Anna Wilks went straight from her parents’ house to her husband’s. After thirteen years of trying to give him a son, she’s told she’s sterile. Her marriage crumbles and her husband leaves her for a younger woman who’s pregnant with his child. Anna finds her deceased aunt’s journal and discovers her secret. When Anna was little, she wanted to be just like her aunt, but then she grew up and forgot what it was like to be adventurous and fearless. Having no idea who she is now that she can’t be a wife and mother, Anna shocks her family by setting out on a desperate search to find herself. She follows her aunt’s journal to Mystic Valley, Vermont. Something about the place calls to her soul, except she doesn’t have a clue how to make it on her own. She falls into old habits and the welcoming supportive town comes to her rescue, especially Officer Drew Jones who makes a living at helping others and longs to find someone to take care of, even if that’s the last thing Anna needs. He is the perfect man on paper. The complete opposite of cynical, pessimist Editor-in-chief Clay Sullivan.
Sully has no family and has been on his own since he was seventeen. He’s worked all over the world, seeing war, poverty and “real” tragedy. He has no time for helpless pampered people like Anna, gravitating more toward the new tough independent police Chief Tess Fitz, who doesn’t need anyone and is running from wounds of her own. Desperate to get back in the game, she helps him with a past that has haunted him for years. Yet Sully can’t get Anna off his mind, refusing to coddle her and pushing her beyond her comfort zone until she surprises herself by discovering all she’s capable of and just how strong she really is. She blossoms, learning a lot about herself and where her passions lie, taking care of others for a change. Sully isn’t anything like what she thought she wanted yet he’s exactly what she needs, and he needs her even though he doesn’t know it yet. Like Mystic Valley, he calls to her soul. And like her namesake, she finds the courage to go after what she wants, only to discover a love like she never knew existed. Except in searching for the meaning of life, she uncovers a valley of secrets that will threaten the new life she fought so hard to create.
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