A selfless young woman's loyalties waver between a crusading district attorney and her family in Palmer's conventional novel. At 24, Rebecca Cullen is the sole support for her family: brothers Clay, a high school senior, and fifth-grader Mack, as well as her ailing grandfather. Strict frugality, weekend work on the family's struggling farm and a job at a law firm get them through. The latter provides Becky with her only social outlet, including playful conversations each morning with an intriguing man. After Clay is caught with drugs, the man turns out to be Rourke Kilpatrick, a zero tolerance prosecutor. Against his better judgment, Rourke drops the charges, and a chance encounter leads Rourke to invite Becky to lunch, where each is unnervingly interested in the other. Meanwhile, Clay's former employers, the Harris brothers, are ready to expand their empire into Mack's elementary school, and force Clay to get information from his little brother, who balks. Tensions in Becky's household escalate, not helped by her budding relationship with Rourke, whom the family resents (except for Mack, who accepts him unconditionally). Becky and Rourke's passion ignites, and almost immediately she faces crises on several fronts.
At the tender age of twenty-four, Rebecca Cullen found life much too complicated. She worked a full-time job, raised her two teenage brothers, supported her retired grandfather and tended to their Georgia farm. When her troubled brother Clay was arrested on drug charges, Rebecca's life suddenly gegan to come apart at the seams. The last thing she needed was the district attorney on the case to be arrogant, rude - and the hansomest man she'd ever seen. As passions flared between them, innocent Rebecca dared to hope that her narrow world might finally be opening up to include someone like Rourke- but is the man she's falling in love with just using her to pursue a drug dealer? Now Rebecca will have to decide which is stronger: Rourks's passsion for the law - or her.
I liked most books I've read from this author. This one was good as well, but the cigar smoking got to me. You can tell this happened during the early 90's before non-smoking became poltically correct.