No one can understand Helen Hodges’s burning need to have a child, a need she’s abandoned in her childless marriage. But when David Drummond, the local textile mill’s owner, visits her small South Carolina town, those repressed yearnings come forth again, deepening her discontent as she falls in love with him.
David’s appearance brings escalating union and racial tensions to the town, and Helen is torn between her Catholic faith, her duty to her husband, and her growing desire to be with David. Overrun with guilt over her feelings, she renounces her lover and chooses to remain with her husband, until she learns some life-changing news and rushes to tell David before he leaves town, and her life…forever.
Alexandra has not traveled to 47 countries, worked in law enforcement for 25 years where she single-handedly apprehended ten of the world's most wanted, or practiced law or psychiatry. She doesn't speak 5 languages fluently, rival Beethoven on the piano, or send her rescue dogs to save flood victims. In fact, currently, she is pet-less.
She does, however, do a heck of a lot of research.
She has jumped from an airplane, spent the day on a commercial shrimp boat, spent a weekend with a houseful of Navy SEALs, and hitchhiked across 3 states. She has worked for newspapers, taught high school English, and had a lengthy stint as a graphic designer. Raised a son and daughter, scored 3 grandchildren; and, written a few books along the way.
The human condition and people fascinate her, and especially men. They are, in her words, pretty cool creatures.