August Retreat

August Retreat photo

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As summer winds down in Magnolia Harbor, South Carolina, the owners of the Magnolia Harbor Inn—sisters Grace Porter and Charlotte Wylde—host a lively company retreat. Susannah Peterson hopes the retreat will relieve tensions at the office and give her the opportunity to reconnect with her workaholic husband. But his secretive behavior and lack of interest in the event create conflict between them. Will Susannah find the courage to confront her husband so they can mend their relationship? 

Ani Jacobs fears her job is in jeopardy, so she throws herself into the weekend activities. When she’s challenged to leave her comfort zone, she starts to question her goals. Now Ani must choose between letting her career dictate her life and taking a chance on romance.

Joan Tolliver enjoys her work, but lately she feels unfulfilled. During her stay at the inn, she realizes her past mistakes and vows to make amends. Joan prays it isn’t too late to lift the years of regret from her heart.

The Magnolia Harbor Inn provides the ideal setting for these women to reevaluate their personal and professional lives. Will they discover the strength to let go of the past and start again?

The Characters

A Southern woman through and through, hospitality runs deep in Grace's veins. When the grand antebellum mansion in her hometown of Magnolia Harbor, South Carolina, was up for auction seven and a half years ago, Grace (now age 47) knew purchasing the estate with her sister, Charlotte, and remodeling it to become the Magnolia Harbor Inn was her new calling.

While she'd enjoyed many years of success working in the corporate world, the long hours and constant hustle of life in Charleston had taken its toll. Plus, it had been no small feat raising her son, Jake, on her own after a tragic accident took the life of her beloved husband when Grace was just 26 years old.

Now that Jake was grown and making a life of his own, Grace was happy to trade in the traffic jams for relaxing strolls along the sparkling shoreline of Lake Haven. Maybe she'd even wander down the lane to visit her handsome new neighbor, Spencer Lewis, who recently bought Blossom Hill Farm. A friendly gesture that Grace knew her aunt Winnie would surely approve of, but not before checking to make sure each guest at the inn has everything they need.

With an incredible knack for knowing what others need, often before they do, Winnie's intuitive nature, gentle spirit and worlds of wisdom are appreciated not only by her nieces, Grace and Charlotte, but by the guests who come to stay at the Magnolia Harbor Inn. At 69 years old, Winnie lives a fun, fulfilling and active life. She enjoys taking daily walks over to the inn, which is less than a mile away from the home she shares with her husband, Gus, and meeting up with The Busy Bees Quilting group to handcraft beautiful blankets, table runners, wall hangings and more.

Thirteen years younger than Grace, Charlotte is a smart, savvy and sensational chef who loves mixing up homemade dishes for the guests at the Magnolia Harbor Inn. In fact, purchasing the inn with her sister was just the step Charlotte needed to get out of Charleston's cutthroat restaurant business and into running the inn's kitchen as she sees fit. When she's not piping ganache onto her freshly baked pastries, Charlotte is penning recipes for her next cookbook--she already has three that made the best-seller list!