From Booklist
It has become apparent to Claire, who married her high-school sweetheart then divorced him 15 years later when he took up with a younger woman, that "real life" is out there somewhere and unless she looks, she will not find it. So she quits her job, packs her bags, and heads to Valentine, Oklahoma, hometown to the father she barely remembers. It's not much of a place, but having her car stolen from the Goodnight Motel parking lot compels her to stay awhile, and she discovers that folks there meet their responsibilities with love and honor, and rely on a higher power in times of need. They welcome Claire into their lives, and she not only finds "real life," she also finds love, although she lets it take its own good time. Matlock has set previous novels in Valentine, but her focus is so different in each book that the town seems new each time. A wonderful cast and a perfect setting make for a gentle and reassuring story. Danise Hoover
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Book Description
It's not what she imagined, but it's everything she's always wanted. . . Looking for real life. The scrawled graffiti on the bathroom wall was innocent enough, clichéd even. But for Claire Wilder, it was a wake-up call: start searching for your roots and find the happiness you lost long ago. Divorced from her high school sweetheart, Claire has wasted too much time waiting for Andrew to come back, and in the process has lost the flavor of her own life. Leaving behind her fast-paced life, Claire ends up in her father's hometown of Valentine, Oklahoma, for a brief stay at the Goodnight Motel. But her arrival is like a pebble tossed into a pond, its ripples affecting the town's eccentric residents who like to think things just fine the way they are, thank you. Gradually the days turn into weeks, and before Claire knows it, she's discovered something she had almost forgotten existed: a place to call home. Just when it looks as if things might finally be falling into place for Claire, life throws her another curve: Andrew shows up unexpectedly in Valentine--to woo her back! Now Claire must decide: return to the home and security she once knew, or stay in Valentine with the promise of a new life and the possibility of a new love. . . Curtiss Ann Matlock's funny, touching stories set in the not-so-sleepy town of Valentine have captured the hearts of readers everywhere.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

It's not what she imagined, but it's everything she's always wanted. . .

Looking for real life. The scrawled graffiti on the bathroom wall was innocent enough, clichéd even. But for Claire Wilder, it was a wake-up call: start searching for your roots and find the happiness you lost long ago. Divorced from her high school sweetheart, Claire has wasted too much time waiting for Andrew to come back, and in the process has lost the flavor of her own life.

Leaving behind her fast-paced life, Claire ends up in her father's hometown of Valentine, Oklahoma, for a brief stay at the Goodnight Motel. But her arrival is like a pebble tossed into a pond, its ripples affecting the town's eccentric residents who like to think things just fine the way they are, thank you. Gradually the days turn into weeks, and before Claire knows it, she's discovered something she had almost forgotten existed: a place to call home.

Just when it looks as if things might finally be falling into place for Claire, life throws her another curve: Andrew shows up unexpectedly in Valentine—to woo her back! Now Claire must decide: return to the home and security she once knew, or stay in Valentine with the promise of a new life and the possibility of a new love. . .