Showing results by author "Judith Keim" in All Categories

The Beach House Hotel, the seaside mansion Ann Rutherford and Rhonda Del Monte converted to an upscale boutique hotel, continues to be a success. Not only is it the spot for breakfast and lunch, it's become the "in" place for dinner. However, they still face many challenges. With the sudden death of Robert and Kandie, Ann and Vaughn decide to raise their son, Robbie, to help relieve Ann's daughter, Liz, of the responsibility she thought she'd never have. And Rhonda becomes both a mother and grandmother.

Tiffany Wright never planned to become a torch singer, much less a pregnant and single one. It was only with the help of her Fat Fridays luncheon group of strong women - counting their blessings, not their calories - that she found the courage to leave Beau, her once wonderful husband destroyed by drug addiction.

Whitney Gilford is delighted to be called away from Hollywood where her co-star and former lover, Zane Blanchard, is addicted to drugs and blaming her for his unhappiness. News of her beloved grandmother, GG, giving her and her sisters a cottage on the land of The Lilac Lake Inn is a tremendous relief from the negative publicity about her on social media. In Lilac Lake, helping with the renovation of the cottage, Whitney starts to rethink her entire career.

Two years ago, Noelle North’s then-fiancé left her waiting at the church on Christmas - her wedding day and birthday. Now, she knows she cannot endure another holiday season at home in Boston. At the urging of four women at the assisted-living community where she serves as health director, Noelle decides to rent Seashell Cottage on the Gulf Coast of Florida for the holidays. She meets Silas Bellingham, the cutest seven-year-old boy she’s ever seen, and his great-grandmother, Althea.

Louise "Lulu" Kingsley is thrilled to discover after years of wishing for a sibling, Cami Chandler is her half-sister. When Cami invites her to live with her at Chandler Hill, Lulu jumps at the chance to leave behind all the heartache in her recent life. Not the spoiled little rich girl the media would like everyone to think, Lulu digs into marketing for the inn and winery, feeling more comfortable there than she ever did in California with her political father. Better yet, her mother is becoming a stronger, happier person and shares the idea of becoming part of a new family.

Ann and Rhonda are fed up with the way the new majority owners are changing the Beach House Hotel from the small, elegant hotel they once owned and operated into a tacky, South Beach wannabe property. What's their only recourse? Buy back the property to save it from getting even worse. And with the new management ruining Ann's daughter's plans for a Christmas Eve wedding, they have to get to work right away to regain control of the hotel.

Taylor Gilford is more than happy to accept her grandmother’s gift of a cottage on the Lilac Lake Inn’s property to be shared with her two sisters, Dani and Whitney. The youngest, she’s always felt left out when the sisters got together. Living at Lilac Lake will give her a chance to know them better.

When Ann Rutherford's husband dumps her for the bimbo in his office, unfairly leaving her without a home or a job, she reluctantly joins forces with Rhonda DelMonte to convert Rhonda's Florida seaside estate into the small upscale hotel it once was. Ann, quiet and reserved, is no match for brash, bossy Rhonda, who left the family's New Jersey butcher business after she won the Florida lottery.

Ann and Rhonda continue to deal with guests at the Beach House Hotel on the Gulf Coast of Florida, including Bobby “Bugs” Bailey, a star player in the NFL. At the vice president’s suggestion, Bobby’s coach has sent him there to work to help adjust his behavior after Bobby’s life of fame gets out of control. There’s no one better to handle someone like that then soft-spoken Ann and outrageous Rhonda, who declares it’s time for Bobby to wake up and smell the coffee.

Love can make even the most fragile person bloom. Misty Owen escapes Florida and comes home to Lilac Lake following a disastrous relationship with an emotionally and physically abusive man. David Graham runs a landscaping business with his father and has created a memorial park in town for his sister who died of cancer. Kind and gentle, he is the sort of man Misty can’t help being attracted to. But until she heals from her past, how can she move forward? She knows it’s going to take someone like David to help her, but he’s content to be just friends.

