When Alec Met Evie (Appies, #6)

by Jenny Proctor

As long as my family is in White Plains, a part of my heart will always be in New York. But I’m liking the change and challenge of being out on my own. If only because I’m more ready than ever for a fresh start. Or, fresh-ish? I can’t completely start over when I’m financially dependent on my mother-in-law. Ex-mother-in-law now, I guess. But I wouldn’t be here without her, and honestly, I’m lucky she still wants to be involved at all. After her son basically signed over his parental rights in the divorce, giving me full custody of Juno, not every mother-in-law would want to be. Devon is the youngest in his family, a surprise baby ten years younger than his closest sibling. His dad passed away a few years back, but his mom, Karen, is an active, busy grandma. Her three daughters are all married, all living in the same coastal Oregon town where they grew up, and they’ve given Karen seven grandkids that she sees all the time. But she still flew out to see me right after Juno was born, still talked to me like I was as much a part of her family as I was before the divorce. Best of all, she apologized profusely for her son’s ridiculous behavior and promised she would help me financially for as long as I needed it. It killed me to take her up on the offer. My identity is rooted firmly in self-sufficiency, and having someone send money every month simply because I believed all the lies her son told me feels wrong. Like I’m taking advantage. If I only had to think about myself, I pr...