Unexpected Choices

Charlotte Hamilton Ricker's life is a survival act in the shadows of loss—until a bold choice sends her spiraling into the heart of what it means to truly live.

As the world shifts around her—her mother's romance, her sister's leap into medicine, and her best friend's rocky path to motherhood—Charlotte stands at a crossroads. Grief's tight grip has left her on autopilot, but the stirring tides of change beckon her to wake up.

In a daring twist of fate, Charlotte steps into the role of surrogacy for her best friend Addison, a decision that reverberates through her family and challenges everything they thought they knew about sacrifice and love.

"Unexpected Choices," the fifth book in the series, is a tale of courage, self-discovery, and the unexpected friendships that become our lifelines. In Unexpected Choices, Charlotte and Libby, a foster mother fighting her own battles, weave a new tapestry of connection that promises to redefine the essence of family and joy.

Get ready to witness Charlotte's journey from surviving to thriving, from the sidelines to the forefront of her own life's drama. Dive into book five where the leap into the unknown is the first step to finding your place in the world.

Charlotte

“Don’t you think it’s a little ambitious to put on Les Misérables?”
Charlotte shifted the phone from one ear to the other. “No, why would I think that? These kids are really talented, and they’ve got the singing chops.”
Savannah snorted. “Yeah, but they’re seventh graders. How disciplined can they be? You know they’ll end up losing focus, and you’ll end up stressing yourself out…just like you always do.”
Charlotte frowned, reached into the box, and pulled out a streamer from last year’s production of Wicked. “I do not always do that. It’s called having faith and reaching for the stars.”
Savannah started to laugh. “It’s called falling flat on your face.”
Charlotte scowled. “You know, it would help if you had a little more faith in me. I’ve put on a few of these plays so far.”
Especially since Charlotte was always supportive of her sister, regardless of whatever endeavor Savannah put her mind to. Over the years, Charlotte had learned not to balk or wince as her little sister had flitted from one project and one course to the next, always chasing something just out of reach.
It wasn’t Savannah’s fault she couldn’t commit to anything, at least not completely. But Charlotte found herself worrying about her little sister far more than she wanted to. With their mother indulging her whims and every flight of fancy, it was up to Charlotte to be the voice of reason. To stand firm in the belief that consistency was the key to success.
No matter how good Savannah was at something, and she had many discernible talents, Charlotte knew if she didn’t stick to one thing, she wasn’t going to get very far.
Which was why Charlotte had spent the better part of a year trying to convince Savannah that medical school wasn’t for her.
It was the biggest commitment of her professional career!
And the last thing Charlotte wanted was to see her sister crash and burn so publicly while she stood on the sidelines, unable to help. She hated knowing she’d tried and failed to get through to her sister, but now, she had no choice. Regardless of her feelings about the matter, and how she broke out into a cold sweat at the thought of her sister being away in med school, where anything could go wrong, she knew she had to be supportive.
Savannah deserved at least that much.
Her sister’s voice turned garbled, and then, Charlotte couldn’t make out anything. She pulled the phone away from her ear and shrugged when the line went dead. After she tried to dial Savannah back a few times, only to get a busy signal, she shoved her phone back into her pocket. With a sigh, Charlotte glanced around the Lawrence School auditorium and sighed. Then, she placed both hands on her hips and tried to envision the audience in the seats, a few of which had stuffing hanging out of them.
The auditorium itself was huge, with several rows of seats that glistened and shone underneath the overhead lighting. When Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut, she saw the rows of parents on their feet, cheering and clapping, and she saw herself standing backstage, tears in her eyes.
Even though it was summer, and the students were still a couple of months from coming back, she already had high hopes for the year.
Once she opened her eyes again, she reached back into the boxes to go through the decorations and costumes from last year. Although most of them wouldn’t be suitable for this year’s production, she knew she wanted to try to make use of some of them.
With a smile, Charlotte sat down in the middle of the quiet stage and tucked her legs under her. She fished her phone out of her pocket, selected a random playlist, and began to hum along. A few boxes later, she had a shawl thrown over her shoulders, a plastic tiara on her head, and was belting out a sad song from the movie version of the play with her arms flung on either side of her. She was so engrossed in the lyrics and the feelings bubbling up within her, she didn’t hear the door open.

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