It's been twenty-six years and Julianna Doucette White is about to have the biggest heartache walk back into her life at Copper Falls, Texas. It's been that long since at seventeen she had a son torn from her arms at birth and his father deserting her. With a domineering mother controlling everything, Jules had the choice taken from her life. Her parents deceased, she now has inherited not only the family home but the bookshop as well, which has never been her interest and she is still following the dictates of others. As a divorcee she is dealing with her rebellious teenage daughter Becca.
The positively edible Noah Ryan arrives with a beautiful young pregnant woman on his arm, introducing her as his fiancΓ©e. Trying to avoid Noah is consistently difficult, and it isn't long to see that neither has lost that deeply seeded love for each other that they try to ignore. Sharing the devastating loss of their child haunts them each January 29th; the day of his birth. Noah's father, Johnny Mack Ryan, runs a cafΓ© next door to the bookstore and has held a vendetta against Jules since his son took off. The more entangled their lives become the more secrets come to light of the deception by Jules's mother, lies even unknown by her Nana Mae. Neither Jules nor Noah could possibly fathom these are secrets that will permanently change everyone's lives forever.
This poignant tale of a young couple obsessively in love with each other since childhood that should last a lifetime can have their futures split in two in one disbelieving moment. Once I began DON'T LET GO, I absolutely could not put it down until I had the whole thing read.
DON'T LET GO captured my heart with the sincere emotional upheaval these young lovers were forced to endure. This was nothing short of captivating, emotional and heartbreaking with a fantastic finish. DON'T LET GO is not the first I have read from Sharla Lovelace and will absolutely not be the last. She truly writes from the heart!
Sobs bubbled up and I turned and bolted through the door,
pushing a lady out of my way and barreling straight into
Noahβs arms.
βWhoa,β he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around me to
stabilize us both before looking to see who heβd caught.
βJules, whatβsββ
I broke free without speaking and pushed past him.
βJules, wait, whatβs wrong,β he said, following me.
βLeave me alone, Noah.β
If Iβd only had my purse with me, I would have headed
straight for my car and drove home. In lieu of that, I
yanked open the door to the bookstore and prayed heβd
stop.
He didnβt, and the barrage of questions trailed behind me
all the way to the break room, the swinging door bouncing
in his wake. I whirled on him, adrenaline sending a new
wave of hot tears over the edge.
βYouβre not allowed back here,β I said, my voice shaking
with anger.
βDeal with it,β he said, looking at me with exasperation.
βWhat happened over there thatβs got you so upset?
Surely, Shayna didnβtββ
I laughed, a bitter sound I didnβt even recognize. βAre
you kidding me? Shayna is like the nicest person on the
planet. I didnβt think it was even possible to be that
good.β
A tiny look of relief passed over his face. βWhat,
then?β he demanded.
I scoffed, remembering the horrid words and trying to
shove the burning sob down that wanted to split me in
half.
She throws one kid away and never thinks of him againβ¦
It won. A noise of pain escaped my throat, and I hissed
in a breath to quell it.
βAsk your father,β I spit out, turning away.
I headed for the fridge, wanting to stick my head in the
freezer, but the grip on my upper arm stopped me.
βI asked you,β he said roughly as he spun me around.
We both inhaled sharply as we landed together and found
ourselves nearly nose to nose. I blinked tears free,
bringing Noahβs face into perfect focus. His quickened
breath felt warm on my face, and all the hard lines of
his expression dissolved when he searched my eyes.
βShit, Jules,β he said under his breath, so softly it was
nearly inaudible.
One of his hands went to my face as if on autopilot, and
I shut my eyes tight as the warmth of his hand against my
cheek and hair nearly broke me. I could smell him, feel
him, and I didnβt dare open my eyes to look at him. Heβd
see it.
βNoah, donβt,β I whispered through broken breaths. I
reached up to pull his hand away, but then the other side
of my head was cradled as well, and all my strength
melted away. My grip on his hand stayed where it was,
and I could feel the slight tremble. Or was that me?
I didnβt open my eyes until I felt his thumbs move across
my cheeks, wiping away tears, and it hit me in the chest
like a wrecking ball. He looked like someone had beaten
the crap out of him from the inside. His eyelids were
heavy, like a man who hadnβt slept in days. The turmoil
radiating off of him was palpable.
That, plus the feel of his hands in my hair, the
closeness of his body, so close I could feel him breathe,
it was almost too much. His eyes went to my mouth, and
for a second it was like ropes were pulling us together.
I could nearly taste him.
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