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The Wrong Man
This is an alternate cover edition of ISBN 0373711913 / 9780373711918.
Being married to the wrong man can lead only to divorce.
It was a hard lesson, but Libby Cameron learned it. Twelve years later, her ex-husband has moved to town. Libby's too smart to go down that road again. But doing the smart thing isn't easy once she discovers that Trent is fathering a sweet and sad little girl all by himself.
Kylie Baker needs her, and Libby can't ignore that fact. Nor can she ignore the feelings for Trent that she's starting to have. But how can she forget their previous life together or the times he let her down? Has Trent really changed? Can the wrong man ever turn into the right one?
Being married to the wrong man can lead only to divorce.
It was a hard lesson, but Libby Cameron learned it. Twelve years later, her ex-husband has moved to town. Libby's too smart to go down that road again. But doing the smart thing isn't easy once she discovers that Trent is fathering a sweet and sad little girl all by himself.
Kylie Baker needs her, and Libby can't ignore that fact. Nor can she ignore the feelings for Trent that she's starting to have. But how can she forget their previous life together or the times he let her down? Has Trent really changed? Can the wrong man ever turn into the right one?
- GenresRomance
296 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
3 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Laura Abbot
35 books24 followersLaura Abbot was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Her very arrival on the planet is a romantic plot device. Her parents, married five years, had been unable to have children. Her dad was working two jobs and under a great deal of stress. A wise doctor suggested that they needed a prolonged vacation away from home where they would feel free to — er — do the deed. Often. Day or night. However, this was during the Depression and romantic getaways were hard to come by. To the rescue came a West Virginia cousin who owned a primitive cabin in the mountain wilds, which he put at their disposal. So they went. And voilà! Laura arrived nine months later.
Laura was blessed with an idyllic childhood. Make-believe was a favorite pastime; Laura was especially good as either a racehorse or a G.I. In those days, kids were free to roam the neighborhood, and they did — using vacant lots and open spaces as enchanted lands. Perhaps because her grandmother and another elderly friend lived in their household, expectations for Laura were pretty high. She was supposed to be a lady, a scholar, and an example to her two younger brothers. A born tomboy, the first was hard to achieve, but she did an adequate job in the other two categories.
Then in eighth grade, Laura discovered boys. At the time she felt reasonably certain that her mother was about the most old-fashioned, intrusive female she'd ever encountered. Looking back now from the vantage point of being the mother of daughters, she realizes her mother saved her from herself. Laura found college liberating, and still keeps in touch with several of the women who became her friends in those years. By attending summer schools and loading up on the hours she took each semester, she graduated at Kansas State University with a bachelor's degree in English in three years and went "out into the world," a pretty big deal after attending the same grade school and high school all her life!
Laura taught eighth- and ninth-grade English, and from the very first day, knew she'd found the thing she was supposed to be doing. She loved the school environment, the kids, and how the work fulfilled her. From that point on, Laura taught off and on for over 25 years.
After that first year of teaching, Laura married, and she and her husband subsequently had three children. Ten years into the marriage, they were divorced, but Laura is happy to say they've been able to remain amicable through the years. Single, with three children under 10! Talk about scary. Fortunately, Laura's prayers were answered, and she fell in love with her current husband, who never once has been anything but accepting of Laura and her three kids. His daughter and orphaned nephew brought their total to five children. Like most parents, they've had their ups and downs with them, but strong faith, consistent discipline, and a ton of love and forgiveness have made their family bonds very strong. And what joy it is now to have 13 grandchildren! Now Laura and her husband don't have to worry about school conferences, curfews, or questionable friends. All they have to do is love.
Laura Abott's writing career, which began in 1995, later than most, has been absolute icing on the cake! What fun it is to follow a long-held, somewhat secret desire — to write publishable fiction. Remember the scene in Little Women of Jo scribbling away in the attic? She was Laura's role model. And to think it's all come true. Sounds like a storybook ending, right? It is!
Laura was blessed with an idyllic childhood. Make-believe was a favorite pastime; Laura was especially good as either a racehorse or a G.I. In those days, kids were free to roam the neighborhood, and they did — using vacant lots and open spaces as enchanted lands. Perhaps because her grandmother and another elderly friend lived in their household, expectations for Laura were pretty high. She was supposed to be a lady, a scholar, and an example to her two younger brothers. A born tomboy, the first was hard to achieve, but she did an adequate job in the other two categories.
