The daughter of a lobsterman, Evvie Drake, was married to a well-respected doctor in a small seaside town in Maine. Everyone loved her husband for his bedside manner and friendly demeanor. Though she tried for years to look past his angry outbursts of slamming and throwing things and treating her like crap, Evvie couldn’t bring herself to love him any longer. He was a jerk. Finally, after years of emotional abuse, Evvie gets up the courage to leave her husband. So packs a suitcase and literally as she is turning on the car to leave, she gets a life-changing phone call. Her husband has been in a bad crash and the hospital tells her to come quick. Well, he doesn’t make it. This leaves Evvie with a number of things: a big chunk of insurance money that she refuses to use, heavy guilt at not feeling overwhelmed with grief as any wife faced with the sudden death of her husband should, a sense of relief of being free from the constant abuse and anger, and lastly, a large empty house with more space than she needs. It even has a separate apartment.
Evvie’s childhood best friend Andy asks her if one of his college buddies can come rent her apartment for a while. It will help Evvie make a bit of money in rent and help his friend get out of the limelight. He’s a Major League pitcher and he needs to get away from New York City and the media for a while. His pitching career has come to a screeching halt, thanks to the “yips”. The famous head case is handsome, miserable and charming Dean Tenney and his reputation and good looks precede him. dean plans to hide out in Maine while he figures out what to do with his future. All he’s ever known is baseball and pitching and now he can’t even throw a pitch.
Dean and Evvie are both hurting from loss and they strike up an unexpected friendship. When the friendship turns into more, they both know that Dean isn’t planning on sticking around forever. When the time comes to move back to New York, they must decide if there is still a chance for the two of them to be happy. In life, as in baseball, there’s always a chance, up until the last out.
Readers will love this joyful, hilarious, and heartwarming love story. The romance is tame and tender. Linda Holmes is a former NPR correspondent and podcast host and this is her first fiction novel. Fans of JoJo Moyes and Taylor Jenkins Reid will love this gently romantic, witty story about two broken people who unexpectedly help each other to mend.
Librarian Laura 
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