When Juanita Sanchez and the Desert Flowers—Willow Sanchez Kincaid, Rose Bowers, and Lily Walden—open Juanita’s Kitchen, the food kitchen Alec Thurston and they formed as a charitable organization, a young woman named Ivy Barrett and her seven-year-old son, Benjy, come into their lives. Ivy is appointed head of the kitchen staff, and they all work together to open the kitchen before the holidays.

Jill Conroy is tricked by her sister into becoming the housekeeper and cook for the summer at Seashell Cottage where Greg Campbell and his nephew, Brody, have been hired to do maintenance projects on the house. Annoyed at first, Jill soon realizes how wonderful it is to be away from her home in New York and the memories of her deceased, emotionally abusive husband. Soon the magic of the beach heals Jill enough for her to decide to move to Florida permanently to make a new life for herself.

After agreeing to enter the New Life Assisted-Living Community outside of Boston, Agatha “Aggie” Robard talks her devoted, serious granddaughter, Blythe, into driving her to Florida, stopping to see old college friends along the way. She particularly needs to speak to Donovan Bailey, the man she’d thought she would marry right after graduating from college. By asking Blythe to go with her, Aggie is hoping to prove to her that life should be about having fun, too.

Following her divorce, Allison Hartwell leaves Maine for California to become a partner in her college roommate's art gallery. She's out to prove she can succeed in business, get along without a man and have fun along the way. But things quickly fall apart; the business is financially insecure and she's left with the care of her roommate's eight-year-old daughter, Daisy.

When Marissa Crawford and her husband Brad decide to start a family, Marissa has serious doubts about her ability to be a good mother - she was raised by one of the worst. Torn between telling Brad the truth and hoping she doesn't get pregnant, Marissa's life is completely upended when a baby girl is left in a basket on the front porch of her large home in Maine. In caring for the baby given specifically to Brad and her, Marissa must decide what her role in life is all about.

Brooke Weatherby is tired of being the dependable one, the boring one of everyone at Sanderling Cove. She agreed to come to the cove for the summer, unaware her two cousins, Charlotte “Charlie” Bradford and Olivia “Livy” Winters, would also be there to help manage The Sanderling Cove Inn while her grandparents take a long road trip in Europe.

With her unexpected pregnancy, Carol Ann breaks free from her dismal life with her parents. Left on her own with no support from the father of her child, she decides to start an interior decorating business on the side. She begins by secretly helping Ed Pritchard, her boss at MacTel, decorate his condo for Christmas. One secret Sunday leads to others. Carol Ann and Ed are planning a future together when Ed is diagnosed with a serious illness. He decides it's only fair to break off his engagement to Carol Ann. Devastated, Carol Ann wonders how she can continue.

Ellie Weatherby and the four other grandmothers living at Sanderling Cove decide with only two great-grandchildren, it’s time to swing into action. They invite their grandchildren to spend the summer at the cove, hoping to encourage romance between them. Ellie invites all three of her granddaughters to take over the management of the Sanderling Cove Inn so that she and her bridegroom can spend the time traveling in Europe for their honeymoon.

As Regan Sullivan continues to work with her sisters, Sheena and Darcy, to meet their Uncle Gavin's challenge to make the Salty Key Inn a success, she wonders why she can never find the man of her dreams. Her sisters are happily settled with men they love. Why can't she do the same? When she's involved in a motorcycle accident with Brian Harwood, Regan learns to think differently about both her appearance and herself.

When Sukie's husband shacks up with her Pilates instructor, her domestic drama becomes the talk of her small Georgia town. Friends from her married life prove fickle, and Sukie hides at home, terrified of encountering the town gossips at the grocery store. Betsy, Sukie's neighbor, invites her to join "Fat Fridays", a weekly gathering at a local café where the women order whatever they crave - no calories counted. Over sausage pizza and sage advice, Sukie gets a grip on her new life.