Second Chance Series by John A. Heldt

Portland, Oregon. In May 2022, the Carpenters are a sad lot. Bill, 81, has just buried his beloved wife. Paul, 75, has terminal lung cancer. Annie, 72, is a paraplegic with broken dreams. Childless and directionless, the siblings face an uncertain future in their childhood home.Then Bill, a retired folklore professor, learns from a dying man that the legendary Fountain of Youth, his obsession for decades, may be more than a myth. He races to Mexico to find the truth... morePortland, Oregon. In May 2022, the Carpenters are a sad lot. Bill, 81, has just buried his beloved wife. Paul, 75, has terminal lung cancer. Annie, 72, is a paraplegic with broken dreams. Childless and directionless, the siblings face an uncertain future in their childhood home.Then Bill, a retired folklore professor, learns from a dying man that the legendary Fountain of Youth, his obsession for decades, may be more than a myth. He races to Mexico to find the truth.Within weeks, the Carpenters, with nothing to lose, enter a mysterious cave and exit in July 1905 as healthy young adults. They begin new lives in Oakland, California, only vaguely aware of a devastating earthquake that will rock the San Francisco Bay Area on April 18, 1906.In THE FOUNTAIN, the first book in the Second Chance trilogy, three siblings find opportunity, romance, and heartbreak as they make the most of a new lease on life. less

Six years after emerging from a fountain of youth, siblings Bill, Paul, and Annie Carpenter, time travelers from 2022, make their way in 1911.In New York, Bill and wife Cassie finish a year as educators and struggle to start a family, while Annie tries her hand as a society reporter. In Arizona, Paul and Andy Lee, sergeants and brothers-in-law, attempt to keep the Mexican Revolution from spilling across the border.For all, life marches on... moreSix years after emerging from a fountain of youth, siblings Bill, Paul, and Annie Carpenter, time travelers from 2022, make their way in 1911.In New York, Bill and wife Cassie finish a year as educators and struggle to start a family, while Annie tries her hand as a society reporter. In Arizona, Paul and Andy Lee, sergeants and brothers-in-law, attempt to keep the Mexican Revolution from spilling across the border.For all, life marches on. Then the soldiers receive new orders, Paul and Annie meet alluring strangers, and the family's fortunes take dramatic turns.In ANNIE'S APPLE, the sweeping sequel to THE FOUNTAIN, five young adults find love, danger, and adventure in the age of factory fires, high society, and the sinking of the Titanic. less

From the author of THE FOUNTAIN and ANNIE'S APPLE comes a story that spans decades of conflict and change.As World War I rages in Europe, the Carpenters and the Lees make a home in Southern California. Bill and Cassie add to their family. Andy and Annie start one of their own. Paul, a bachelor, enters the world of business. All find peace in a turbulent time. Then draft notices arrive, illness strikes a child, and life for two intertwined families takes a troubling turn... moreFrom the author of THE FOUNTAIN and ANNIE'S APPLE comes a story that spans decades of conflict and change.As World War I rages in Europe, the Carpenters and the Lees make a home in Southern California. Bill and Cassie add to their family. Andy and Annie start one of their own. Paul, a bachelor, enters the world of business. All find peace in a turbulent time. Then draft notices arrive, illness strikes a child, and life for two intertwined families takes a troubling turn.Thirty years later, Emilie Perot, a beautiful resistance fighter, and Steve and Shannon Taylor, an American couple with ties to Paul Carpenter, conspire to escape Nazi occupation. Each seeks freedom and a new life in France's Vosges Mountains, home of a legendary fountain of youth that can restore health and send visitors through time.As events unfold in the different eras, the participants march on. All are unaware of the forces that seem determined to throw them together.In DUTIES AND DREAMS, the epic conclusion of the Second Chance trilogy, several young adults find love, heartbreak, and redemption in a world of war, pandemics, and social unrest. less