Susan F. (scoutmomskf) -
Terrific book about families - of the blood and the heart. The depth of emotion as secrets were revealed kept me glued to the pages from start to finish. This is the story of two teenagers and their parents whose lives are upended when those secrets come to light.
Lily is the owner of Wild Springs Ranch. Her daughter Hayden is fourteen years old. When Lily was a teenager, she fell in love with Griff. When Griff died right after learning Lily was pregnant, her grief was devastating. Cam, a good friend of hers and Griff's offered to marry her and claim the baby as his. Though the marriage ended quickly, Lily never told Hayden the truth. She knows she should, but the time never seemed right. Then a note appears in the mailbox, claiming that "Dad" wants to tell the truth. Lily is panicking, knowing she must tell Hayden before Cam shows up. Her ranch foreman and business partner, Jonas, is Griff's older brother, and she knows he needs to hear the truth from her.
Jonas is a widower with a fourteen-year-old stepson he's raised since the boy was two. He thinks of Eli as his son, no "step" about it. Jonas and Eli have a terrific relationship. Eli's mother, Maggie, was the love of Jonas's life, and he still grieves her loss. Maggie never talked about Eli's father, only saying he was bad news and not in their lives. Jonas has long suspected that Hayden is his niece but has never said anything to Lily.
Matters become highly complicated when Lily calls the number on the note and discovers it isn't her ex on the other end of the line. Instead, it is Eli's father, Bentley, who claims he never knew he had a son and wants to be part of Eli's life. I ached for Jonas, who was gutted by the thought of this man taking Eli away. I understood his wariness of a man who seems to appear out of nowhere after so many years. It was hard to see Eli's happiness at getting to know his bio dad when it was apparent how hard it was on Jonas.
Meanwhile, Lily tries to work up the courage to tell Hayden the truth. That choice is taken out of her hands by another anonymous note, this one attached to Hayden's bedroom window. I ached for Lily and Hayden as Hayden's feelings of betrayal drove a wedge between her and her mother. I liked how Lily's patience and understanding paid off. The emotions of the cemetery scene were a two-tissue event.
During this time of upheaval, Lily and Jonas lean on each other for support. Both are shocked to discover that under their long-standing friendship, there now burns an undeniable attraction. They try to fight their feelings, afraid of doing something that would destroy their friendship and make their partnership awkward at best. I loved seeing how their mutual support and understanding grew into so much more until they could no longer resist. I loved the ending and seeing them surrender to the love they couldn't deny.
Meanwhile, Jonas and Lily have reservations about Bentley and his sudden interest in Eli. The more I saw of him, the more I agreed that there seemed to be something off about him. I understood Jonas's fear that he was projecting his personal feelings and appreciated that he didn't interfere with Eli's desire to get to know Bentley. What happened in the end wasn't much of a surprise, but I hurt for Eli and his disillusionment.
A secondary storyline in the book is the town's tradition of picking one person to research someone buried in the town graveyard. This year's research project falls to Lily, and the subject is the town founder, Hezzie Parkman. Even this won't be the easy project Lily hoped for, as Hezzie had more than a few skeletons in her closet. Not everyone is happy about those secrets being made public, and Lily has to walk a fine line. I laughed out loud at some things old Hezzie got up to in her day. Her photography exploits were especially notable, and seeing reactions to the pictures was fun. I liked how Lily found a way to display honesty and discretion in her report.
#netgalley
Lily is the owner of Wild Springs Ranch. Her daughter Hayden is fourteen years old. When Lily was a teenager, she fell in love with Griff. When Griff died right after learning Lily was pregnant, her grief was devastating. Cam, a good friend of hers and Griff's offered to marry her and claim the baby as his. Though the marriage ended quickly, Lily never told Hayden the truth. She knows she should, but the time never seemed right. Then a note appears in the mailbox, claiming that "Dad" wants to tell the truth. Lily is panicking, knowing she must tell Hayden before Cam shows up. Her ranch foreman and business partner, Jonas, is Griff's older brother, and she knows he needs to hear the truth from her.
Jonas is a widower with a fourteen-year-old stepson he's raised since the boy was two. He thinks of Eli as his son, no "step" about it. Jonas and Eli have a terrific relationship. Eli's mother, Maggie, was the love of Jonas's life, and he still grieves her loss. Maggie never talked about Eli's father, only saying he was bad news and not in their lives. Jonas has long suspected that Hayden is his niece but has never said anything to Lily.
Matters become highly complicated when Lily calls the number on the note and discovers it isn't her ex on the other end of the line. Instead, it is Eli's father, Bentley, who claims he never knew he had a son and wants to be part of Eli's life. I ached for Jonas, who was gutted by the thought of this man taking Eli away. I understood his wariness of a man who seems to appear out of nowhere after so many years. It was hard to see Eli's happiness at getting to know his bio dad when it was apparent how hard it was on Jonas.
Meanwhile, Lily tries to work up the courage to tell Hayden the truth. That choice is taken out of her hands by another anonymous note, this one attached to Hayden's bedroom window. I ached for Lily and Hayden as Hayden's feelings of betrayal drove a wedge between her and her mother. I liked how Lily's patience and understanding paid off. The emotions of the cemetery scene were a two-tissue event.
During this time of upheaval, Lily and Jonas lean on each other for support. Both are shocked to discover that under their long-standing friendship, there now burns an undeniable attraction. They try to fight their feelings, afraid of doing something that would destroy their friendship and make their partnership awkward at best. I loved seeing how their mutual support and understanding grew into so much more until they could no longer resist. I loved the ending and seeing them surrender to the love they couldn't deny.
Meanwhile, Jonas and Lily have reservations about Bentley and his sudden interest in Eli. The more I saw of him, the more I agreed that there seemed to be something off about him. I understood Jonas's fear that he was projecting his personal feelings and appreciated that he didn't interfere with Eli's desire to get to know Bentley. What happened in the end wasn't much of a surprise, but I hurt for Eli and his disillusionment.
A secondary storyline in the book is the town's tradition of picking one person to research someone buried in the town graveyard. This year's research project falls to Lily, and the subject is the town founder, Hezzie Parkman. Even this won't be the easy project Lily hoped for, as Hezzie had more than a few skeletons in her closet. Not everyone is happy about those secrets being made public, and Lily has to walk a fine line. I laughed out loud at some things old Hezzie got up to in her day. Her photography exploits were especially notable, and seeing reactions to the pictures was fun. I liked how Lily found a way to display honesty and discretion in her report.
#netgalley
