Experience has taught single mother Rachel Madison that the only person she can truly rely on is herself. But what she wants most in the world—to give her son the life she never had growing up—means she must put her faith in a man who once walked out on her.
Retired from the service, U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Colten Taylor makes a detour to Phoenix to bury his brother. Nobody is more surprised than he to see Rachel waiting for him at the airport. He regrets the morning he walked away from her, but coming from an abusive home taught Colt to put limits on all his relationships—especially this one.
So when he discovers he has a son, Colt knows this is a chance to prove to himself he’s not a chip off the old block. Turning his life around doesn’t come naturally, though. Then a drug dealer crops up from his brother’s dark past, threatening their son and forcing Colt and Rachel to face their demons … and each other.
“How the hell could you not tell me I had a son?”
Rachel darted a panicked glance at the hallway behind her then narrowed her eyes.
“Keep your voice down. He doesn’t know. When and if I decide to tell him, it’ll be on my terms.” She drew up straight and angled her chin a bit higher, but he didn’t miss the hurt that flared in her eyes. “You left, Colt. Left without a word and never came back. Or did you forget that part?”
He folded his arms, firmly ignoring the regret that sank, hard and cold and heavy, in his stomach. If he acknowledged it, he’d have to face the very real possibility he’d become what he loathed, and he would not go there. Not now. “You still should have told me. Jake knows how to reach me. Rosa knows how to reach me. Hell, any army base in the United States could figure out where I was in case of emergency. I had a right to know I have a son.”
Rachel froze where she stood, her eyes wide and searching his. Several heartbeats later, she let out a heavy sigh, her shoulders rounding, and dropped her arms to her sides. “You’re right. It’s why I met you at the airport. I was wrong to keep him from you.”
The dejection in her tone cut him to the quick. Regret erupted in Rachel’s eyes, hitting his chest in a sucker punch. His anger slipped from his fingers as years of denial, of longing, rushed up on him. Damn his weak hide. One soft sigh from her and all his good intentions went up in a puff of smoke. If he was honest with himself, they always had.
Rachel has seen every person in her life walk away from her. Colten was just the last. She doesn’t trust easily and she will not allow herself to get too close to those around her anymore. Her life is her son and that’s pretty much it.
Colten’s life hasn’t been easy. He left home and joined the Army and never looked back until now. He’s retired and his first duty when he comes home is to bury his brother. But that is not everything that awaits him in Phoenix.
Rachel, the girl he left behind, has been keeping a secret for 6 years. They have a son together and, as much as it pains Rachel to admit it, the little boy needs his father.
I don’t really know what to say about this book. It’s not bad and I liked the idea behind it, but the author kept switching the focus from one thing to another constantly. Not necessarily a bad thing but it would have been better to focus in one aspect of the story.
I didn’t quite understood if it was about how they bonded again and learned how to trust each other or if it was about Colt learning to let go of the past and start a new life with his son and Rachel or maybe both but the dots weren’t quite successfully connected.
Then, there was the ending. The last 25% of the novel. It kind of killed it for me. The whole situation was seriously downplayed and cut way too short.
I had a really hard time connecting with the characters. I understood them and their reasoning to be certain extent but it didn’t go further than that.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t read it. It just didn’t work out for me. The writing was really good and, in a way, it was a sweet story. One of the messages it sends it’s that life is hard and more often than not it kicks you right in the face but, as long as you keep fighting, it will get better, it can change.
My thanks to the author for the ARC.
Happy Reading!
J.M. Stewart is a coffee and chocolate addict who lives in the Pacific Northwest. She’s a hopeless romantic who believes everybody should have their happily ever after.
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