Solomon's Choice by Emily Mims

 ON CHRISTMAS DAY… the life of Dr. Caroline Stern changed forever. Her husband was murdered, her baby son kidnapped. When she found the boy again, he was with his biological father - a man Caroline never intended to meet.

There seems no obvious tie between Jack Briscoe and the violence of sixteen months prior, but Caroline just wants her son back - something Jack seems unwilling to grant. He wants the boy, too, and when a wily old country judge demands the two of them work out a shared custody arrangement, Caroline finds herself in Texas Hill Country for longer than expected.

Then she learns Jack wants her, too. And she might want him.

In the beautiful town of Verde, on the shores of Lake Templeton, she begins to rebuild her life. But the dark clouds of the past have not vanished completely, and one last storm of deceit remains. A choice must be made, and only the deepest love will see them through.

Wow, what an emotional story.  No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t pick a side between Caroline and Jack.  Both were victims of a person seeking revenge, yet they both were winners due to a little boy name Ryan/Isaac.  This story took me on so many highs and lows and I couldn’t even wrap my brain around what I would do if I were in their shoes.  What an awesome job the author did to give us a story that will stay with me for a long time.

Aaron and Caroline, both doctors and established in their lives, wanted a child.  They used medical methods to make their dream come true and now on Christmas morning she is holding the child she was able to carry.  Aaron, even though he wasn’t the biological father, loves Isaac and was planning on being the best daddy he could be.  They decided to keep the method of his conception quiet as they just wanted people to acknowledge Isaac as their own and not risk any trouble from Aaron’s family.  On the way to Aaron’s mom’s house, tragedy struck and Aaron was killed.  Caroline rushed to his side while her son was being kidnapped. 

Jackson Ryan Briscoe III owned a small ranch about two hours away from Caroline.  He and his ex-wife had tried to have children but found they also needed to go a different route.  Choosing to have another woman carry his child became too much for his wife and she left, leaving him to be a single dad to a little boy named Ryan. One day his world come crashing in on him when he opens the door to find the law telling him he needs to bring his son to the police station.

We find that there was an evil plot to destroy Caroline’s world that just happen to drag Jack and Ryan into the mess.  Now knowing that Caroline and Jack both biologically created this little boy, what are they going to do?  They are two strangers who are angry at the others interference and are willing to fight to keep their son. 

This story kept me on the edge of my seat because I saw only one way to make this work, but I wasn’t even sure if I would be willing to do that.  Although they both tried to fill in the missing months of the little boy’s life, there was always that empty feeling about what they lost.  Would they ever be able to let go of the past and focus on the child’s future?  Both are going to have to give up a great deal to make this work and they are going to have to depend on the love they have for their son to do it.  One of the hardest scenes for me was when we find out why Aaron died, it was so senseless.  I so recommend this book, there is so much more going on than what I told you but I don’t want to risk spoiling the story for you readers.  It is truly a story that I would hate to have to be a judge for because Jack and Caroline are good people, doing the best they can with what they have.  Don’t miss this book, the author was brilliant with the characters, plot and for grabbing the readers heart and never letting go. 

      

          Writing her first novel on a dare, Emily Wright Mims is the author of eighteen romance novels that have been published in six languages and sold around the world.  She combines her writing career with a long career in public education.  “Some of my biggest fans over the years have been my students,” she says.  “They have been a constant source of encouragement and inspiration.”  Married with two grown children, she and her husband Charles split their time between their home in San Antonio and their lake house on the shores of Lake Buchanan in the Texas Hill Country.