The story before the story...What happened before A Family Affair began? Best-selling author Mary Campisi answers this question in her new Park Bench series. These short stories make the perfect park-bench listen and are named after her signature park-bench covers.

"You don't know me yet, but in a few hours that's going to change. You see, I'm inviting you to my home and my town of Cedar Cove, because I want you to meet my family, friends, and neighbors. Come and hear their stories - maybe even their secrets!"

Soline Roussel is well schooled in the business of happy endings. For generations her family has kept an exclusive bridal salon in Paris, where magic is worked with needle and thread. It’s said that the bride who wears a Roussel gown is guaranteed a lifetime of joy. But devastating losses during World War II leave Soline’s world and heart in ruins and her faith in love shaken. She boxes up her memories, stowing them away, along with her broken dreams, determined to forget.

Rare-book dealer Ashlyn Greer’s affinity for books extends beyond the intoxicating scent of old paper, ink, and leather. She can feel the echoes of the books’ previous owners—an emotional fingerprint only she can read. When Ashlyn discovers a pair of beautifully bound volumes that appear to have never been published, her gift quickly becomes an obsession. Not only is each inscribed with a startling incrimination, but the authors, Hemi and Belle, tell conflicting sides of a tragic romance.

When Serenity Alston swabbed her cheek for a genetic test, she joked about uncovering some dark ancestral scandal. The last thing she expected was to discover two half sisters she didn’t know existed. Suddenly, everything about her loving family is drawn into question. And meeting these newfound sisters might be the only way to get answers.

As Nora and her British Army officer husband, Gordy, pack up yet another home and leave the sun of Cyprus for the drizzle of England, she can’t shake a feeling of regret—at her failure to follow her own dreams, but also, if she’s honest, at having ended up an officer’s wife at all, drifting through a life of temporary homes and temporary relationships.

As the holiday season begins, Laurel McCullough could use some good news. She and her husband, Zach, have been praying for a baby that seems more and more like an impossible dream, and they’ve had to move in with her beloved grandmother, Helen, who’s having trouble taking care of herself. But when Laurel contacts a local home-care organization for help, there are no caregivers available.

From bestselling author Kelly Irvin, the compelling Every Amish Season novels are now available in one audiobook collection.

The three Chirnwell sisters are descended from the privileged squattocracy in Victoria's Western District - but could a long-held secret threaten their family? Harriett has a perfect life - a husband who loves her, a successful career and a daughter who is destined to become a doctor just like her. Xara has always lived in Harriet's shadow; her chaotic life with her family on their sheep farm falls far short of her older sister's standards of perfection and prestige. Georgie, the youngest sister and a passionate Teacher, is the only one of the three to have left Billawarre.

Law school graduate and newlywed Ruth Appelbaum is acclimating to life and marriage in a posh Philadelphia neighborhood. She’ll do almost anything to endear herself to her mother-in-law, who’s already signed up Ruth for etiquette lessons conducted by the impeccably accessorized tutor Lillian Diamond. But Ruth brings something fresh to the small circle of housewives—sharp wit, honesty, and an independent streak that won’t be compromised.

For Cassie Beaumont, it's meeting her perfect match. Cassie, at 33, wants a husband and kids, and so far, nothing's worked. Not blind dates, not the Internet and certainly not leaving love to chance. What's left? A professional matchmaker. He's Simon Dodson, and he's very choosy about the clients he takes on. Cassie finds Simon a difficult, acerbic know-it-all, and she's astonished when he accepts her as a client.

Margaret, the matriarch of the wealthy Jamieson family, has always been as tight-fisted with the family money as she is with her affection. Her daughter, Sarah, is successful in her own right, but she feels compelled to meet Margaret's every demand. Anita, married to Cameron Jamieson, leads a comfortable life, but she fears everything could change in a heartbeat. Ellie, the youngest, has lived a nomadic life, leaving her siblings to care for their ageing mother. As their mother’s health deteriorates, will long-held secrets and childhood rivalries smash this family into pieces?

After 10 years spent keeping house and raising her younger siblings, Sarah Yoder returns home to Promise Glen determined to make a fresh start. Her new job with neighbor Noah Raber's furniture business seems promising - until she and the woodworker clash over everything from the best way to reach new costumers to how to raise his mischievous six-year-old twin boys.

