For Love of Maggie

Kayla’s goal is to make a safe and stable life for her daughter, Maggie. Roth’s goal is to get out of a job his business partner committed them to. It’s not that he isn’t willing, they just don’t have the time or manpower to take on another client. However, one look into Kayla’s beautiful blue eyes and all his reasons for not taking the job, are forgotten.

The phrase “love at first sight” has been dreamed about, scoffed at, longed for, even ridiculed. What else can you say though, when you meet someone for the very first time and it feels as if your entire world has shifted, like everything in your life is now how it should be? That’s how it was for both Kayla and Roth, an immediate and strong attraction to the other.

Kayla moved from the city to the country to give Maggie a better life. Now that she has the farm, she needs to make it as safe for Maggie as she can, while allowing her daughter the freedom she so desperately needs. In order to do that, measures have to be taken to ensure that Maggie can interact with the animals and be safe at the same time. That’s where Roth comes in. Kayla hires Roth to do some work around her farm. He’s drawn up plans for construction that are absolutely perfect and more than Kayla could have hoped for.

What she hadn’t counted on was Roth’s reaction to meeting Maggie; for a brief instant he looked horrified. In that one instant, the strong bond she feels for Roth turns to hurt and betrayal. Roth is immediately remorseful and apologizes just as fast. He was just stunned; seeing Maggie wasn’t at all what he expected. Kayla claims to have forgiven him, but she hasn’t, not really. She uses Roth’s indiscretion as a means to keep him at arm’s length; the closer Roth gets, the more Kayla feels for him, the harsher she lashes out. What could Roth ever do or say to make her forgive him?

For Love of Maggie is an every day, down to earth type of story. What makes this a high-quality story are the emotions depicted and the depth of the characters. I enjoyed this story because I could feel what Kayla was feeling. What could hurt worse for a mother than knowing your child is being judged, not for who they are, but by what they look like? Equally as strong are Roth’s feelings of shame over his reaction. He never meant to hurt Kayla; he was just shocked for a moment. Fran Shaff has done an excellent job of making characters that readers will be able to identify with. For Love of Maggie is a great story and a definite pleasure to read.

Reviewed by: Jaymi