Back in Kansas
May 2001
ISBN 0373709862

Identity crises plague both Claudine St. James and Robert Lester, though for entirely different reasons. Claudie comes from a broken home and a life of prostitution. Bo was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and a father who never deigned to notice him.

As they struggle to connect the pieces of their past into a meaningful present, both Claudie and Bo must learn self-acceptance and forgiveness.

Claudie's been of the streets for seven months, starting a halfway house for prostitutes and using her experience to help others. But she can't forget the family she left behind, especially the youngest sister she practically raised.

Fearing that at seventeen her sister may become her stepfathers next victim, Claudie heads to Kansas to confront her past.

Bo follows Claudie, realizing the danger in her quest. Even as Claudie believes she can't share her used and damaged body with this remarkable man, he's equally determined to love her and give her a future.

Claudie's skittishness and fears are portrayed compassionately and realistically, making her an extraordinarily sympathetic character without undermining her strength. Bo's own issues with her father prevent him from becoming "too perfect," and giving him sufficient flaws to be perfectly human. Indeed, Bo's both wonderfully tender and self honest, making him perfect for Claudie.

Nominated for Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Superromance of 2001

Finalist in the Golden Quill contest

 

Excerpt

Bo cringed at the resignation in her tone.

"I'd kinda figured that might happen, which is why I didn't think you should get involved with someone like me," she said.

"Claudie, this has nothing to do-"

She didn't let him finish. "Bo, think about it. If this is enough to push you over the edge - after twenty years of sobriety, how long will I last?" Her mocking laugh hit him like a punch in the gut.

She freed the final button.

Bo swore. The glass slipped from his fingers, landing haphazardly in the sink. Whisky splashed everywhere - the smell a toxic flashback to the floor of a college bar where he once spent the night face down in his own vomit. Wiping his hand on his pants he started toward her just as she shrugged out of the chamois-soft shirt. It pooled at her feet.

"Oh, God, Claudie," Bo whispered, taking in her naked form. Beautiful. Breaktaking. And Bo couldn't have been more furious. "Put that back on."

"No."

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