Candles on Bay Street

In the close-knit community of Fort Kent, Maine, Sam Thibodeau carries a flame for the boisterous and very beautiful Dee Dee Michaud. Until she roars off in a sleek Corvette with the local bad boy, beginning a new life far from home.

Now, fifteen years later, Dee Dee has returned, mysteriously single with a young son to raise alone. Amid rumors and whispers, she launches a candle-making business, while Sam, now married, feels his life turning upside down. For his old love is more enchanting than ever, even though an unmistakable sadness shadows her high spirits, causing folks to wonder: What secret is she keeping from those who care the most?

K.C. McKinnon, nom de plume of respected literary novelist Cathie Pelletier, weaves a poignant tale of lifelong friendship, golden memories, forgotten dreams, and love in all its guises in Candles on Bay Street. Years after leaving his childhood home of Fort Kent, Maine, veterinarian Sam Thibodeau returns with his wife and veterinary partner, Lydia Newhart, to open a practice. Sam had grown up, under the watchful eyes of the town's citizens, loving from afar Dee Dee Michaud, voted the biggest flirt and prettiest girl four years running. When Dee Dee left town immediately after high school graduation, she was engaged to Bobby Langford, whose only claim to fame was his brand-new gold Corvette. So Sam devoted himself to achieving his other, more scholarly dreams. And although he had faithfully followed his first love's progress via the small town grapevine, Sam is surprised when Dee Dee suddenly returns to Fort Kent with her young son, Trooper, in tow and Bobby Langford nowhere in sight. Dee Dee's small business, Candles on Bay Street, gains a loyal following, and Trooper settles in, making friends and spending time with Sam in the clinic and on rounds to the local community. But things are not the same. The once vivacious Dee Dee seems withdrawn and secretive, even as friends old and new reach out to enfold Trooper and his mother in their arms.

McKinnon has created a touching fable of love lost and found, friendships renewed, and the greatest gift of all--the sense of family that exceeds the bonds of blood or name. --Alison Trinkle