Love can come at the most unexpected time when you least
imagine having any real relationship with another person.
There's no explaining why someone gets under your skin,
when a person becomes so important almost vital to you.
There's no explanation -- perhaps it's a kind of miracle.
When you are at the darkest point of your lifetime there is
this infusion of light and love into what surely are the
most dismal days of your life. Illness brings a
vulnerability no one can imagine but sometimes it also
brings an awareness of an inner strength that was also
totally hidden.
WHEN SUMMER COMES is a story about finding strength and
courage through love and perhaps a touch of a miracle.
This is part of the Whiskey Creek series where everyone
knows everyone and so when a stranger comes to town they
really stand out.
Callie knows this man Levi who knocks at
her door in the middle of the night is not from around her
town. Alone with Rifle, her dog, she is weary and truly
not comfortable opening her door to someone persistently
knocking but then she realizes he really needs her help.
Injuries from a dog attack while on his motorcycle left a
very weak Levi who now has to convince a pretty frightened
woman to let him have some basic first aid before calling
the authorities.
Callie's life is already very complicated. She's recently
been diagnosed with advanced liver disease and put on the
list for a donor. She is fully aware that her life hangs on
a precarious thread -- basically hoping for a miracle. She
is determined to face these uncertainties on her own
hiding her ailment from her family and all her friends.
Now she has this injured man who calls himself a vagrant
but doesn't fit that description except he has no real
place to call home. Making it home alive from Afghanistan
made it rather ironic to now being so bit up from these
dogs that came out of nowhere.
Callie is intent on finding those dogs before they hurt
someone else. Her actions put her in the unenviable
position of dealing with two rather unsavory men who are
short term renters with definite anger management issues.
Levi had never intended to put Callie in any harm but
staying with her while regaining strength and healing from
his wounds is putting a strain on her friendships and
putting her in the path of the very angry, spiteful
renters.
Both Callie and Levi know there is no future in any
relationship between them but there is no denying the
attraction. Levi can't spend too much more time in
Whiskey Creek before needing to be back on the road. Callie
can't help imagining how different her life could be if
her health wasn't so fragile. She is more than willing to
take a chance on this man with a past who is becoming so
important to her.
Hard to worry about your past when your future isn't
looking too hopeful.
That's the wonder of a Brenda Novak story; she keeps you
hopeful for a happy ending. Let's face it we all like a
happy ending even when the odds are stacked against it as
in WHEN SUMMER COMES. With a great supporting cast of
characters
Novak fans have come to know quite well WHEN SUMMER COMES
is a magical addition to the already heartwarming Whiskey
Creek series.
One day, Callie Vanetta receives devastating news...
She needs a liver transplant. But her doctors warn that, in
her case, the chances of finding a compatible donor aren't good.
Determined to spend whatever time she has left on her own
terms, she keeps the diagnosis to herself and moves out to
her late grandparents' farm. She's always wanted to live
there. But the farm hasn't been worked in years and she
begins to fear she can't manage it, that she'll have to
return to town.
One night, a stranger comes knocking at her door...
He's an attractive and mysterious drifter by the name of
Levi McCloud, and he offers to trade work for a few nights'
shelter. Callie figures she doesn't have anything to lose.
He needs a place to stay until he can fix his motorcycle;
she needs an extra pair of hands. The arrangement seems
ideal until what was supposed to be temporary starts to look
more and more permanent. Then she realizes she does have
something to lose—her heart. And, although he doesn't
yet know it, Levi stands to lose even more.