About the Book

She's raising her niece while her sister is in recovery. He's unexpectedly the perfect instant dad. But when her sister comes back, a secret none of them saw coming threatens everything.

Rick Bryant is as cold as winter with everyone else. Monosyllables, permanent scowl, the kind of man who builds cabinets with the patience of a saint, but doesn't have time for your jokes or excuses.

With me, there is a different side to him. He forgives mistakes he'd never let slide from anyone else. His voice softens when it's just us. Warmer. Almost something. But every time I think he's about to cross that line, he pulls back. He puts the wall up so fast, I wonder if I imagined the crack in it. He's made it clear, without ever saying a word, that friendship is as far as this goes.

Then my sister checks into a treatment facility and leaves me with her five-year-old daughter, and Rick just — shows up. It starts with him fixing a leaky sink. Next, he's helping with school drop-off and groceries.

Whatever warmth Rick was saving for me, he's giving it to my niece now, too. Everything feels easy for the first time in years. Charlie is settled. Rick is close. I can almost stop bracing for the next thing to go wrong.

But, I should have seen it coming. Nothing this good was ever going to last.