The Refuge

In a setting of pastoral beauty in the horse country of northern Virginia, a bright and beautiful young woman and a handsome, honest widower find each other after a tragedy. Peyton Thurman, a twenty-something London editor, assumes it will only take a few weeks to clear up the legal matters surrounding her parents' untimely deaths in a plane crash; but settling their estate and selling their home, Greyson Plantation in Loudoun County, Virginia, proves to be more difficult than she expects, even with the help of hunky farm manager Cameron Hill. Someone else wants that inheritance.

Peyton returns to the States to settle her parents' estate and oversee the selling of their historic mansion where she grew up. What she doesn't count on is the pull that Greyson would have on her. And seeing the farm manager, Cameron Hill, confuses her even more. Cameron, a tall, handsome widower, shows her more of the farm's operation than she knew existed and introduces her to his 2-year-old daughter, Ruthie. Worrying about the potential loss of his position if Peyton sells, nevertheless, Cameron shows her another hidden facet of the farm's operation, The Refuge. Hidden several miles back in the woods, The Refuge is another colonial-era manse on her family's plantation, one which Peyton didn't know existed. The Refuge holds another secret, too, one which could threaten Peyton's very life.

Janet Morris Belvin lives in Loudoun County, Virginia's horse country with her husband, Paul. A former teacher and writer for magazines and a newspaper copy editor, she is the author of her memoir "Southern Stories from the Porch Swing". She enjoys spending time with her six children and nine grandchildren, reading, quilting, and playing the banjo (badly – except for "Buffalo Gals." She can tear that up.)