"Disappointment, disillusionment and surprising hope give Reluctant Hearts a universal appeal. Wiesner wisely captures the nuances and struggles of young people with self worth and love, maintaining tenderness and grittiness in equal measure. Her powerful story-telling gift builds sympathy even as characters self-destruct, and creates hope in the midst of despair. A fantastic beginning to what promises to be an outstanding series, Reluctant Hearts comes very highly recommended."--Cindy Penn, Word Weaving
"Before their Reluctant Hearts find the right path, be prepared for laughter, love, heartache, and tears. Wiesner ties the strings together neatly weaving in multiple threads pushing the tale forward, closing the chapter of Wendy and Paul and opening another."--Brenda Ramsbacher, eBook Reviews Weekly
"5 Hearts! Take a journey with two characters that discover the meaning of love, as Wendy and Paul explore an exceptional life they never imagined. Reluctant Hearts is a story about real people who love and lose, who find their faith only to lose it, then rediscover it again. It is magical how love has a way of surfacing back into the heart just when people really need it. Ms. Wiesner's creativity to compose true to life characters is amazing. She develops in-depth characters that spin in the reader's mind for a long time after the story is finished. Wendy and Paul start out as young people and grow into full-fledged adults that are loaded with kindness and tender emotion. They each encounter different needs only to learn that the truth lies within their hearts, drawing them closer together. Ms. Wiesner instills a lovely story of distress, victory and camaraderie that leaves a lump in your throat and keeps you glued until the incredible expedition is concluded. The story is inviting, powerful and completely captures. Bravo to Ms. Wiesner in the first of the Wounded Warrior Series!"--Linda L., The Romance Studio
"Reluctant Hearts is a full-sized work of fiction that makes good use of interior monologues and remembrances to give depth to the inner conflicts of the characters. In answer to the question of whether the book is character-driven or plot-driven, I'd have to say it's life-driven. The author holds nothing back in depicting a sometimes-grim reality, and I often wondered as I read whether it was truly a romance. In the end, it is, and I strongly recommend it. Paul and Wendy live a powerful love story that can't help but move the coolest reader."--Jane Bowers, Romance Reviews Today
Chapter 1
WENDY THOMAS sighed as soon as she exited off the interstate, anticipating how good it would feel to get out of the confines of her car and really stretch. She'd been on the road for the better part of the day with minimal stops.
Unpack, a long hot shower and cool sheets. Sounds like bliss. Better yet, I'll unpack tomorrow and just shower and hit the sack. Yeah, much better plan. Something caught her eye in the rearview mirror, and she turned to look over her right shoulder to find a car barreling past her on the exit ramp toward the turn lane. She edged her car further to the left protectively. "What in the--?"
The car passed and entered the turn lane, barely stopping to check traffic before speeding out into it.
"Idiot," Wendy said under her breath, clenching her jaw in anger and disbelief.
One thing I didn't miss -- Milwaukee's insane, defensive driving. More like offensive!
She'd lived in Milwaukee all her life and she'd learned to merge, dodge, edge out, rev on the line like a race car driver, shoot forward and barrel down with the rest of them. But, man, it'd been nice for a little while to be in a town where everyone drove the speed limit, sometimes slower, and actually obeyed safety and traffic laws instead of creating their own. Ones, like those in Milwaukee, so ingrained they'd become the rule instead of the exception.
She might actually like small town life. Temporarily at least. This morning, as she packed her things in the cabin with the other female counselors, she'd felt a twinge of sadness at the end of her summer job. She'd been away from home for a little more than a month, teaching at a camp for blind children in Nebraska. She'd been the youngest counselor in the program, but she'd garnered a lot of high recommendations from her previous volunteer work.
Even now remembering the children and her peers, Wendy smiled sadly. She would miss everyone. They'd formed a strong bond, even though she'd learned from experience to detach herself slightly or drown. She'd helped the kids, in some small way, lead more productive, happy lives. In a way I can never help those I know, she added to herself, her thoughts on her mother and her best friend, Jessie Nelson.
She put her mind back on that hot shower and sleep as she neared her home. No more thinking today. Too soon she'd be back into the old groove. Right now she didn't want to experience guilt for feeling that sometimes she'd just like to be Wendy, the daughter, the friend, the individual.
The streets she knew so well brought her closer to the two-story home she'd grown up in. While the front exterior was classic Georgian, the inside and back were as modern as could be. As she zipped onto the three-car garage approach, another of the many ultra-modern touches to the house, she sighed again.
Home. Yeah, this is good. Turning off her car, she forced her cramped muscles to cooperate in getting her out and on her feet. When Grace, the Thomas' long-time maid rushed out, Wendy started to smile in greeting. But then Grace thrust a yellow slip at her. "Can you pick up the dry cleaning. Your daddy needs his tuxedo for tonight. Your mother's got me doing half-dozen things at once. Quisdale annual cocktail party, you know. Insanity."
In shock, Wendy watched as Grace scurried toward the house. She stopped and turned back before reaching the front door. "Oh."
Wendy waited expectantly for a real greeting.
"Can you also stop by and grab a bottle of wine. I already called it in and they know you. They shouldn't card you."
Well, glad to see you too! Wendy wondered why she was surprised. But then Grace rushed back and hugged her, just as quickly as she'd run out and dropped a load of errands in her lap. "It's good to see you home again, hon. I don't know how this house runs without you."
Grace smiled at her, her plump, familiar face too sweet for Wendy to remain wounded.
"Your mom has been asking if you're home yet all day. I'm sure she'll want to see you right away when you get back."
Grace zipped back into the house, and Wendy scolded herself for frowning at her parting words. People needed her; she'd rather have that than the alternative. Not being needed or wanted by your own parents was something her neighbor and life-long friend Jessie had faced all her life.
With a heavy sigh of disappointment, Wendy opened the door of her car again and slid back into the cramped confines.
Well, I'm glad to be almost home, she thought with good-natured acceptance.
Copyright © 2002 by Karen Wiesner
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Women who have faced pain, loss and heartache. They know the score and never back down. Women who aren't afraid to love with all their passion and all their strength, who risk everything for their own little piece of heaven ... Men who live their lives on the blade's edge. Knights in black armor. The only thing more dangerous than crossing these men is loving them ... What's a man to do when he's seen too much of life's dark side and suddenly finds himself believing in flesh-and-blood angels who can heal with a single touch? What's a girl to do when she believes in true love but can't trust the eyes of her own heart? Fall in love ... reluctantly? [Cover Art Mary Z. Wolf]
