs to Chapel Creek
Book 5: The Cabin on Autumn Peak

Miles. Kerry wanted hundreds of miles between her and the hometown that never felt much like home. College held all the promise of new beginnings. Academics and tests always made more sense to her than people and feelings. Her complicated family couldn't seem to give her room to breathe, but reinventing herself will prove harder than she imagines. When the plane touches down in California, Kerry's new life begins. Leslie can't hide from the choices she's made. Her life, and the life of her entire family, is forever altered and maybe permanently fractured. After losing so much, keeping Kerry safe is paramount. When Mark, the man she loved and left behind, is her only hope in a dangerous situation, she knows she's playing with fire. It's a risk she's willing to take. The turbulent push and pull between longing for independence and begging time to slow down ensues as mother and daughter tug in different directions. Kerry demands to break free and Leslie can't help but hold on. When they both lose their footing and tumble away from all the things they thought they wanted, who will be there to catch them?

Most days it's manageable. No more than a quiet wondering around the edges of her mind. What has become of the baby she left behind? Smiling through the pain and suffering in silence, Leslie Laudon marches forward. Embracing the life skillfully designed by her husband Paul. Living right could be penance for an impossible choice made with an uneasy heart. Dutiful and anchoring, Leslie poured herself into her other children. Nurturing them through infancy, protecting them as toddlers, guiding them as teens. As her youngest child heads off to college with her suitcases and coordinating dorm room accessories, so goes Leslie's identity. The chaotic life of a busy working mother threatens to become dangerously quiet. Quiet enough to hear the voices she's tried to silence for decades. Gwen Fox was adopted by two perfect people. Noel and Millie have always treated her the same as their two biological sons. Her parents love is strong and unwavering, yet a soul-deep ache still lingers. Plagued by an unnamed, hard to explain, longing Gwen could never shake.Riddled with doubt and dragged down by the undertow of unanswered questions, Leslie and Gwen both find their lives suddenly upended. One seeks the truth about the day she was born. The other seeks herself, the woman she was before motherhood. Before she made a choice to leave a piece of her heart lying asleep in the hospital nursery. In this complex journey for answers, blame is abundant. Guilt is thick enough to choke on. Marriages are brought to the brink of disaster. As the ripples of the past vibrate through their lives, Gwen and Leslie realize there is no turning back. What they have put into motion cannot be stopped. The road toward the truth will be littered with casualties.