Then in eighth grade, Laura discovered boys. At the time she felt reasonably certain that her mother was about the most old-fashioned, intrusive female she'd ever encountered. Looking back now from the vantage point of being the mother of daughters, she realizes her mother saved her from herself. Laura found college liberating, and still keeps in touch with several of the women who became her friends in those years. By attending summer schools and loading up on the hours she took each semester, she graduated at Kansas State University with a bachelor's degree in English in three years and went "out into the world," a pretty big deal after attending the same grade school and high school all her life!
Laura taught eighth- and ninth-grade English, and from the very first day, knew she'd found the thing she was supposed to be doing. She loved the school environment, the kids, and how the work fulfilled her. From that point on, Laura taught off and on for over 25 years.
After that first year of teaching, Laura married, and she and her husband subsequently had three children. Ten years into the marriage, they were divorced, but Laura is happy to say they've been able to remain amicable through the years. Single, with three children under 10! Talk about scary. Fortunately, Laura's prayers were answered, and she fell in love with her current husband, who never once has been anything but accepting of Laura and her three kids. His daughter and orphaned nephew brought their total to five children. Like most parents, they've had their ups and downs with them, but strong faith, consistent discipline, and a ton of love and forgiveness have made their family bonds very strong. And what joy it is now to have 13 grandchildren! Now Laura and her husband don't have to worry about school conferences, curfews, or questionable friends. All they have to do is love.
Laura Abott's writing career, which began in 1995, later than most, has been absolute icing on the cake! What fun it is to follow a long-held, somewhat secret desire — to write publishable fiction. Remember the scene in Little Women of Jo scribbling away in the attic? She was Laura's role model. And to think it's all come true. Sounds like a storybook ending, right? It is!
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 24, 2012
Libby and Trent were married 12 years ago, but Libby suffers a miscarriage and her always on the go husband and she divorce. He moved on w/ his life in another state, w/ another woman, and soon a child. Now he was ready to be a daddy, but before it was pretty much a non-starter for him. Libby stayed in that town and she teaches children. She hasn’t really moved on either although she has been dating a nice man for a while now. (why is it that as soon as the h begins to move on the H shows back up?) Libby really REALLY wants to have kids and at the time Trent was too busy enjoying life and looking for the next adventure.
The story opens w/ Trent needing to make a change in his life after all it couldn’t be good for his little girl if her daddy is unhappy. Also Kylie really needs a momma after losing her mother and Libby wasn’t too hard on him years ago. Maybe she is still around and needs what he can give her . . . a child! Maybe not, but either way home is where the heart is, right?
Sure the book tried to sell the point that you don’t always get over your first love, but it seemed to strike me harder that Trent was looking more for a mother for his little girl and Libby seemed to be the nurturing type all those years ago …so two birds one stone! This book so reeked of this excuse: I was young, I wasn’t ready to settle down, I didn’t want kids yet and you did, since my wife is now deceased (not sure that I thought about you much over the years either) and I have this motherless child and you have NO ONE, did I mention NO ONE as in no true prospects and none of your dreams have been realized yet, why don’t we hook up! It’s a good idea. I’ll get you back now, and you can mother my child so I can run around seeking adventures and perhaps I’ll even give you a few more. Give me another chance and chase off the other man on the horizon because really it’s all about me.
He even believes that Libby couldn’t have changed that much so surely she still loves him and he has always loved her – or at least he does now that he isn’t attached to his deceased wife. He supposedly really loved his wife as well. Yeah, I believe you can have more than one love but for him to quickly be in love w/ Libby after those many years was stretching it for me. Then Libby has to have some blame in the failure of their r/s/marriage from years ago something that Trent didn’t even know about and for me that was close to IT! The clincher where book is introduced to wall: when the little girl is hurt and Trent BLAMES yes BLAMES the love of his life for it!! Nope no blame for good old boy Trent he should have been there watching his own child btw. Which begs the question if Libby was his true love then why was it so easy for him to walk years ago and make a life w/ no future for Libby in it? He had no plans to go back to her, but then things play out for him and he pretty much pushes his way into her arms. Why? Well because he needs a momma for his little girl and Libby isn’t too hard on the eyes either, right?
