They say time heals all wounds, for Lucky and Kid time seemed to stand still and not in a good way. As young teenagers in the throes of first love they were a couple with a future made of young promises. When life got in the way of those promises things just fell apart and now they faced the prospect of dealing with all those hurts that didn't subside. Cisco Hardin's dubbed Kid by all who knew him had lived up or should we say down to that moniker by spending most of his life charming people with his ready wit -- which many could say was a real handy way of avoiding life's responsibilities.

Lucinda's nickname, Lucky, had stuck even though she would be the first to admit it didn't really describe her life -- especially since Kid walked out twenty years ago. Going off to college was Kid's plan but he promised Lucky it wouldn't come between the two of them and yet as he got swallowed up by campus life it was harder to make those promises stick. Kid convinced himself that the longer he waited to contact Lucky the angrier she would be and so true to type he just avoided that conflict. But now he was back in High Cotton Texas and as luck would have it the reason he was coming home was to get Lucky to sign an oil lease on her property. After all these years the last place Kid thought he'd find Lucky was working at her father's bar. When he had left she planned on becoming a nurse and he couldn't figure out what would have brought her back working the bar. Being with Kid Hardin had brought Lucky a level of respectability that helped her fit in at school but she truly believed that he loved her and so when he left he broke her heart.

His job with Shiloh Oil was acquiring oil lease rights but getting Lucky to sign a lease was turning out more difficult than Kid expected. First it appeared that she didn't recognize or remember him but the daggers in her eyes convinced Kid that she remembered him all right and definitely not in a good way. When Kid left Lucky she had quite an ordeal to live through alone and frightened. Just because Kid turned on the charm it wasn't going to work this time. This time he was going to have to grovel. And more importantly he was going to have to face some harsh truths that were going to finally make Kid grow up. Life was never going to be the same but was there a hint of hope for some future for these two people who never really got over their love for each other.

Linda Warren writes about people discovering their strengths and passions. Her gift with dialog brings the characters to life and compels your sympathy and caring. Welcome back to the Hardin family.