When her ex-husband, an investigative reporter, returns from Afghanistan, searching for a place to recover from the emotional trauma, Gayle Fortman opens up her home in hopes that her sons can establish a real bond with their father. "When is a family no longer a family? Gayle Fortman has built a good life for herself and her three sons in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Divorced from charismatic broadcast journalist Eric Fortman, Gayle has made a success of her bed-and-breakfast. She has even maintained a cordial relationship with Eric--for whom family was never a priority, even when they were still married. Luckily, her closest neighbor has been a loving surrogate father to the boys and her own best friend. Then Eric returns: he lost his courage, and nearly his life, in Afghanistan, and needs a place to recover. Gayle offers him a summer at the inn and a chance to put things right. Gayle and Eric are all too aware that the love and attraction they once shared are still there. But can the pieces of their broken lives be mended, or are they better laid to rest?"--From publisher description.