Truths Not Told

Eighteen-year-old Emmy Broussard is an enabler who's convinced all she needs is a good-paying job to solve her problems. There'd be no more relying on her unemployed boyfriend's mother for a place to live, and she could cover her siblings' debts and keep her mother afloat between paydays. But her choice of employment could cause greater problems. Texas oil refineries are a man's world, and at barely five-feet tall and less than a hundred pounds, it could prove hazardous to Emmy's health, in more ways than one.

Noah Harding's world is upended by the unexpected death of his mother. He's lived in the same house in the same location all his life, but now he's forced to move two thousand miles away to live with an aunt he's never met. A move like this would be difficult for anyone, but Noah is homebound. He's been in a wheelchair for most of his life, and his only friends are online acquaintances and the girl he lived next door to, and he refuses to talk to her because he blames her for his mother's accident. With nowhere else to go, Noah finds himself trapped in a small Gulf Coast town surrounded by oil refineries and a wealthy new family that are strangers to him.

Strapped for cash, Emmy takes a gig administering aptitude tests to the new boy in town. When she arrives, she discovers he's a Harding, owners of a local oil refinery with a shady reputation, and a family with which Emmy has a shameful past. Noah unintentionally lies to Emmy when he hides his wheelchair from her. The incident was a rebellious act to get under his aunt's skin, but now he has to backtrack and set the record straight with a girl who already comes across as angry and antagonistic.

Emmy and Noah's relationship is founded on hostility-hers for his family, and his for his fate, but as each is compelled to face unsettling truths in their lives, they will have to cope with their new situations and the possibility of life beyond others' selfish ways, and possibly a life together.