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Since her
husband’s death, Vivian Ashton has turned to her brother-in-law
Trevor. He has become her best friend. She knew that she could
count on him not only to help fix things around the house, but also
in sharing their grief. They never had a relationship more than
friendship, but lately Vivian has found herself more aware of Trevor
as a man and looking anxiously forward to their times together.
Vivian also found herself jealous knowing that he was seeing other
women, whereas before she had needled him intensely about his
carefree dating.
Trevor has
never seen Vivian as more than his sister-in-law and a very good
friend. They have both grieved over the loss of his brother and he
has helped as much as possible with Vivian and his niece and two
nephews. But, time has passed, and their wounds are mending and
Trevor realizes that they are being drawn to each other for more
than just their grief. They are being drawn together as man and
woman. He knows there are obstacles to overcome and the children
must be considered. He just hopes that Vivian will agree to fight
for their relationship.
Secret
Surrender is not
your typical “man pining for the sister-in-law he loves” romance,
which was very refreshing. Instead, Secret Surrender
shows the gradual transition that can happen between two friends who
care very much for each other, to two people who are in love with
each other. Lisa Dawn MacDonald has introduced this couple later in
their lives and the children are not youngsters who will
automatically rebound from calling Trevor “uncle” to “dad”. Ms.
MacDonald has created a complex family situation involving teen-age
angst, the possible bitter betrayal the children might feel and much
more. I found Secret Surrender to be a pleasant
surprise and will look for additional stories by Ms MacDonald.
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