"A suber romance"
In Madera County, the deaths of Kern and Pamela Ryder in a
black ice car accident stun their friends Allison
Jefferson and Jake Weston. However, neither has time to
mourn as the godparents to the four year old son of the
deceased, Caleb must come first. Caleb is struggling with the loss of his parents that he
does not fully understand. However, he turns to Allison
and Jake for nurturing. Soon the child has a Christmas
wish that he wants Santa to make Allison and Jake his new
parents. With their hearts going out to the bewildered
tiny matchmaker, Allison and Jake fall in love. Can they
make a happy home with the child bringing them together
while grieving the loss? Though the lead couple and young Caleb seem to set the 100
yard dash record for getting past grief, contemporary
romance readers will enjoy this fine tale in which the two
adults willingly sacrifice their own needs and desires to
help their godson. The story line is character driven
from the moment that Allison and Jake learn of the tragedy
until the final efforts to move on. Caleb is to quickly a
matchmaker as he has to wonder why the dramatic changes in
his happy life, but no one will care as fans will root
that this deserving trio finds love and happiness amidst
the tragedy that haunts each one of them. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted November 21, 2004
SummaryHow far would you go for the sake of a child?
In Jake Westin's world, the lines between black and red,
profit and loss, are crisp and easy to delineate. A
successful financial consultant living in Miami, Jake's
only link to the "bad ol' days" of his youth is his best
friend, Kenny Rydell. When Kenny and wife Pam are killed
in a car accident during a Thanksgiving weekend ski trip,
Jake catches the first plane west to his godson's rescue.
Instead of a simple fix, he finds a situation that money
alone can't remedy and a sad little boy who triggers
memories Jake has worked hard to forget. Jake is
determined to do the right thing for Caleb - even if that
means sharing custody with the four-year-old's godmother,
Allison Jeffries. Fiercely devoted to Caleb, Allison makes
Jake begin to wish his perfect life wasn't located on the
opposite side of the country.
Before the accident that claimed her best friend's life,
Allison Jeffries's Fresno-based computer-consulting firm
was her main focus. Her customers and employees filled a
void left from a failed marriage and a pregnancy Allison
was forced to abort. She suffers no illusion that she'd
make a good mother, especially when watching her best
friend Pam Rydell interact with son Caleb. But when
tragedy strikes, Allison knows she'll do anything in her
power to give her godson, Caleb Rydell, the life Pam
intended for her son. Even if that means sharing a house
with a charismatic stranger, who soon has her wishing she
hadn't sworn off men.
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