Description
In Bellwether Bay, Nadine Brooks knows how to make room for other people’s stories. As director of the town library, she’s building a modest adult-literacy program and helping preserve the community’s history—not looking for her own past to walk through the door.
Thomas Avery left town more than three decades ago. Now a documentary photographer, he returns to contribute to Winter Work, a Christmas exhibition pairing historical images with portraits of the people who keep the lakeshore community alive. He and Nadine once imagined a future together, until their ambitions and incompatible plans carried them apart.
Working side by side brings back an old ease—and an attraction neither can dismiss. But the lives they’ve built cannot simply be put on hold. Nadine is pursuing an oral-history fellowship; Thomas has an opportunity to take on a ten-week Great Lakes photography assignment. This time, a second chance will require more than remembering what they once felt.
As Christmas approaches, the people gathered around Juniper House remind Nadine that making space for someone doesn’t mean surrendering the life that’s already hers.
A warm, emotionally grounded Christmas romance about love later in life, independent dreams, and choosing a shared future on honest terms.
