Publisher: Harlequin (March 2007)

Since the death of his wife, Rance McKettrick has thrown himself into his work with a passion. At least these transglobal flights and business deals hold down the overwhelming grief even if his two daughters suffer from his absence. Julie's mother Cora is there to pick up the pieces... and stir things up as well with the love potion she bought before Echo's move to Indian Rock.

When her fiance Justin leaves her at the altar, Echo Wells packs up and moves her bookstore and online business to Indian Rock, Arizona. From the very beginning, the residents are drawn to her including the mangy, wet, muddy lost dog that she names Avalon and shelters in her newly detailed VW Bug and names Avalon. When she runs smack into a handsome businessman who has parked his gas-guzzling SUV just a little too close to her Pepto-Bismal pink Volkswagen bug, the sparks fly. Can electricity turn into real love between a spooked skittish woman and a handsome man with a heart just as wounded as hers?

The first half or three-quarters of this book is one of the most moving romances I have read. The reader feels the pain of the characters as well as the electric energy between them. Even the hurt of Rance's two little daughters and their innocent exuberance for Echo Wells and pink Volkswagen bug grab the reader's heart throughout the story. Other than the animal abusers, every single character enchants the reader and creates a longing for a world like Miller's where lost souls no longer ring out like an echo in their emptiness but instead find their heart and family.

The ending of this romance disappoints and suffers from being the middle book in a terrific series. Linda Lael Miller tries to tie too many threads in too short a space and without enough preparation for the minor characters. Despite the slight stylistic imperfections, this second book grabbed deeply and put Linda Lael Miller on my favorite author list. A must read book!