Her lifelong search for home... Desdemona Rask never knew much about her family. Now she is finally getting a chance to learn about her roots in the town of Heartlandia. For the first time, Desi feels as if there's somewhere she belongs...but there's more to her welcome home than she expected! Her grandmother's next-door neighbor looks like a Viking warrior, and he's giving Desi all sorts of unwelcome feelings. ...might be closer than she thinks! Caring for his son, Steven, is single dad Dr. Kent Larson's first priority. But the boy's stunning new piano teacher makes him take a second look at his to-do list. Still, he's lost at love before—how could he risk another heart-battering? Does the doctor dare to go all in?
Author Note
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Heartlandia, the little town with a big secret. I'm so excited to kick off the series with A DOCTOR FOR KEEPS.
Sometimes a story comes to mind that challenges the heart and soul of the author. This is one such story. With trepidation, I undertook telling Desdemona Rask's tale. A biracial daughter of a Scandinavian mother and African-American father, she grew up solely with her mother on the road in the Midwest. Deep in her heart Desi longs to find her family and her roots. After her mother dies she heads to her Scandinavian Grandmother's house in the town from which her mother ran away. A whole new world opens up to Desi in Heartlandia, which is nestled along the Oregon coast by the Columbia River. There, a precocious eight year old named Steven becomes her first piano student. Next she meets his father, the strikingly Swedish doctor next door, and that's when the fireworks begin.
Kent Larson is the town doctor. Being a single father of a super active son, and running the local Urgent Care, he hardly has time to breathe let alone fall in love. When the exotically lovely daughter of his childhood babysitter arrives in town, new life gets infused into Kent's heart. But how can he trust his heart again when his wife of seven years walked out on him and his son without so much as a glance over her shoulder? How wise is it to fall for a woman who has just set foot in town and is already searching for a way out through her family tree?
Enjoying the love and friendship of her grandmother and sensing a strong tug on her heart for her Scandinavian ancestry, Desi still longs to find her father--the other half of herself. Risking all she forges ahead to make contact.
The heart is a funny organ that rarely listens to reason and logic. Thank goodness! Otherwise Desi and Kent would never have found their happily ever after.
Here's hoping you enjoy meeting the runaway mother's daughter named Desdemona, who finally discovers the truest meaning of "Home is Where the Heart is."
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