The Single Mom's Second Chance. Jessica Keller
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Small-Town Reunion
Claire 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.
She could barely form the words.
“Just go away. I’m really not in the mood.”
“Claire-bear—”
“Don’t. You lost the right to call me that a long time ago.” Claire grabbed her purse. “I’m done here. If this silly competition is what this town wants in a mayor, I’m obviously not their choice.”
Evan caught her arm as she turned to leave. “You’re not a coward. Stop choosing to quit.”
“I don’t choose it.”
“You’re choosing it now, and you did it every time when you wouldn’t let me explain about the past.”
She yanked her arm away. “How dare you.”
He blocked her retreat. “The Claire I knew and loved had the fire to match her hair. That Claire would never give up. I miss her.”
She wanted to toss back an angry barb. Fuel the fight so she didn’t have to admit the truth of his words.
“Do what makes you happy, Claire,” he prompted. “What do you love?”
You.
Her stomach tightened. That couldn’t be right. She didn’t love Evan Daniels.
She couldn’t…
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 aren’t 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, that’s a problem.
While Evan made a lot of life choices in order to please his brother, he was also striving to earn God’s approval. In the end, Evan was the one who told Alex, “Do you know that once you tell God that you’ve chosen to be on His team, God will never let you go?”
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.
The Single Mom’s Second Chance
Jessica Keller
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
—Psalms 27:14
For the boy I fell in love with at eighteen
who became the man still holding my heart
all these years later.
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