Home Again — Annie Smith

Any Family Should Begin With Love
When kindergarten teacher Sally Foster agreed to be the guardian for a friend's child, she never imagined the worst would actually happen. Now she's lost her best friend--and gained a fourteen-year-old "son" grieving both the death of his parents and the use of his legs. Micah's only link to his old life is his boisterous puppy Sophie, but when canine expert Tanner Dodge agrees to help the boy train his dog, she's surprised to discover that she needs to learn a few things about trust, responsibility--and what it means to lose someone you never thought you'd love...

Helping Micah recover some independence through Sophie may have begun as a favor to a friend, but it's not long before afternoons with the boy and his puppy turn into evenings with Sally. Evenings full of the sound of her laughter, the taste of her kisses--and the sudden temptation to wish for a permanent place in the home she's creating for the boy--and in her heart. But even though Tanner has walked away from his troubled past, he knows better than to risk casting its shadow over Sally's life...until someone all too familiar with grief shows them that risking love is the only way to live.