Baggage -- we all have it. What sets us apart from one another is how we handle it.

Kelly came to Virgin River determined to gather emotional and physical strength and take time to recover from a scary medical episode which turned out luckily to be a cautionary message. A promotion to chef was her career dream. She faced enormous stress working with various temperamental and competitive types, but the final push came when she was accused of being a home wrecker by the wife of her boss and mentor. That confrontation forced her to make a life altering decision. Cooking was in her blood and so, upon arrival in Virgin River, she naturally wound up in a kitchen -- this time her sister's amazing one. Her sister Rachel's love wasn't in cooking but rather in organic gardening. It was a natural partnership and gave Kelly the feeling that she had come home.

Lief and his stepdaughter Courtney were somewhat new arrivals in town. He craved stability for Courtney as her life was spiraling out of control after her mother's sudden death. Both were devastated and needed time to gain some normalcy. Lief was finding his place in Virgin River and upon meeting Kelly began to think he could move on perhaps to a solid lasting relationship. But Courtney was stalled. There truly wasn't any aspect of her life that wasn't in turmoil and Lief knew he needed help. He also knew there was no hope for him unless he was able to get through to Courtney and any personal plans, hopes or dreams had to move to the back burner for the inestimable future. She was like a runaway train gaining speed heading for a disaster. So as she became more demanding Lief capitulated until there appeared to be no hope for any future with Kelly. Kelly's attempts to establish some sort of relationship were met with malevolence and disrespect and yet Courtney seemed to relish time spent with Kelly's sister Rachel. As an adult, Kelly was all too aware of what Courtney was doing but that didn't make it hurt any less. So even as Lief was trying to convince her to be patient and stay hopeful, Kelly wasn't willingly going to set herself up for still another devastating hurt. The ball was virtually in Courtney court and all their lives hung in the balance.

HARVEST MOON is an interesting story of how our children can manipulate our lives even when we realize they aren't capable of making what we think of as adult decisions. Somehow, this should have made Lief and Kelly look silly. But anyone who has a daughter knows it's important to pick your battles. And when your child is suffering from a trauma, your entire being is invested in helping her recover. Once again Carr doesn't look for easy answers. She respects her readers and lets them follow this bumpy ride.