Three Chicks's Reviews > Touching Down

Review by Lisa Kane

The scars of our past were carved all over our bodies. But I knew the future we'd create together would heal them all, even the ones that ran deep.

I loved this book, like seriously loved it! I am a sucker for a great second chance at romance-I loved when the couple are childhood friends and then something happens, they are separated and then thrown back in each other's lives.

The story is told entirely from Ryan Hale's POV. It's been years since she left her life behind- a childhood of living in the Clink. A name they used to describe an area so dangerous and run down that few enter it that don't live there. Her mother was a crack whore willing to put her daughter's life at risk if it means she could score another dose. That's how she met Grant Turner. He saved her when she was just a kid and he was a few years older. Saved her from being raped by one of the dead beats her mother let into their lives. Grant has the scars to show for saving her. But out of the blue, when Ryan was 17 and Grant was a senior in college, just one the verge of getting drafted into the NFL, she ran. She cut all ties and left Grant behind, never knowing why she left him.

Some scars weren't meant to heal. Some were meant to be felt for the rest of our lives. Some scars defined us too much to ever be erased.

The only thing that could bring Ryan back to her hometown is the funeral of Aunt May. This woman provided a safe haven for the kids who lived in the Clink. She gave them a safe place to come to and support and love. But Ryan knows that going back will mean facing Grant again.

We'd all paid a price for reaching adulthood. For some of us, the cost had been our innocence. For others, it was our soul. My price for being here today was both. And more.

Grant's reaction to seeing Ryan after seven long years is just what you think it will be-he is still full of anger and he won't let it dictate his life.

"I sure as shit wouldn't leave someone I used to love in the same condition." As he said it, his tone changed. It took on that sharp, removed pitch I'd heard for the first time earlier tonight.
The words "used to" hit me. Hard. Not because I hadn't accepted years ago that Grant used to love me, but because it was the first time I'd heard him say it. The first time he'd confirmed it.
It stung like a son of a bitch.

He is one of the highest paid players in the league, he is followed everywhere by the press and fans and his life right now could not be more different than it was when he lived in the Clink. He may act like he is over Ryan but once she is back in his life, he is so far from over her that I don't think he could ever convince himself otherwise.

I can't tell anymore about the story. There are a couple of major twists that would completely spoil the plot if I went any further. Grant could not be more adorable if he tried. He is genuinely a good guy and his love for Ryan has never wavered. In spite of her leaving him, especially when he finds out why-this guy is putty in her hands. Would I have left the same way Ryan did? Not sure-but I would have gotten in touch with him a lot sooner.

If I could do it all again, I wasn't sure if I'd make the same decision or a different one. Neither choice would have been an easy one.

But Ryan has her reasons and they are valid ones. Will Grant be able to forgive her? Will Grant finally have Ryan back or will he lose her again?

"You are half of my soul, Ryan Hale. The best part of it. Don't leave me ever again."
His head fell into the wall beside mine as I tightened around him.
"You are within me, so you can't expect me to live without you."