The Single Mom's Second Chance
Small-Town ReunionClaire Atwood is about to make all her dreams come true. With her newly adopted son, Claire's back in Goose Harbor, running for mayor and going toe-to-toe with Evan Daniels—the man who left her at the altar twelve years ago. But she refuses to let their history get in the way of her future. Evan's come a long way from the poor teenager Claire’s powerful father intimidated. And he can't help noticing Claire's grown into a beautiful woman and caring mother. A month from now, when the ballots are counted, Evan could be Mr. Mayor, but what he really wants is another title: daddy and husband.
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Small-Town Reunion
Claire Atwood is about to make all her dreams come true. With her newly adopted son, Claireâs back in Goose Harbor, running for mayor and going toe-to-toe with Evan Danielsâthe man who left her at the altar twelve years ago. But she refuses to let their history get in the way of her future. Evanâs come a long way from the poor teenager Claireâs powerful father intimidated. And he canât help noticing Claireâs grown into a beautiful woman and caring mother. A month from now, when the ballots are counted, Evan could be Mr. Mayor, but what he really wants is another title: daddy and husband.
She could barely form the words.
âJust go away. Iâm really not in the mood.â
âClaire-bearââ
âDonât. You lost the right to call me that a long time ago.â Claire grabbed her purse. âIâm done here. If this silly competition is what this town wants in a mayor, Iâm obviously not their choice.â
Evan caught her arm as she turned to leave. âYouâre not a coward. Stop choosing to quit.â
âI donât choose it.â
âYouâre choosing it now, and you did it every time when you wouldnât let me explain about the past.â
She yanked her arm away. âHow dare you.â
He blocked her retreat. âThe Claire I knew and loved had the fire to match her hair. That Claire would never give up. I miss her.â
She wanted to toss back an angry barb. Fuel the fight so she didnât have to admit the truth of his words.
âDo what makes you happy, Claire,â he prompted. âWhat do you love?â
You.
Her stomach tightened. That couldnât be right. She didnât love Evan Daniels.
She couldnâtâ¦
Have you ever felt weighted down by expectations? Perhaps like Claire, you have family members who pressure you to reach a certain level of success. Or maybe like Evan, you set impossible expectations for yourself.
Expectations and goals arenât bad, but when our lives become ruled by what we accomplish or strive for, when we tie our self-worth to whether or not we meet a certain goal, thatâs a problem.
While Evan made a lot of life choices in order to please his brother, he was also striving to earn Godâs approval. In the end, Evan was the one who told Alex, âDo you know that once you tell God that youâve chosen to be on His team, God will never let you go?â
God will never let you go. No matter what. Hear that. Take it in. Believe it.
Thank you for spending time with Evan and Claire. I hope you enjoyed their story. I love interacting with readers, so make sure to look me up on social media or at www.jessicakellerbooks.com and say hi!
Dream big,
Jess
JESSICA KELLER is a Starbucks drinker, avid reader and chocolate aficionado. Jessica holds degrees in communications and biblical studies. She is multipublished in both romance and young adult fiction and loves to interact with readers through social media. Jessica lives in the Chicagoland suburbs with her amazing husband, beautiful daughter and two annoyingly outgoing cats who happen to be named after superheroes. Find all her contact information at jessicakellerbooks.com.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
âPsalms 27:14
For the boy I fell in love with at eighteen
who became the man still holding my heart all these years later.
Contents
Claire Atwood brushed snowflakes from her shoulder as she waited for her son to shut the back door of her car.
âHurry up, Alex. This has to be turned in by four.â Claire tucked the leather portfolio tighter under her arm. She didnât want the paperwork that would guarantee sheâd be added to the ballot for the open mayoral position to tumble out.
She motioned for Alex to speed up and join her down the walkway leading to the town hall. A shiver worked its way through her, making her wish sheâd tugged on her down jacket instead of the thinner peacoat when they were still back at home. Ice crystals formed lace patterns on the front windows of the building. February frost. Thatâs what Mom called it back when Claire was still a child, too many years ago.
She puffed out a breath and watched it spiral in the crisp air before vanishing.
Overall, Goose Harbor had enjoyed a rather mild winter this seasonâmore slush than snowfall, reallyâwhich was part of the problem. From spring through fall the lake and the beautiful dunes brought people from miles away to explore their quaint little town, and they depended on the charm of winter to continue drawing tourists December through March for revenue. Overall, tourism was the most profitable trade in Goose Harbor. Fresh snow brought couples to the area for romantic horse-drawn sleigh rides, holiday celebrations and ice-skating, and also pulled people to come enjoy the multiple Christmas and New Yearâs events around town. One of the local bed-and-breakfasts held Charles Dickensâs Christmas weekend getaways and people dressed up like old-time carolers for the tree lighting festival. But the warmth this year had kept the number of visitors slim.
