Some promises can never be forgotten...

"I am your baby –– the one you gave up. Isn't it time we met?" The unsigned letter, postmarked Martha's Vineyard, arrives like a thunderbolt out of the blue, instantly sweeping Jessica Bates back thirty years. It was 1968 when young Jess went to Larchwood Hall, a home for unwed mothers, and gave up her beautiful baby girl for adoption. Jess's past still haunts her –– especially since she learned that her daughter died in a tragic childhood accident.

But now the letter has raised the fragile hope that there was a terrible mix-up, that Jess's daughter is still alive somewhere. Hoping for answers, Jess makes a determined pilgrimage out to the Vineyard, out to those who know the truth about what really happened to her daughter. There, surrounded by sand and sea and memories of lost love, she must make a choice that will change the course of her life forever.

Note: Though Tides of the Heart is actually a continuation of some of the characters in Sins of Innocence, the first need not be read to enjoy –– and understand! –– the second.

I was always fascinated by a story a friend told me of a grown son who cared for his father on his father's deathbed. There had been three other "children," but only this son –– let's call him Jack –– bothered to take care of the crusty old man.

Just before dying, the old man told Jack that instead of including him in his will, he had left him something more valuable than he had left the others. He told him where to find a key to a secret compartment in the old rolltop desk, and that his treasure was inside.

When the old man died, Jack went to the desk. He found the key exactly where his father said it would be. He found the secret compartment. When he opened the compartment, however, it was empty. No note, no coins, no treasure.

Had the father played a cruel joke? Had another sibling found the treasure first? Had the father simply become confused and is the inheritance, in fact, somewhere else? Sadly, Jack will never know...but the story sparked images for me that you will find layered among the pages of Tides of the Heart...

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