Secrets Rising

When Rebecca Patterson's parents die in an automobile crash, she is shocked to find a note hidden in a locked drawer. "I thank you for what you're doing for Rebecca. I know you'll give her a good home and loving family, all the things I can't…If she ever finds out you're not her natural parents, you must not, under any circumstances, let her try to find me."

Devastated by this revelation that her mother and father lied to her, weren't really her parents, Rebecca determines to find her biological parents. She hires private investigator, Jake Thornton, a rugged man who dresses in black, has eyes the color of the midnight summer sky and dark hair a little too long and shaggy, as though he hasn't taken time for a haircut lately.

Jake knows from experience that his new client's quest may not end happily. Her birth mother isn't looking for her. She doesn't want to be found. She isn't waiting with champagne and roses to greet her long-lost daughter. Rebecca will likely be disappointed, and he's not sure she's strong enough to withstand another disappointment after the twin shocks of losing her parents to death and discovering she's adopted.

Jake is attracted to his tall, willowy client with her shiny blond hair and blue-green eyes that seem a combination of the trees and the Texas sky. He yearns to touch her, make love to her, smooth her brow, dig up loving parents for her, make everything all right.

He knows that's impossible. He's loved and lost enough family to be wary of becoming involved with someone who needs a permanent relationship. His motto is "Love and let go," while Rebecca feels lost and alone and desperately needs to find someone to belong to. No matter how much he might want her, he can't let her mistake passion for something else, can't let her count on him for anything else when passion is all he has to give and all he wants to take.

Their search for her birth family takes them to a small town three hours from Dallas. On the surface, Edgewater is an idyllic town, a remnant of a bygone era when life was slower and simpler. But ugly secrets seethe just beneath the picturesque surface. Rebecca's search causes those long-buried secrets to rise and put her life in danger while her continued presence in Jake's life causes him to doubt his ability to love and let go.