Product Shipping Weight: 0lb 8oz

Condition: New - Product description A DREAM COME TRUE Samantha Giovanelli and her husband, Joe, had had a charmed romance. They'd gotten married quickly and moved to an idyllic small town. They'd bought a crumbling shack in the middle of nowhere and turned it into a home. In the yard, Joe had built a tree house for the half-dozen kids he knew they'd have. Except that the tree house remained empty. Their home echoed with silence. And Joe started staying at work later and later. So Sam decided it was time to find a new dream. She might never hold her own baby, but she could love a child who needed her desperately?and she knew just the one. But first she had to convince Joe that their dreams of parenthood could come true. About the Author Emilie Richards?s many novels feature complex characterizations and in-depth explorations of social issues. Both are a result of her training and experience as a family counselor, which contribute to her fascination with relationships of all kinds. Emilie and her husband enjoy dividing their time between the Florida Gulf Coast and Chautauqua County, New York. She is currently working on her next novel for MIRA Books. The author of more than ninety books for children and adults, Janice Kay Johnson writes about love and family - about the way generations connect and the power our earliest experiences have on us throughout life. An eight time finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA award, she won a RITA in 2008 for her Superromance novel Snowbound. A former librarian, Janice raised two daughters in a small town north of Seattle, Washington. Excerpt. ? Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Roses faded. Roses wilted. But to Samantha Giovanel-li's knowledge, roses never turned into something else entirely. Not unless they had a little help. Or a little helper. Sam had walked by her desk three times that afternoon and never noticed that flawless white rosebuds had turned into wilting yellow dandelions. Now she could ignore it no longer. Long stems had been exchanged for those just long enough to fit into a child's grubby fist. And the delicate white porcelain vase that had been delivered with the roses had a sizable chip in the rim. Sam supposed she was lucky the vase wasn't leaking water all over the papers piled on the desk, papers collected after a year of teaching twenty-six first graders how to read, 'rite and resist clobbering each other. In three years as an educator she had learned to appreciate the smallest things-and people. Now as she rummaged through her wastebasket she told herself that the dandelions were a symbol of what the year had meant to one little girl. They were a sign that Sam had succeeded in an impossible task: civilizing Corey Haskins. Not that the task was finished. At the bottom of the wastebasket, piled high with papers, used-up workbooks, melted crayons and lumps of clay were six formerly perfect rosebuds. The stems were crushed and the petals bruised. Sam lifted them carefully-although care at this stage was a sign of terminal optimism-and trimmed the stems to two inches with bluntend scissors from her desk drawer. Then she filled the sink on the other side of the room and immersed the flowers in the cool water. If she couldn't have a bouquet, at least she could have a corsage. Sortin' your trash now, Sammy? If we were all as organized as you, this school would run like a four-legged dog in a three-legged race. Sam turned off the water and weighted the ends of the stems with a rock so the roses wouldn't float to the top. She flashed a smile at Polly, the first-grade teacher from a room down the hall who was standing in the doorway. A four-legged dog in a three-legged race? Think about it, Polly drawled. She wandered into the room at the same speed as her words. As always, Polly seemed in need of a jump start. You did know your trash was higgledy-piggledy all over the floor? I know. Sam dried her hands and headed for the wastebasket again. She began to stuff the