Where the River Carries Us 1
(2026)(The first book in the Riverbend Retreat series)
A Story by Nina Beckett
She came to Riverbend to settle an inheritance. She never expected to find a past she couldn't remember—or a man who might give her a reason to stay.
At forty-four, divorce mediator Courtney Hines knows how to help other people divide their lives.
Starting over herself is another matter.
Then a father she never knew leaves her half of Riverbend Retreat—a weathered lodge tucked beside a Colorado river, filled with old memories, stubborn problems, and far more history than Courtney expected.
The other half belongs to Jadon Cleveland.
A former doctor with a guarded past, Jadon has spent years keeping Riverbend standing through little more than hard work and determination. He knows every leaking roof, unreliable pipe, and bend in the river.
What he doesn't know is why Courtney has inherited half of it.
Neither of them expects her to stay for long.
Then Courtney finds an old photograph of herself as a little girl standing on Riverbend's porch.
A photograph she has no memory of ever taking.
Suddenly, the retreat her father left behind is filled with questions.
People in town remember Courtney when she was young. Someone seems unusually interested in what her father may have hidden. And when an unsettling discovery makes it clear that Riverbend's secrets may not belong entirely to the past, Courtney realizes she may have inherited far more than a struggling retreat.
Through it all, Jadon becomes the one person who understands that some truths can't be rushed.
Shared work turns into quiet conversations. Suspicion gives way to trust. And somewhere between a warm kitchen, an eccentric group of longtime guests, and evenings beside the river, Courtney begins to wonder whether the place she came to settle might be offering her something she stopped expecting.
A new beginning.
And perhaps, with Jadon, a second chance neither of them came looking for.
Because some places don't simply hold the past. They lead us toward the life we were meant to find next.
Where the River Carries Us begins the Riverbend Retreat series—a clean later-in-life small-town romance filled with second chances, slow-burn connection, found family, emotional healing, gentle suspense, and a community worth coming home to.
Begin your journey to Riverbend Retreat. Six books. One river. A buried truth. And a second chance worth staying for.
Book One of the Riverbend Retreat series. Best enjoyed in order.
Genre: Inspirational
At forty-four, divorce mediator Courtney Hines knows how to help other people divide their lives.
Starting over herself is another matter.
Then a father she never knew leaves her half of Riverbend Retreat—a weathered lodge tucked beside a Colorado river, filled with old memories, stubborn problems, and far more history than Courtney expected.
The other half belongs to Jadon Cleveland.
A former doctor with a guarded past, Jadon has spent years keeping Riverbend standing through little more than hard work and determination. He knows every leaking roof, unreliable pipe, and bend in the river.
What he doesn't know is why Courtney has inherited half of it.
Neither of them expects her to stay for long.
Then Courtney finds an old photograph of herself as a little girl standing on Riverbend's porch.
A photograph she has no memory of ever taking.
Suddenly, the retreat her father left behind is filled with questions.
People in town remember Courtney when she was young. Someone seems unusually interested in what her father may have hidden. And when an unsettling discovery makes it clear that Riverbend's secrets may not belong entirely to the past, Courtney realizes she may have inherited far more than a struggling retreat.
Through it all, Jadon becomes the one person who understands that some truths can't be rushed.
Shared work turns into quiet conversations. Suspicion gives way to trust. And somewhere between a warm kitchen, an eccentric group of longtime guests, and evenings beside the river, Courtney begins to wonder whether the place she came to settle might be offering her something she stopped expecting.
A new beginning.
And perhaps, with Jadon, a second chance neither of them came looking for.
Because some places don't simply hold the past. They lead us toward the life we were meant to find next.
Where the River Carries Us begins the Riverbend Retreat series—a clean later-in-life small-town romance filled with second chances, slow-burn connection, found family, emotional healing, gentle suspense, and a community worth coming home to.
Begin your journey to Riverbend Retreat. Six books. One river. A buried truth. And a second chance worth staying for.
Book One of the Riverbend Retreat series. Best enjoyed in order.
Genre: Inspirational
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