Raised by southern Pentecostal grandparents, the journey of her Momma, whose Farah Fawcett-type beauty landed her seven husbands, and her seventies playboy Daddy, who has been married five times, proves to cause confusion for the heart of a small-town southern girl Riley Blair, who's determined not to follow in the same path of bad relationships as her parents. Riley Blair supposes it may be her destiny or that bad relationships are just as hereditary as her brown eyes and big boobs, when at sixteen, she finds herself pregnant by a drug-addicted bad boy. Riley Blair, having strong faith in her grandfather's fire and brimstone preaching, along with a flair for the broken, is entangled with taking to heart her Momma's humorous prolific southern philosophies. This sets Riley on a path tainted with chaos, heartbreak, death, and addiction. But Riley Blair keeps the faith that God has someone for her, like a prize at the county fair. She never loses hope for happiness or the fairytale life she dreamed of as a child. Although Riley Blair's story sheds light on a humorous, messy, southern upbringing, it will also pull at your heartstrings and have you rooting for authentic, unapologetic protagonist Riley Blair. A protagonist who gives into the simple pleasures of a feeling, paying no regard to the trauma that may come. Riley Blair recognizes early on that life truly is like a roller coaster ride. It may have its ups and downs, twists and turns, but how boring would it be and who would want to get on if it just went straight? So, at times, you may have to hold on tight and scream, but other times you can throw your hands in the air, let go, and enjoy the ride. The crazy beautiful ride.
~"When are you going to do what's best for you Sadie? All you ever do is what's best for Hallie and push your own wants and needs to the bottom of the pile and let it hurt everyone else in the process."~
Sadie Taylor has been back in her hometown for 6 short months. After leaving 11 years ago, it's fair to say that her life now is a 180 spin on the free innocent teenager she left as. With her 9 year old daughter, Hallie, in toe, Sadie needs to find a new kind of normality where se can release the reins of control and learn to let go a little.
She's more than happy taking things at her own pace. Hoping that if she moves slow enough, she can keep her and her daughter in their own little bubble that has kept them safe all these years. But with the arrival of a familiar stranger arriving at Black Oak Ranch, things are set to be more complicated than she'd been counting on.
Ryder Matthews fucked up and he knows it. 11 years ago, he left the love of his lie in some pre-college life freak out and when he returned 3 years later, she was gone. After spending the better part of 14 months travelling the world in hopes of finding some kind of meaning to life outside of the little town where every turn is a burning memory of Sadie, he returns with no hope. He's stuck to deal with his consequences. A week after his return home, Ryder heads to Jack Taylor's ranch to get his old farm hand job back.
When he steps out of the car, a 9 year old girl greets him and when her mom comes to see what the fuss is all about, he's met with the last person he thought he'd ever see back in Alcombey. Let alone with a child.
Ryder and Sadie have a lot of baggage to unpack if they have any hope of being able to tolerate working together. But when his heart is still beating for her and her heart is locked behind solid concrete walls, is that even possible?