Title: The Solidity of Us
Author: Shana Vanterpool
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 5, 2019
Beauty that close mixed with such turmoil was a cocktail of enriched poison—I wanted to drink it anyway…
Things with Cade didn’t start that way. They weren’t that easy, and they weren’t that smooth, but I assure you, some of the best love stories didn’t start out with ease and without bumps. How can anything that’s solid be simple? Cade and I both needed a solid ground. We’d earned it.
This is the story of how I, Bray Gideon, Los Angeles transplant, lost soul, ran away to her mother’s hometown of Well Water, Kentucky, and discovered how love could heal the wounds of the past and strengthen the hope of my future.
This is the story of Cade Montgomery, a man who’d ran for so long all it took was one night with the right woman to set his demons free. And boy, did those demons hurt. They got in the way and they held his happiness over his head and mocked his scars.
Those demons took as much as they ruined.
But love was stronger.
It was greater.
Love was… solid.
I rolled over in bed and stared at my coffee candle. My room smelled of the rich, dark liquid I missed so much. Reminded me of the man I missed for no other reason than because when Cade wasn’t there, something felt like it was missing.
I heard his car door close around midnight. I waited a beat and then got up, tiptoeing down the hall and around the back to listen near my grandparent’s door. Two sets of snoring resonated from the other side. Relieved, I continued tiptoeing until I’d gotten my shoes on and the front door open. On the other side of the screen door, I spotted Cade sitting under the dogwood tree in my grandparent’s front lawn.
It was dark, but the moon was bright, and the summer heat still radiated off the hood of his Lexus parked on the curb. The scent of the perennials in the garden out front were thick and floral, warmed all day by the sun. The street was quiet, making the sounds of the cicadas nearby deafening.
I carefully stepped out of the screen door and shut both behind me. I crossed my arms over my chest and walked down to the dogwood tree.
“My mother used to say that hearing a cicada in the summer was good luck,” he announced, his voice low. “They mean you’re about to get a second chance.” He watched me. “Can’t be a coincidence.”
I hugged myself; I didn’t know what to say.
He nodded to himself. “Okay, you don’t want to talk, then can you please listen?”
I shifted from foot to foot, hugging myself tighter. Squeezing my tears tight in case they escaped. If one escaped, many more would follow. And I’d be on my knees under the dogwood tree. Begging him for so much, I didn’t know where to even begin. “Yes.”
He took a deep breath in preparation, and then Cade Montgomery laid it all out on the line. “I did not and will not bail out my father. He’ll sit in jail until his sentencing and then he’ll sit in there for years for what he did to you. And you know what? I’m so damn relieved.” Tears burst through his eyes. “I’m relieved that he’ll be in jail. For the first time in my life I won’t have to worry about him. I feel free in a messed-up way. But in others, I feel more lost than ever before. I don’t know how to say I’m sorry, how to convey how bad I feel for leaving you with him. For the hurt and worry and pain you endured. I’m sorry I was an asshole when we met. I’m sorry I continued to be an asshole. I’m sorry that I was afraid and took it out on you.” He took an uneven, ragged breath. “I gave my ex-wife what she wanted. Half of everything and she signed the divorce papers two nights ago. I’m officially divorced and she’s out of my life. I settled with the network and they’re paying out my contract. I don’t have a job, but I’ll have the money to take the time to find a new one and the money to take care of you and the baby. I hired a realtor to sell my father’s property and she already found someone interested in the almond groves. I did everything I could.” He pushed to his feet and since the roots of the tree were higher and gnarled, they gave him an advantage over me. “Here’s what I want. I want you to move in with me into the goldenrod house. I want a second chance. To be everything you wanted and deserved from the beginning. I was so caught up in everything falling down around me, I thought you were one more hammer falling. But you weren’t. You were a gift, and I was terrified of ruining a gift that was so perfect for me I couldn’t have asked for anything else if I’d known myself well enough to ask. I want this baby more than I’ve ever wanted anything. I want you and I want us. But I know you need time. I know you blame me for a lot, and you’re right to blame me. I messed up. Move in with me and give us both what we want. A second chance.”
Oh, hell.
Could he be any more transparent?
My heart was tattered and torn, eager to feel and accept the balm of his words.
I wasn’t like my mother. I wanted what she detested. I wanted security, normalness, and solid ground. She ran from Well Water and I ran to Well Water. In a moment where she would say no, I found myself saying, “Yes.”
Review by: Jennifer
(4 stars)
When Bray's world turned upside down, she left LA and headed to a tiny town in Kentucky where her grandparents lived. Used to having everything she wanted, Bray now had to work to get by. When a one night stand leaves her with a bit more than just the memories, Bray has no clue what she is going to do. To make matters worse, when she miraculously sees the mystery man from her one night of rebellion, he doesn't believe her. Everything in Cade's world is imploding, his marriage, his job, having to come back to his home town to deal with his father. When he gets the news from Bray, all he can think is that it's a lie and that it's just another way his life is screwed. When the test results show that yes this is Cade's baby, the two have to figure out just how to make this bad situation work. Cade doesn't trust anyone, and Bray isn't going to rely on another man to just be let down again. Can the two make this work or will it be better to just go their separate ways?
This story had so much going on, that at times it was a bit hard to keep up. Bray and Cade's journey was very entertaining to read, and I can't wait to see if there will be more from the Montgomery brothers. There are a few things that bugged me about the story: not enough detail for a few of the situations, how things were worded, the fact that a hospital will not admit you when your contractions are 25 min apart... things like that. With loads of drama, a bit of violence (one of those unclear moments), and some hot naughty bits, I give this 4 stars.
Romance author, coffee drinker, and bad boy aficionado. Every second not spent breathing is an opportunity to write and read. I live in Northern California with my family and actress dog, Halle Bella. (Just Bella when she decides to cut the crap.) Escaping with a good book is something I live for and I write so others can do the same.
HOSTED BY:
No comments:
Post a Comment