Book excerpt: In the rich, evocative prose that earned high praise for WEDDING RING and ENDLESS CHAIN, Emilie Richards crafts the third tale in the Shenandoah Album series, resonant with the power of love and family ties Confused about her troubled marriage, Kendra Taylor needs time to sort out her feelings. Retreating to an abandoned cabin left to her husband, Isaac, by the maternal grandmother he never knew, she is quickly welcomed into the rural community of Toms Brook. She soon becomes curious about a beautiful heirloom quilt and the past Isaac has always refused to explore. The unusual quilt clearly has a story to tell, and Kendra hopes that helping her husband connect with his roots may also help him reconnect with her. At first Isaac's reluctant visits to the cabin only underscore the difficulties in their marriage. But as circumstances force them to piece together a new relationship, Isaac discovers that the history of a family he never knew may hold the key to his future. As a passionate story of strength, loss and desperation unfolds, the secrets of the quilt are revealed and the threads of an unraveling marriage are secured. Previously published