How can one heart feel so much grief for a dead husband as well as so much joy for a newborn baby daughter -- and keep pumping?
Dawn Blossom concludes Summer's Romance story, starting from the end of Cut Cords.
Summer figures out Cal hired the escort to seduce her husband. At Clayton's funeral, she announces her eternal hatred of Cal. Soon, however, big brother Cal appoints himself her daughter Adalia's father figure substitute -- and won't leave Summer's life.
Upon Clayton's death, his money goes to his children. Except for Adalia's portion of that, plus Social Security, Summer can't make ends meet. Clayton left her his Internet business, but how can she make that work, without Clayton's expertise in real estate development?
Brooke gives Summer and Ardalia temporary shelter in her house, but Summer's enemy tries to get the city of Ladue to drag her out.
Summer grieves so much for Clayton, she believes she still makes love to him.
Calwood angers his mother, Mercedes, because he refuses to stop loving Summer. He insists she loves him.
Much as Summer hates Cal, she cannot keep him from Adalia. He gives the baby all the attention he wishes Clayton gave to him as a child.
How can Summer stop Cal from loving her daughter -- his own sister?
Or from pestering her?
Upon learning Cal's secret, she slugs him in the face.
And insists Cal watch the video his mother makes, exposing her deepest secret.
Can Summer find true love despite all her problems? Who does she marry in the next to last chapter?
Genre: FICTION / Romance / Contemporary"I can tell this isn't a date," Summer said. "When I let him in, he barely said hi, just rushed upstairs to bring the baby down."
"We never go on dates," Cal said to Brooke. "We're just friends doing things together."
"Yarh!" Dalia shouted.
"That's what I think, too," Brooke said. "But if you two want to believe you're fooling anybody, go right ahead."
Bright sunshine shone through the many high windows, warming the room. Summer longed to be out in it. In St. Louis, nothing signaled the end of winter and the beginning of spring like robins singing, bright yellow dandelions blooming in the yard, and a new season of Cardinals baseball.
Ana clapped her hands to get Dalia's attention. She leaned forward. "Show them what I taught you." She put her hands together and wiggled her hands like a fish swimming through water. "Fish, Dalia. Fish. Fish."
Dalia laughed, then squeezed her own pudgy palms together and imitated Ana, though her body wiggled more than her hands.
Everybody laughed and applauded.
"Let me ask you something," Brooke said to Cal. "See what you think. I want to hold a big party for Dalia's first birthday. Invite lots of people. Hold it in the backyard same as I used to do for your father. Music. Lots of food and drink. But I'll tell people to bring their kids and they can go swimming."
