Feels Like Home — Linda Barrett

Single mom, widow, and high school guidance counselor, Sharon Burman Adler, has her hands full raising her two children-- musical prodigies-- since her husband's accidental death. Neil had been the conductor of the Tampa Bay Orchestra, killed by an automobile four years earlier. Since then, her fourteen-year-old son hasn't touched the piano keyboard while her daughter, at seventeen, keeps postponing work on her college applications. Sharon hasn't had time or energy to think of getting involved with another man. Until one night, in a rainy parking lot... Jeff Messing, M.D. has never been married. He's been too busy climbing the career ladder, and now, he is the Director of Emergency Medicine at a Level One Trauma Center. He's visited the Mandarin Bay community because his dad, Pete, recently moved there to be near Donna Roberts, his significant other. One rainy night in a supermarket parking lot near Mandarin Bay, Jeff yanks a woman away from an oncoming car. She looks familiar, and holding her in his arms feels...more than right. Can Jeff provide enough love and support so that together, he and Sharon can create a new strong family? In the meantime, among the senior set, another couple is having their ups and downs. Ken Solomon, from New Jersey, has retired and moved next door to Susan Turner, a friend of Libby's. They live in connective villas - roof-mates-- and share a common wall. Their back yard lanais are adjacent to each other. Susan likes her own quiet life, simple routines. She's an introvert and is miserable having a new neighbor like Ken. The man is an outgoing curmudgeon who likes to tease and make friends. Sparks fly between them, but Libby lectures them to be nice to one another!