Grounded

Book excerpt: New York City flight attendant Annie Taylor is grounded. Turbulence in the airline industry leads to her job loss---putting a halt to her weekends in Rome and independent city life. Just when she needs him the most, she loses her boyfriend and her apartment. Annie flees the city for the family farm in Kentucky. Her arrival is met by a shotgun-wielding grandmother, a suspicious stranger moving into the old stone house, and her attractive childhood friend Jake about to make the biggest mistake of his life. Struggling against her grandmother’s stubborn ways, Annie disagrees with her on the fate of the family farm but stays on to help her grandmother through a knee surgery by tending the garden and learning how to can the vegetables. Through the summer’s trials, Annie is forced to face her own past mistakes and the consequences. When the phone call comes from New York earlier than expected, Annie must choose between coming to terms with her deep roots or leaving it all behind for a return to the city.