The Reluctant Bride

Book excerpt: Julia Parks has been missing for two years following the unexpected death of her husband, Turner. When an old Mexican psychic informs her, in no uncertain terms, that she will marry by the end of the year, she is less than enthusiastic, but nonetheless resigned to follow where fate leads. Julia, a talented artist and self-made woman always on the lookout for celestial guidance, mails invitations to her wedding on December 31...the name of the groom a glaring omission. Her return to Sonoma County, California pulls Julia back into the lives of her troubled sister, Shelly, and to the bedside of Nora, her dying mother and childhood tormentor. As Julia’s best friend, psychologist Paula Knapp, helps Julia confront the circumstances of Turner’s death, the two are led into a minefield of memories. The Cosmos has a plan for her alright, but it’s not what she thinks...