The Dandelion

At thirty-five, Abigail Simmons has mastered only one thing—running. When tragedy strikes, she runs. This time her urge to flee brings Abi back to her hometown, where she hopes she can find the peace she’s always searched for. That hope is dashed when Abi’s ex, Sam Forrester, bumps his way back into her life.

Sam has flourished in ways Abi hasn’t. From the outside, he has it all—a successful medical practice, a beautiful daughter, and a charming wife.

Who is dying.

Sara Forrester is dying and her final wish is for Sam to find love again so she can meet the woman who will finish raising her daughter and grow old with her husband. Abi seems like the perfect fit, but what Sara doesn’t know is that Abi has a secret, a secret no one could guess.

And it’s a deal breaker.

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Source: Kindle via Amazon.com

Genre: Adult Romance

Standalone

My The Dandelion Review . . .

" . . . Life without pain is life without living. Like you just said, the pain lets us know we're alive. Without it, we wouldn't know pleasure. It helps us to appreciate the good. . . ."

This is a bit of an unconventional second chance love story and I loved it.

Sometimes we get so lost in our pain, we're numb to everyone else's.

Abigail & Sam were once everything to one another but life tore them apart. Now decades later and Abigail is back to her old home to find peace and what she ends up finding is so much more.

As she returns home she finds out that that Sam Forrester is now the town doctor and a loving father and happily married. His wife is Sara Forrester but not is all that seems.

The reality is that Sara is dying and her last wish is for Sam to find love again so he can move on and be happy, and then Sara will know that their daughter is loved and cared for by Sam and his new love.

That's the consequence of living-dying. Life leads to death. It's unavoidable. It's an inarguable fact.

From the moment we are born, we are dying. Little by little, day by day. We have limited minutes and hours and days and choices within that short span. Depending on how we spend those minutes, how we make those choices, we can live in the bright sun, with our vivid yellow faces tilted boldly toward it, laughing and happy, or we can make bad choice after wrong step and end up like the dandelion in its last days-withered, frail and waiting to die.

To most that story line would feel wrong and unconventional, but its also where all the beauty is. That we can love so freely and live for every moment but also want more for those we love most. What Sara was doing is truly one of the most selfless acts someone could do and I truly don't know if I would be able to do that if I knew I was leaving this earth.

"I'm going to ask a girl I used to know to do something I have no right to ask of her."
"I'm going to ask her to love me again. Or at least to try."

The way this story was written you fall in love with Abigail, Sam, Sara and their beautiful daughter Noelle.

"Maybe, maybe not, but I do know this: Some of us are beyond second chances. They're a gift, a gift that I'd gladly give all the money in the world for. Yet life is handing you one, free of charge. Don't throw it away. It dishonors those of us who have no choice when you waste yours."

What happened to Abi was so tragic and heartbreaking and you totally understood where her head was at and why she was making her decisions. But there is a fine line between life and death and that line is called hope. And for Abi, she had lost all her hope.

"I've always needed you, Abi. I never stopped."

But with Sara, Abi started to get back a spark of hope, but there needs to be more for that fire to ignite.

"I'm your hope, Abi. Hope in me. I'll carry you when you can't walk. I'll hold you when you can't sleep. I'll be everything you need, and you'll be everything I need. Most people don't get second chances like this. Don't throw it away. Don't throw me away."

Abi & Sam's journey is a profound one and a heartbreaking beautiful one.

"Can't you see I'm trying to protect you?"
"Can't you see I'm trying to protect me, too? My life is better with you in it. And yours can be better with me in it. Just give it a chance."

Each character had their flaws but that was also their true beauty and strength.

" . . . This dandelion isn't dying. It's finding a way to live."
"Every one of those has a seed of life inside it. All they need is a good place to grow. That's not the end. It's the beginning."

Often people say we can't love more than one person, but the way this was written it helps you to understand this possibility and why its so hard when it does happens.

"I know you're scared. I am, too. But I'm more afraid of living the rest of my life without you. I'd take a few years of happy with you over a lifetime of painlessness without you any day of the week."

If you have read the Reluctant Dom by Tymber Dalton then you will love this story as well. ( Minus the D/S story line, of course.)

This is a story that after you read it , you think about it over and over again.

4.5 Second Chance thumbs up!