Review: Light & airy, but another great touching & emotional story.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 8, 2012
First of all I love stories set in small towns, where family means more to the people who live and work there, than anything else this world has to offer. And in this book...Dee finally comes to realize that very fact, after seven long lonely years in the "Dog Eat Dog" world of the rich & famous people, while living the big city life.All the women in this book are strong willed characters, and Dee is no exception. Oh they might grieve once in a while, but not for too long. Then they pick themselves up, and they find a way to move on.Growing up she always wanted to escape the small town life. So when a good looking man from Pennsylvania shows up and promises her the moon, she pulls up stakes and leaves the town and her family in the dust. Jack Brewer, Dee's next door neighbor for the last twenty some years & also her best friend since they were only a few years old..... begs her not to leave. But Dee ignored his pleas completely. Getting out of that small town was the only thing on her mind, and no one or nothing, was going to stop her at that point.Jack has always secretly loved Dee for as long as he can remember. So when Dee ignores his pleas and leaves, he ends up with shattered heart. He vows to never marry after that. If anything, he becomes more and more devoted to Dee's family. He also goes over and sits with them on the back porch every night, to watch the sunset with them, hoping to hear any new news about Dee and how her life is going these days..Jack had his own chance to live town, after his grandparents died and left him richer then sin. But jack stayed there and made it even bigger by inventing and programming games for the internet. That doesn't mean he lived high on the hog though. Oh no, he still lives in the trailer that sat behind the store that hs family had owned and ran for all of his life. To look at him, you would have never known he was worth millions.Now seven years later, Dee shows back up on the doorstep of her families B&B; with her tail between her legs. Just a few short days before her return, her husband came home long enough to informed her that he'd already filed for an annulment. He'd also told her that he and his long time girlfriend were planning to get married as soon as possible, since she was three months pregnant with his child.Dee had always wanted children herself, lots of them in fact, but he'd told her that he didn't intend to have any children. That's when she finally came to realize that he meant he just didn't want to have children with her, the new fiance....now that was another story.Now Dee is back home to her dysfunctional family: Roxie, the grandmother, who runs the family with an attitude of steel; Mimosa, the mother, who's been married so many times she's forgotten half of them; Tally, the sister who's in the county jail for writing hot checks; Bodine, Tally's daughter, who's been raised by Rosie just like Dee and Tally were; and Jack, the boy next door who's always loved Dee.With Dee back in town, it leaves Jack battling past hurts and fears. They try to reclaim their lifelong friendship and trust again, each secretly hoping they'll be more than just friends this time around. But can they get back what they lost, and can they forgive enough to be able to move beyond friendship this time around?This book had me in tears one minute, and laughing so hard the next. This family may be dysfunctional, but the one thing they'll always have is love and respect for one another.Would I recommend this book? You bet I would!