A woman is shaken when an ex-boyfriend she hates moves back into town and begins wooing her, and she must decide if he is really a changed man and if she should give him another chance. This is a good modern romance set in small town America. Lee Ann is in her early thirties and a woman rebuilding her life after a series of disappointments and major sacrifices that she had to make when her sister Stephanie died, leaving behind two daughters. For all this, she gave up a scholarship to art school to provide for her nieces. Thirteen years later, Lee Ann's life is getting back on track. She has opened a photography studio, is active in the school board, organizes charity events around town, and is is surrounded by friends and family who love and need her. But she is still single and alone.
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Cody, Lee Ann's high school ex, returns to town. He was an alluring bad boy, an orphan without a home, who broke Lee Ann's heart by cheating on her with Stephanie. But Cody cheated on Lee Ann out of his own fears of commitment, which he is only just beginning to realize. Unloved and unwanted for much of his childhood, Cody realized his foster parents only loved him as long as he was well-behaved, but wanted him gone as soon as he began acting rude, rebellious and obnoxious.
Lee Ann and Cody meet when Cody returns to town and visits her home. No longer a bad boy (at least outwardly), Cody went to college, cleaned up, and became a veterinarian. Lee Ann is still bitter, moreso because she knows that Cody is the father of her nieces, but she does not tell him. This is because she doesn't want him to form a relationship with the girls, only to abandon them again in the future like he has abandoned everyone before. But Cody has realized that he messed up with Lee Ann, the love of his life, and begins trying to court her again. He takes interest in her photography, admires her good looks, and for her part Lee Ann is also physically attracted to Cody, and likes that he appears to have matured a little and treats his animal patients with tenderness and protective compassion. They begin dating and falling in love, and as Cody explains the trauma of his broken childhood and how Stephanie seduced him in a vulnerable, depressed, self-hating moment, Lee Ann begins to understand him better and forgive him. All seems to be going well - until Cody freaks and bolts (he was on a temporary contract assignment) when he finds out the truth about the girls' father from Lee Ann's mother. Lee Ann's heart is broken anew, until Cody comes back two days later. He takes her in his arms and apologizes. He spent the last two days confronting his demons, his terror at being a father after everything that went on in his childhood, but realized eventually that he loved the girls and finally understood and realized what responsibility was. More than that, he could not lose Lee Ann again.
Lee Ann finally forgives him, and they quietly consummate their love. The novel ends with plans of marriage.
Best part of story, including ending:
I enjoyed reading a story about two people who get a second chance in middle age after coming together to heal their broken pasts - it was very satisfying and realistic and mature.
Best scene in story:
When Cody and Lee Ann are having an intimate dinner, laughing together, and playing footsie under the table. It's a very intimate scene.
Opinion about the main character:
I admired Lee Ann's sense of self-sacrifice and duty to her family.
