We first met Clint and Gary Harris in SECOND CHANCES, as each of the widowed sixty-something brothers stumbled toward new and hopefully lasting relationships. Now in LONG WAY HOME their determined pursuit continues, taking them far from Tanner, tracking off in very different directions, while reliving earlier apprehensions and facing new challenges---still seeking the elusive promise of a Second Chance.

The Harris Brothers - Book 1 It was a Tanner High School reunion, their fiftieth. Clint and Gary Harris were there, more out of curiosity than anything. Certainly not in search of Second Chances. Yet sometimes those things just happen. And though the Harris brothers were willing to take advantage of the possibilities, that would prove to be easier said than done. Claudia Hafner was fifty years removed Gary Harris' untimely desertion. Shehad every reason to doubt his intentions, and the prospect of a Second Chance, when they met on the reunion dance floor. Elly Warren, on the other hand, was...

The very best of best friends are tried, true, and more important than we sometimes admit. With them, we share our highest highs and lowest lows. Without them, what might have been the best of times becomes something less than that.In the most fortunate of circumstances our best friend is also our life mate ---bound to us by deep love and matrimonial promises. Yet for every great blessing there is a potential downside. What if we lose one or more of those "best friends?" Losing one can leave us disoriented and vulnerable. Losing both a spouse and a best friend risks an emotional meltdown. As...

For decades Hank Rolland had relied on Sarah's loving presence and common sense counsel. Then, far too soon she was gone, leaving him alone to rely on his own resources. Until, that is, he was drawn to startling new questions. Could it be that Sarah had not deserted him? Was it real, the affirming sense of her comforting presence? The 'Wiley Widows' were beginning to circle, complicating his life. When conventional answers eluded him, Hank turned to what had always worked---a quiet Conversation With Sarah?"

They are FAMILY MATTERS, the way we cope with the realities of family, home, and career. And when our coping is no longer effective---what then? Take, for instance, our Golden Years. Dan Padgett had nursed his retirement dreams for decades. So why can't Nell accept the logic of his elaborate plans? And what of daughter Kathy, returning to Tanner just in time to hear her parents loud and angry debate about home---what it means and where it is.

It was a bitter pill to swallow, especially for a dreamer like him. Lane Tipton was old and tired---a survivor of extended unemployment, homeless shelters, and hobo jungles. From all appearances he was going nowhere fast. Yet his ultimate destination was there for everyone see. Lane, like so many of his peers, was Going Poor. There were opportunities for something better, some of them tempting. But any future worth living would depend on his own dreams and determination. Would he find those on the road to Going Poor?

Even in a place like the central Willamette Valley much of the area's early history is hidden---some of it remarkably well hidden. Yet in ways both great and small that history, noted now by little more than a vacant school, a roadside church, or country road, helped create this place many of us call home. For nearly two hundred years life in our beloved valley has been shaped by wave after wave of technological improvement. From wagon trains to river boats to railroads to expansive highway systems each new wave expanded the reach of a growing population---creating new lifestyles, changes in...

They had come together for a brief, surprising moment then gone their separate ways---to opposite sides of the country. Although the possibility of "more" was intriguing, the challenges were even greater. Their wanting was constrained by mutual timidity---a stifling fear of the unknown coupled with a determined unwillingness to risk relational failure. If the promise of that first moment, on a crowded Music City dance floor, was to overcome that stubborn reluctance something new would be required---perhaps something as unlikely as a dose of October boldness.

Growing up in the rough and tumble world of The Hill, Ross Connel had learned at an early age to use his wits. From petty crime to gang warfare to the hostile reality of the juvenile detention facility, he had seen it all. But the judge's sentence - 10 to 30 years - was about to send the street-smart eighteen year old into uncharted territory---eluding the police captain who wanted to help him, while protecting the attractive young hostage who insured his freedom.