Phyllis Clark Nichols Books

"With newly found freedom after thirty years, Gretchen and her granddaughter, Bella, a rare musical savant, are happy in their cottage in North Carolina, but the haunting shadows of Gretchen's past cloud her days. A shameful night in a dark alley of an Austrian village decades ago left Gretchen with only one choice-- to flee her family, her beloved fiancé, Peter, and her homeland. Caroline, a beautiful concert pianist and Gretchen's closest friend, is settling into her Rockwater home as the wife of Roderick Adair, a successful international business tycoon. But Caroline knows Gretchen's yearning for home, so she and Roderick fulfill Gretchen's dream of returning to Austria." -- provided by publisher

Caroline Carlyle has finally shed the heavy shackles of grief and rediscovered her heart's song. Between her return to making music and a budding relationship with the charming Roderick Adair, Caroline's life is full of fresh inspiration and hope. But just as she begins to experience this freedom, Caroline discovers one of her piano students is carrying a painful burden of her own. Bella, a prodigious musical savant living with autism, and her grandmother, Gretchen, share a dark, hidden past-more dangerous and complex than Caroline ever anticipated. The more Caroline uncovers, the deeper her loyalty grows. Can Caroline help Bella and Gretchen find the same power of love to break free from the hold of secrets and oppression?

Will springtime ever come?For nearly seven years, Caroline had settled for a small-town, simple life as a single woman and Moss Point’s music teacher. But when Gretchen Silva, grandmother of a rare musical savant, and Roderick Adair, an international business tycoon, stepped into Caroline’s life, her real music returned and her monotonal gray life flashed with color. Press conferences. Romance. Transcontinental travel. A major move. A life-threatening kidnapping. And the marriage of her dreams.No longer rebounding from a cascade of crises, Caroline should be settling into life as Roderick’s wife in her new palatial Kentucky home of Rockwater. But she is confused by uncertainties and a familiar uneasiness, wondering if she will ever be settled. She fears that new vexing issues will replace the old ones. Roderick is working unusually long hours and becoming more secretive about his business, only hinting that their lives are about to change. Can she handle more change?And now clouds of worry over Gretchen are gathering. Just when Gretchen has settled happily at Duke University with Bella, her savant granddaughter, her fears resurface. Mysterious and disturbing calls. A visitor from her homeland of Austria. As Gretchen’s confidant, Caroline is apprehensive. Will Gretchen ever be able to escape her troubled past?Caroline yearns to feel settled and for life’s storms to calm. What will it take to bring the springtime of her longing?