carrieanne

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

Two women. Many aliases. Meg Williams. Maggie Littleton. Melody Wilde. Different names for the same person, depending on the town, depending on the job. She's a con artist who erases herself to become whoever you need her to be—a college student. A life coach. A real estate agent. Nothing about her is real. She slides alongside you and tells you exactly what you need to hear, and by the time she's done, you've likely lost everything.

When her sister Lila and brother-in-law Gray are killed in a tragic accident, Bella is named as guardian to her two young nephews. Then she discovers that she's expected to co-parent with Gray's best friend, and grief turns to shock. Noah has always driven her crazy, and Bella's sure the arrogant, handsome Navy SEAL is the last person she wants to share a life with.

A new town. A new identity. Pregnant and alone. And far away from a past that can never find me. River Wild. Moody. Sullen. Jerk. And my new neighbor. I have no interest in befriending River. And he definitely doesn’t want to be befriended by me. Then, he helps me rescue an abandoned dog. And that day, I see something in his eyes that reflects back in my own. Sadness. Pain. Loneliness. I know all of those things well. An unwanted and unexpected friendship that somehow works. Then, without warning, it turns into something more.