This book showcases the unique voices of twenty women (actually twenty-two as the author explains in her note to the reader) and reveals their many diverse perspectives on love. These women exhibit deep commitment, jealousy, uncertainty, loss, and revenge at different stages of their lives. Their words and actions ripple outwards, affecting the lives of those around them and often reflecting back onto them. Each story's theme begins with an insightful quote. "Trail's End" starts with Emily Bronte's words "He's more myself than I am," as a woman remembers her husband by hiking a mountain trail...

This collection is a unique selection of short stories that reveal truths with sometimes unexpected endings. Athough many stories focus on interactions between people, the two title bears of the book show an uncanny ability to react with very human characteristics. Each pair of the fourteen stories in between share a perspective on life with a common theme, such as The Measure of Worth, Revelation, Fear's Fulfillment, or The Fruits of Labor. A young woman in "Grandma's Treasure" looks forward to inheriting the valuables in a tin box; the Ute Indians in "Wyoming Winter" come across an unusual...

Paige McCollum's life changes course the last night she meets her boyfriend, Tyler Somers, near a footbridge, and they see a young boy trailing behind his angry father. Their lives later become intertwined in ways she never expected. Tyler deserts her after his bank manager father is accused of embezzlement, but the frightened boy haunts her for years. Losing Tyler's love and commitment becomes even more devastating when Paige realizes she's pregnant. After making the decision to keep the baby, Paige relies on the women in her life, her mother and Shannon, her best friend. Tyler's father dies...

Cathi Morgan's life is a mess. Hiding from a secret guilt, she tries so hard to fit in with new friends. Instead she ends up in deep trouble with lots of community service hours and no real friends. While working her summer away as an assistant at Old Economy Village, a living history museum, she stumbles onto a surprising ability. She discovers she can shift back in time to 1830, a period when Old Economy was a thriving community. Here she meets Katrina, a girl her own age, who is experiencing her own troubles and hardships. As the bond between the two girls strengthens, Cathi realizes she...

When Kyra Martin inherits Aunt Mary's house in Stonecliff, she finds a letter that discloses a family secret. She decides to stay at the house for a month to dig deeper into her family history and to follow her lifelong dream of writing her novel. Brad, her husband, opposes her decision, and he returns home to Pittsburgh, planning on weekend visits. Frightening incidents begin to happen, including broken windows and the death of an intruder as he runs away. Her husband downplays her danger and refuses to support her writing efforts. Determined to stay and discover the reasons for the...