Madysen Powell has always been a forgiving person, but when her supposedly dead father shows up in Nome, Alaska, her gift for forgiveness is tested. With the recent loss of her mother, she searches for answers, leaning on Granny Beaufort, a neighbor in town, who listens with a kind heart. Still, Madysen is restless and dreams of performing her music around the world. The arrival of a traveling show could prove just the chance she needs, and the manager promises more than she ever dreamed.

Ten years after her parents were killed, Evelyn Radcliffe is once more homeless. The orphanage that was her refuge and later her workplace has burned to the ground, and only she and a young orphan girl have escaped. Convinced this must be related to her parents' murders, Evelyn flees with the girl to Mesquite Springs in the Texas Hill Country and finds refuge in the home of Wyatt Clark, a talented horse rancher whose plans don't include a family of his own.

Location: north of the Arctic Circle, Population: 150 (mostly men!) But the three O'Halloran brothers, who run a bush-plane charter service called Midnight Sons, are heading a campaign to bring women to town. Sawyer O'Halloran, the middle brother, isn't entirely in favor of this scheme. But he considers himself immune to any woman - even the lovely Abbey Sutherland. She's arriving in Alaska within days. However, there's a complication...or two. She hasn't told them she's arriving with kids!

After 10 years spent keeping house and raising her younger siblings, Sarah Yoder returns home to Promise Glen determined to make a fresh start. Her new job with neighbor Noah Raber's furniture business seems promising - until she and the woodworker clash over everything from the best way to reach new costumers to how to raise his mischievous six-year-old twin boys.

"You don't know me yet, but in a few hours that's going to change. You see, I'm inviting you to my home and my town of Cedar Cove, because I want you to meet my family, friends, and neighbors. Come and hear their stories - maybe even their secrets!"

Ten years after her parents were killed, Evelyn Radcliffe is once more homeless. The orphanage that was her refuge and later her workplace has burned to the ground, and only she and a young orphan girl have escaped. Convinced this must be related to her parents' murders, Evelyn flees with the girl to Mesquite Springs in the Texas Hill Country and finds refuge in the home of Wyatt Clark, a talented horse rancher whose plans don't include a family of his own.

Along with his volunteer work at the local fire department, running his Amish farm keeps Jamie Riehl busy. He barely has time to eat at the family table, never mind find someone to date. But when he meets Kayla Dienner, he is smitten. Kayla tries hard to deny her attraction to Jamie. After all, she's spent the last year discouraging her younger brother, Nathan, from becoming a firefighter. The death of their older brother in a fire a year ago is fresh in her mind - she can't bear the idea of putting her heart on the line every time the sirens blare.

When Laura McAllister, a young lady's maid, learns her three siblings have been taken from their mother and emigrated to Canada without her mother's knowledge, she becomes determined to search for them and reunite the family. But a lack of funds and resistance from authorities push her to use a false name and take a position with a child emigration society to gain passage to Canada.

In the aftermath of WWI, Grace Abernathy is determined to reunite with her family, crossing an ocean to convince her widowed sister to return home to England. But Toronto holds more tragedy and her nephew, Christian, is now in the custody of his paternal relatives, the formidable Easton family, who rejected Grace's sister because of her low social status. Unconvinced that the Eastons can be fitting caretakers, Grace jumps at the chance to become Christian's nanny and to observe the family up close. But she is shocked to discover herself falling for Andrew Easton, the boy's guardian.

Fifteen years. That’s how long it’s been since Hannah McLean set foot in the Amish community where she was raised. Through it all, her heart has never forgotten Pontotoc - or Aaron Zook, her first love. Now widowed and left with little more than her hurting teenager and her prayers, she returns home, even knowing she and her son may be turned away. When Aaron learns Hannah has returned, he nearly falls to his knees.

With his orphaned nephew depending on him, Amish carpenter Eli Troyer moves to Harmony Creek Hollow to start over. And when schoolteacher Miriam Hartz offers to teach Eli, who is hard of hearing, how to read lips, he can’t refuse. Spending time with Miriam forges a bond between them. Can two wounded hearts overcome their pasts to make a family together?

Sixteen-year-old Lorena Leland’s dreams of a rich and fulfilling life as a writer are dashed when the stock market crashes in 1929. Seven years into the Great Depression, Rena’s banker father has retreated into the bottle, her sister is married to a lazy charlatan and gambler, and Rena is an unemployed newspaper reporter. Eager for any writing job, Rena accepts a position interviewing former slaves for the Federal Writers’ Project. There, she meets Frankie Washington, a 101-year-old woman whose honest yet tragic past captivates Rena.