Drinking stolen tequila, three best friends, Mel, Jo and
Zoe are celebrating their graduation from high school,
sprawled around inside the pathetic trailer that is home for
Zoe in STAYING FOR GOOD. They talk about the predictions for
them via their high
school yearbooks. Mel manages honors in her grades and is
voted most likely to succeed. Jo, the sheriff's daughter,
is good at scoring liquor for the group and is voted most
likely to end up in jail. Zoe, has a high school
sweetheart, Luke Miller, and she is voted most likely to
never leave River Bend. Zoe wants to travel, see the world,
and have a career, and get out of River Bend as quick as she
can.
Eleven years pass and Zoe has become a cooking celebrity.
She has her own TV show and works at a fancy restaurant in
Texas. She is looking for a home to buy in Texas and lay
down her roots. Most of her dreams are coming true.
Returning to River Bend for a reunion, however, brings Luke
back into her life. She has never stopped loving him and it
seems Luke feels the same about Zoe. A long distance romance
begins between them. They become close once more.
Sexually, they are dynamite! They talk and laugh just like
they did when they were sweethearts in high school. They
only have to discover a plan to be together forever. Luke
is sweet, patient, always there for Zoe and my favorite
character.
Trouble starts when Zoe's father, Ziggy Brown is released
from prison and returns home to his wife and children. Zoe
is lied to by her mother when she tells Zoe that she
divorced her father but that, and many other facts are
untrue. How is he out on parole when he was to serve a 15
year term to life for armed robbery? Zoe is shocked to see
how easily Ziggy is welcomed back by his wife and children.
Zoe does not believe her father has changed and asks Jo,
sheriff now, to help her watch and make sure he does not
revert back to his old ways. After a few months, Ziggy,
blows up and beats his wife, his son, Zane, and Zoe. What
happens next, dear readers, is a surprise, you will have to
read and discover.
A cast of colorful characters add fun to this tale of
survival, second chances, and moving on. With family
dysfunction,
the love of three sisters of the heart, and following dreams
no matter where they take you, STAYING FOR GOOD is a warm,
wonderful
story to touch your heart.
STAYING FOR GOOD is Catherine Bybee's sequel to MOST LIKELY
TO. Ms. Bybee always tells a delightful tale. This is a
story of
love that stood the test of time and even got stronger.
Luke and Zoe are a couple born to be together and their
banter is funny and had me laughing hard. I eagerly await
Jo's story, which is coming next. I can not wait to see
what MAKING IT RIGHT, will bring Jo. I look forward to
another great read by Ms. Bybee. Always a good bet!
Zoe Brown may have been voted Most Likely to Never Leave
River Bend, but the paper-thin walls and suffocating air of
her family’s double-wide trailer were not what she wanted
for her life. Other than BFFs Melanie and Jo, the only thing
that kept Zoe sane during high school was her boyfriend, Luke.
She didn’t just leave, she escaped—turning her back on the
shame of her black-sheep siblings and imprisoned dad. Now a
celebrity chef in Dallas, she can afford all the things she
never could have growing up. But when she returns to rustic,
ruggedly beautiful River Bend, Zoe has to face all that she
abandoned—including Luke.
While Luke was a refuge for Zoe in the past, he knows they
inhabit totally different worlds now. Anchored by his
parents and his job as a mechanic in his father’s shop, Luke
never felt the urge to leave River Bend—until Zoe’s return.
But when the two rekindle their old flame, Zoe is forced to
make the hardest decision of her life: remain in River Bend
and confront her past before it destroys her, or say
good-bye to everyone she’s ever loved…again, this time for good.