The Best of Me

Sala’s 13th Blessings, Georgia novel (after The Christmas Wish) offers an emotional, dual-narrative romance. Dying of a heart condition, Shirley Duroy returns to Blessings with her seven-year-old daughter, Carlie, hoping that Ruby Dye, the owner of the salon where Shirley worked as a teenager, will agree to be Carlie’s guardian. She barely makes it to the police station before dying, but she leaves a letter for Ruby detailing her request. Ruby and her husband, the improbably named attorney Peanut Butterman, are blindsided, but, unable to have children of their own, they welcome the confused and grieving Carlie into their home and together the trio navigate becoming a family. Meanwhile, veterinarian Deborah Ryman returns to Blessings to help her mother sell the family farm and reconnects with her neighbor and ex-boyfriend Ladd Daltry. When Ladd is severely injured by a stampeding bull, Deborah rushes him to the hospital and their old spark reignites. Sala brings the vibrant, folksy community of Blessings to life with a distinctive Southern charm. Devoted readers and newcomers alike will embrace this heartfelt story of love and family. Agent: Meredith Bernstein, Meredith Bernstein Literary. (Apr.)