A Beautiful Word

Petra Collins thought her prayers had been answered when her mother married successful widower, Lucas Vandermark. Until then, it had just been the two of them orbiting within the confines of their small apartment, as distant as the sun from the moon. At fifteen, Petra was already counting the days to freedom when suddenly their lives took a fairy-tale turn and they were heading north, bound for Lucas's Mountain Lakes home in New Jersey. The two years that followed had been close to idyllic. The only cloud darkening her sunny days had been his eldest son, Blake. Sweet, easygoing, Ryan, on the other hand, more than made up for big brother's chilly disposition. Close in age, she and Ryan became peas in a pod...until the night he lost his life in a tragic accident. At that moment, their world as they knew it collapsed, taking the newly formed family down with it. Petra has had no communication with the Vandermarks since, which is why ten years later she is stunned to receive a call from their attorney informing her that Lucas has passed on and left her half of that beautiful lakefront home. Buried in college debt, she is beyond grateful, but the caveat is a bit daunting. Blake expects her to return to Mountain Lakes and do her fair share of the clean-out? It's the least she can do, of course, but if he's still intent on blaming her for Ryan's death, they'll be crossing swords the entire time. She might want to pack her armor.