Book excerpt: Vowing never to marry, Toni Schmidt returns to Rockdale to help kids who face the same problems she encountered in her youth. But she's unprepared for her growing attraction to her mentor's brother, David Trent. David is doing his best to raise two children alone. Toni seems to be everything he wants in a wife, but she's holding a great deal of bitterness and anger about the past. Can David prove to Toni that true love overcomes every obstacle? Can Toni let go of the vow she clings to so carefully - the vow she believes will protect her from further pain?