They’ve been best friends since seventh grade. But this summer, teetering on the threshold of thirty, four women are going to need each other more than ever.

CASSIE has sworn off romance after yet another bad date. Yet deep down, she’s still looking for Mr. Forever. A long-haired biker doesn’t figure into her plans, so where’s the harm in touring the back roads of Sonoma on a Harley with Walt Arneson?

JULIE married her high school sweetheart—who can get her pregnant with a mere glance—too young and now wonders how her life became all about leaky faucets and checkbook balances. Maybe love isn’t enough to sustain the hottest couple in town.

MARTY’S firefighter husband has forgotten all about romance, and an old flame begins to look mighty tempting.

BETH, a busy doctor trapped in a body that’s betrayed her yet again, is becoming a difficult patient and a secretive friend.

Life can change in an instant...or a summer. And having old friends to lean on can only up the chances of happily ever after.

Elly, Sable, Barbara Ann and Beth. They have been drawn together by the sudden death of their friend Gabby—and the favor she has asked of them. For these four women, whose own lives have become unhappy works of fiction, a summer spent sorting through Gabby’s personal papers offers the perfect challenge—and the perfect escape.

Elly — the intellectual spinster who’s hidden herself within the walls of academia, afraid to admit that she’s tired of being alone.
Sable — her bestselling novels have made her a star, but the woman who has everything in fact has nothing except a past she’s desperate to hide.
Barbara Ann — the talent behind twenty-six romance novels, who wakes up one day to find she’s lost control of her career, her sanity and her family.
Beth — her popular mysteries have become the only way she can fight back against the secret tyranny of her abusive husband.

In the house on Olive Street, away from their menagerie of troubles, these women will discover something marvelous: themselves, each other and pieces of a dream that only they can make happen. For in telling the hidden story of a remarkable woman, their own lives are about to change.

Originally published in Novmeber 1999.

Presenting...the sixth annual More Than Words anthology.

Little by little, one person at a time, we can make our world a better place. The five dedicated women selected as this year’s recipients of Harlequin’s More Than Words award have done just that, by discovering a seed of compassion, and nurturing it to effect real change in their communities. To celebrate their accomplishments, five bestselling authors have honored the winners by writing short stories inspired by these real-life heroines.

Includes Sheltering Hearts by Robyn Carr, Almost Lost by Joan Johnston, Safely Home by Christina Skye, No Limits by Rochelle Alers and The Princess Shoes by Maureen Child.

Harlequin hopes More Than Words inspires you to look into your heart and find the heroine who lives within.

Proceeds from the sale of this book will be reinvested into the Harlequin More Than Words program to support the causes that are of concern to women.

With her beloved younger siblings settled and happy, Erin Foley has got empty nest syndrome. At age thirty-five.

So she’s hitting the pause button on her life and holing up in a secluded (but totally upgraded, she’s not into roughing it) cabin near Virgin River. Erin is looking forward to really getting to know herself...not some shaggy-haired mountain man she meets wandering the woods.

In fact, beneath his faded fatigues and bushy beard, Aiden Riordan is a doctor, recharging for a summer after leaving the Navy. He’s intrigued by the pretty, slightly snooty refugee from the rat race — meditating, journaling and definitely keeping him at arm’s length. He’d love to get closer...if his scruffy exterior and crazy ex-wife don’t hold him back.

But maybe it’s something in the water — unlikely romances seem to take root in Virgin River...helped along with some well-intentioned meddling, of course.

Four years ago, Air Force sweethearts Franci Duncan and Sean Riordan reached an impasse. She wanted marriage and a family, he didn’t. But a chance meeting proves that the bitter breakup hasn’t cooled their sizzling chemistry.

Sean has settled down in spite of himself—he’s not the cocky young fighter pilot he was when Franci left, and he wants them to try again. After all, they have a history...but that’s not all they share.

Franci’s secret reason for walking away when Sean refused to commit is now three and a half: a redheaded cherub named Rosie who shares her daddy’s emerald green eyes. Sean is stunned—and furious with Franci for the deception.

News travels fast in Virgin River, and soon the whole town is taking sides. Rebuilding their trust could take a small miracle—and the kind of love that can move mountains.

Reverend Noah Kincaid moved to Virgin River to re-open an abandoned church he bought on eBay. Like Noah, the place is a little empty inside and needs some loving care.

The young widower arrives ready to roll up his sleeves and build a place of worship and welcome, but he needs some help. And the Lord works in mysterious ways....

With her tight shirts and short skirts, “Pastor's assistant” is not a phrase that springs to mind when Noah meets brassy, beautiful Ellie Baldwin. The former exotic dancer needs a respectable job so she can regain custody of her children. And Noah can’t help but admire her spunk and motherly determination.

The pastor and the stripper: an unlikely team to revitalize a church, much less build a future. The couple has so many differences, but in Virgin River anything is possible, and happiness is never out of the question.