Good book, very intense in places. Tara had left her hometown far behind. As a teenager she had been desperate for her parents' attention and got into all kinds of trouble trying to get it. She and Dylan were high school sweethearts with plans and dreams away from their hometown. When it came time to leave for college Dylan's family's business was in trouble and he decided to stay and help. Tara felt betrayed and hurt and she and Dylan said some pretty nasty things to each other. Tara went on to start her own business and Dylan stayed in Wharton. Now Tara is back to deal with her father's death and her sister's coma. There is something about the accident that doesn't make sense and as she begins to investigate she spends more time with Dylan.

I had a hard time liking Tara. I understood that she really disliked the small town life and the way it seemed that everyone was always nosing into everyone else's business. As a teenager she was different than everyone else and seemed to rub everyone the wrong way. The only person who seemed to understand her was Dylan, but when he refused to leave town with her she cut him out of her life. Now that she's back the attraction is still there. I liked the way that she and Dylan cleared the air about the past and were able to start working together. But I was really irritated by Tara's paranoia. She believed the worst about everyone. I didn't like the way that she would fly off the handle and make wild accusations. She also admitted her love for Dylan but she didn't trust him. She had a lot of old feelings to overcome.

I liked Dylan better. He had given up his dreams in order to save his father's business. Part of that dream was a future with Tara. He set himself a goal of bringing the business to a certain point and then he would leave the business and do his job as town manager full time. He has some great ideas and plans for what he would like to do. When Tara came back he realized that his love for her hadn't died and he would like to have her back in his life. He wanted to help her find the answers to her questions but he had a problem with her methods. There were several times that he had to talk her out of doing something stupid or to calm her down after she started making wild accusations. I really felt bad for the way that she made things so hard for him.

Both of them said things to the other that were really mean and hurtful. It was hard to see how it was possible to overcome them and find their way to a happy ending. It was interesting to see the way that Tara's people skills worked with everyone except when she was dealing with her feelings about the town. I found the resolution of the mystery to be interesting with a couple of unexpected twists. ( )