"Another uplifting story of the redeeming power of love in Bethlehem, NY."

Cole Jackson comes from a long line of con-artists who've perfected the art. He's pulled every con in the book and several of his own. Cole moves to Bethlehem, NY, where the kind folk befriend him and sink their hard-earned savings into one of his schemes. He leaves Bethlehem with a quarter of a million dollars. But a week later, he does the oddest thing - he returns every last dime. Why?

Leanne Wilson has perfected the art of getting her heart broken. Cole is the latest to do so, and she'll never forgive him. Not only has he stolen from her friends, but he dumped his child when he split town. That alone makes him lower than scum in her book. When Cole is brought back to Bethlehem, Leanne wants to see him punished for leaving behind the boy she's come to love.

Ms. Pappano revisits the small town of Bethlehem, weaving fictional magic with the help of some guardian angels, forgiving townspeople and a man heading toward redemption. Cole avoids prison by doing community service in Bethlehem, and it's hell for him to have to face the people he stole from, the people he's come to like. Leanne witnesses the change in Cole and realizes she still loves him. I enjoyed Cole's transformation and how the power of love and family that he discovers redeem him. It's a heart-lifting story.

Reviewed by Sabrina Marino
Courtesy Old Book Barn Gazette
Posted August 19, 2003

Summary

Coming home to Bethlehem in hand-cuffs isn't the way Cole Jackson's life was supposed to turn out. Now, trapped in the last place on earth he wants to be, he's facing serious jail time...and the woman and kids who are both better off without him. Once Cole thought sexy single mother Leanne Wilson could make a new man of him...until he walked away from the tantalizing promise of a future together. But seeing her again rekindles the kind of passion that could set one lifelong sinner on the rocky road to redemption. Liar. Schemer. Heartbreaker. Sure, Leanne knows Cole Jackson. Everyone knows how he cheated the good folk of Bethlehem, then skipped town, leaving Leanne to pick up the pieces. She swore she'd never forgive him, but something's happened since Bethlehem's bad boy returned. Maybe it's those five thousand hours of community service that are slowly turning the town Cole's way. Or maybe it's how he's seducing her all over again with a passion that makes her yearn for forever with the man who could be her last, best mistake...