Love Letters #26

Arline Johnson has always been the consummate professional—efficient, unflinching, one of the boys—until she meets the romantic and artistic Gerald Farnum and discovers a part of herself she'd buried under years of work. As her new role as editor of *Fair Sex* magazine takes shape, Arline finds herself caught between the affectionate world Gerald is drawing her into and the brisk, no-nonsense expectations of her boss Ken Davies, who's beginning to notice her divided attention.

Ellen Brooks arrives in Langford as a bank teller with big dreams, and when young lawyer Steve Wright opens his practice across the street, those dreams seem within reach—until a wealthy woman named Barbara York brings him a lucrative case that threatens to destroy the local farmers. Torn between her love for Steve and her loyalty to her townspeople, Ellen must decide whether she can stand by a man who's chosen ambition over compassion. What begins as a romance becomes a test of conscience when Ellen realizes that the mortgage foreclosures Barbara wants to pursue would devastate the honest people she's grown to care for.

A country girl new to New York gets swept up in the city's glamorous nightlife, caught between Cal Sturges—a thoughtful man who loves her—and the thrill of dating wealthy sophisticates like Harvey, only to discover that chasing excitement has cost her something far more valuable. When Cal returns from a four-month hospital assignment on the West Coast, Gail must confront what she's become and what she's lost, with her friend Beth determined to help her find her way back.

At sixteen, Patty Turner made a passionate vow to wait for Jack Westfall while he served his prison sentence—a promise born of youthful devotion rather than clear-eyed love. Two years of loyal letters and sacrifice follow, until she meets Bret Andrews, a kind man who offers her genuine affection and a chance at real happiness, forcing her to confront the painful conflict between her word and her heart. When Jack's silence grows deafening and a chance encounter changes everything, Patty discovers that promises made in youth don't always lead where we expect.