Hard Lovin' Man [Mass Market Paperback]

When Kelley Spencer walks into the Hopeful, Texas police station to retrieve her troubled sixteen year-old sister, Madison, the very last person she expects to see is Jack Morgan. The irony of the previous small town bad boy now being the police chief doesn't escape her. Nine years ago Kelley was Jack's teacher, when he was a senior in high school -- held back a year. Instant sparks flared between the two, but Kelley swore she wouldn't get involved with a student, concluding it was both morally and professionally wrong. When Jack graduated however, those sparks turned into a conflagration between the two, but circumstances and a tragic misunderstanding led them to a heartbreaking parting of the ways. Now, Kelley is an older, wiser thirty-one year-old guardian to her younger sister, while Jack is a twenty-eight year-old ex-soldier and single father. As old feelings bubble to the surface, Kelley is torn between what she knows is right for her sister, and what she wants for herself.

Jack Morgan has never forgotten his former teacher and how she influenced him both academically and emotionally. If not for her, lord knows where he'd be today, and while he is grateful for that, gratitude is far from what Jack feels when Kelley walks into his police station. Nine years have passed, and Jack could be the poster boy for the old saying, "absence makes the heart grow fonder", if his reaction to seeing Kelley is any indication.

Kelley and Jack are two very believable characters, both with issues from the past they need to work through together before they can find their own happiness. Ms. Heath handles the very delicate subject of student and teacher developing a romantic relationship in a poignant, moral, and acceptable way. Kelley's sister Madison is trying to adjust in typical teenage fashion to leaving her friends from Dallas behind, and Jack's son is an adorable, loving, well-adjusted nine-year-old. Jack's late friend's widow, and next door neighbor, Serena Hamilton, will be getting her own well-deserved story in SMOOTH TALKIN' STRANGER coming April 2004.

HARD LOVIN' MAN is Ms. Heath's contemporary debut novel. She makes the transition from historical genre romance smoothly and seamlessly, transferring all of the emotional impact and in-depth characterization she is known for into this outstanding modern day tale.

HARD LOVIN' MAN is romance told in inimitable Lorraine Heath style -- perfection from first page to last.

Lorraine Heath has crossed over to the modern era, and as a diehard historical reader, it was Heath's talent that lured me to buy this contemporary novel. A mistake? No way this lady is dexterous.

A few years back the Coke guy from the soft drink commercial was all the rage, smoldering and heating his way into a woman's fantasy. Well hello Jack Morgan. If guys in Texas are this "hunky", I'm packing my bags.

This is the story of two reunited people and their chance to love again. Jack Morgan was the town's bad boy. In his senior year, ready to give up and drop out, Jack met and fell in love with Kelley Spencer -- young, beautiful, fresh out of teachers' college, and his teacher. Kelley Spencer gave him a reason to try. She promised him a life after graduation. Fate intervened, Jack married another, and Kelley left town. Nine years have past, Kelley is back in town, Jack is now the police chief and divorced. Nine years have past, but their problems continue to fester.

"He splayed his large hand and strong fingers over her stomach. ". . . the scar Kelley . . . Was it my baby? . . ."

Within these pages, Heath has developed the ultimate male -- smooth, gorgeous, kind, considerate -- do these men exist? Yet, at the same time, the author has developed our heroine, Kelley Spencer, as a "heel dragger". The girl is terrified to commit. This man wants her and she hides under a blanket of secrecy. Still, the storyline is skilled and entertaining. A rating of 4.5 because Kelley Spencer's shackles are too heavy, her complexity was like a sore thumb -- front and center. Nevertheless, I liked the book -- definitely a page turner, and you can wager I will be searching for Heath's newest book come April 2004.

Grace Atkinson, Ontario - Canada.

Kelley Spencer has never gotten over her brief affair with Jack Morgan. Then he was the just-graduated bad-boy of the local high school and she his teacher, fresh out of college. Now she has a sister to raise--a sister who has cultivated hell-raising as an art form. Kelley is surprised to find that Jack has turned his life around. He's chief of police, a responsible single dad, and still a major heart-throb. Kelley is tempted, although it took her years to recover from Jack's betrayal. But raising her sister is more important than anything--even rekindling the one great love she ever experienced. Besides, Kelley holds a secret deep inside of herself--a secret with the potential to explode everything she lives for.

Jack Morgan knows what it's like to lose a parent--and Kelley's sister has recently lost both parents. She's acting out and Jack knows that the answer is clear boundaries. But Kelley doesn't seem very good at boundaries. Which is great where he is concerned. Although Kelley forced him to marry another woman, Jack has never been able to forget her. But he still has an idealized vision of her--a vision that imperfect Kelley knows she can never live up to. And losing him again would be too destructive.

Author Lorraine Heath marks her first contemporary romance after a strong career in historicals. It's an emotionally powerful tale of lost and found dreams. Younger sister Madison is a memorable character--damaged, sympathetic, and angry with the world. Both Jack and Kelley are strong and admirable as they strive to come to terms with their responsibilites and mistakes, and the two definitely steam up the pages when they're together.

Heath's strong writing really sucks in the reader, making them care for these characters, feel for their sorrow, and hope that they can somehow overcome the weight of past secrets and pains and build themselves a future of love.