Almost immediately, Sydney gets pregnant and Craig begins school to become a doctor. Life is going exactly as planned, unfolding in utter bliss. The years fly by in a blur as Sydney raises their three children while Craig completes medical School, his internship, and residency. Then the bottom falls out when Craig asks Sydney for a divorce. While working as a waitress and struggling to make ends meet, Sydney meets Cole Brackner, a friendly, attractive, single man, and over time a friendship develops. But Cole's life is complicated as well. He is under pressure to sell his cattle ranch to a developer, and when he resists, his tires are slashed, cattle are poisoned, and horrible rumors start to circulate. And even as Sydney helps Cole unravel these mysteries, the two find themselves in the middle of a dangerous battle against powerful forces dead set on making sure that the truth never sees the light of day. Betsy Green, the best-selling author of Hearts in Hiding, weaves a tale of intrigue, romance, and southern charm

    As she stumbled forward, she tried to steady her footing, but it was too late. The downward slope of the paved path down to the field was just too steep, and she squealed a bit as she felt herself fall forward. As her stomach and chest collided with the ground, she felt her chin graze the pavement—felt her legs whip up over her back for a moment before she came to rest sprawled out like a cartoon character who had just hit a brick wall. “Hey! Are you all right?” a deep voice asked. Still struggling to draw breath—the awful panic of having the air pushed so forcibly from her lungs threatening to shove her into hysterics—Talli nodded, gasping, “Yeah…yeah…I’m fine.” “I don’t think you’re fine,” the deep voice doubted. Then Talli felt strong hands assisting her to roll over onto her back, as several other passersby stopped, each asking, “Are you okay?” Talli’s heart plunged to the bottom of her stomach. For as she found herself staring up into the gorgeous face of the hot Villarreal’s burrito guy, she choked, “Hey…you’re the Villarreal burrito boy.” The handsome breakfast burrito maker smiled. “And you’re the funnel cake girl, right?” “Yeah,” Talli managed. “Are you sure you’re okay?” the handsome man inquired.

    What wasn’t found was the briefcase he was known to have had with him the night before, reportedly stuffed with explosive documents blackmailing some of the most powerful people in Italy, and perhaps more. When the briefcase mysteriously reappears in the Vatican Archives, Father Michael Dominic and his team—Hana, Marco, Karl, Lukas, the feisty Pauline nun Sister Teri, and Dominic’s new assistant, Ian—are up against two powerful and enigmatic organizations, Opus Deus and the secret, outlawed Masonic Lodge P2, who savagely fight for control of the briefcase and its secrets. Their goal? To carry out one of the most dangerous conspiracies the Church has ever faced—all happening during an unexpected conclave to elect a new pope.From Rome, Italy, to Geneva, Switzerland, join Dominic and friends as they fend off plotters, kidnappers, and blackmailers who have threaded their way into Vatican politics for decades, in a conspiracy known as The Opus Dictum.

    But he soon learns that the government has other plans for him. The newly formed Office of Strategic Services needs soldiers with language talents like Andy's to drop into Europe behind enemy lines and help fight the war from the inside out. Andy's new life of deception and sabotage is worlds away from his upbringing in sleepy little Delta, Utah. But even that town is changing, as the nearby Topaz relocation camp ignites racial tensions. And Whisper Harris, the girl Andy left behind, is caught in a maelstrom of conflicting emotions brought on by the war. Should she release Andy from the promises they've made, as he seems to have released her? Or should she keep on hoping?

    Sometimes we stay on one plateau thinking that is all we need to do, but if we can move forward toward the next plateau we would find that there is more to learn and more to do.