Why couldn't she have taken up w/ the OM instead? Why is it that the h's can't ever love anyone else, but the H either does or can have smex w/ any and all? Does this make it sound like the H's love is cheap, or am I just being cynical? It might have helped if he had thought of her more as his one true love in the beginning rather than coming across as looking for a new mom for his little girl. It wouldn't have hurt either if Libby had actually moved on and experimented w/ OM after all she did marry and get pregnant before, so that would have been more believable. It seemed that the Libster was pretty fertile so if she had given this OM a chance she could have already had her child by now. Considering that she wanted them so bad, I’m surprised that she didn’t already have a few! Instead she seems to be willing to settle for being FORSS even though she was firsts before!
The story opens w/ Trent needing to make a change in his life after all it couldn’t be good for his little girl if her daddy is unhappy. Also Kylie really needs a momma after losing her mother and Libby wasn’t too hard on him years ago. Maybe she is still around and needs what he can give her . . . a child! Maybe not, but either way home is where the heart is, right?
Sure the book tried to sell the point that you don’t always get over your first love, but it seemed to strike me harder that Trent was looking more for a mother for his little girl and Libby seemed to be the nurturing type all those years ago …so two birds one stone! This book so reeked of this excuse: I was young, I wasn’t ready to settle down, I didn’t want kids yet and you did, since my wife is now deceased (not sure that I thought about you much over the years either) and I have this motherless child and you have NO ONE, did I mention NO ONE as in no true prospects and none of your dreams have been realized yet, why don’t we hook up! It’s a good idea. I’ll get you back now, and you can mother my child so I can run around seeking adventures and perhaps I’ll even give you a few more. Give me another chance and chase off the other man on the horizon because really it’s all about me.
He even believes that Libby couldn’t have changed that much so surely she still loves him and he has always loved her – or at least he does now that he isn’t attached to his deceased wife. He supposedly really loved his wife as well. Yeah, I believe you can have more than one love but for him to quickly be in love w/ Libby after those many years was stretching it for me. Then Libby has to have some blame in the failure of their r/s/marriage from years ago something that Trent didn’t even know about and for me that was close to IT! The clincher where book is introduced to wall: when the little girl is hurt and Trent BLAMES yes BLAMES the love of his life for it!! Nope no blame for good old boy Trent he should have been there watching his own child btw. Which begs the question if Libby was his true love then why was it so easy for him to walk years ago and make a life w/ no future for Libby in it? He had no plans to go back to her, but then things play out for him and he pretty much pushes his way into her arms. Why? Well because he needs a momma for his little girl and Libby isn’t too hard on the eyes either, right?
Why couldn't she have taken up w/ the OM instead? Why is it that the h's can't ever love anyone else, but the H either does or can have smex w/ any and all? Does this make it sound like the H's love is cheap, or am I just being cynical? It might have helped if he had thought of her more as his one true love in the beginning rather than coming across as looking for a new mom for his little girl. It wouldn't have hurt either if Libby had actually moved on and experimented w/ OM after all she did marry and get pregnant before, so that would have been more believable. It seemed that the Libster was pretty fertile so if she had given this OM a chance she could have already had her child by now. Considering that she wanted them so bad, I’m surprised that she didn’t already have a few! Instead she seems to be willing to settle for being FORSS even though she was firsts before!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2019
Passable
June 10, 2011
I was not the biggest fan of this book. It started out a bit abrupt and focusing too much on other loves and past failures. Libby seemed over-reactive and Trent seems to be moving on too fast. But as the book progresses, despite the apparent easily accepted of 12-year-old dormant love, it gets better. However, it's one of those books that really makes you want to cry - at least it makes me want to cry. The relationships and feelings were all very realistic at this point in the story and made for a great story. The conclusion didn't make as much sense as I'd like, but it didn't leave you hanging. I can see that others would enjoy this story, but I wasn't a huge fan. I was well written and compelling - just not my cup of tea.
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December 24, 2014Miniseries: Harlequin Heartwarming
November 12, 2013
Oh so terrible in oh so many ways!
May 5, 2014
So incredibly cheesy and predictable, but clean.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews