Backlash — Lee Wardlow

A troubling twist of fate, or an outcome controlled by the whim of two men. A secret she told no one about not even her family but they saw a difference in her they attributed to a phase. Charlize Wood always suspected it was someone from her hometown of Hope, Ohio. At hometown events, she often peered into familiar faces and wondered if it was someone she knew? Fourteen years later, a picture of the location where it happened shows up on her desk at work before the office opened. Haunting her with memories that she preferred remained buried. Her bracelet lost during the struggle, a gift from her father appears at the bottom of the steps to her deck. Another reminder that someone else has not forgotten that night. Someone is stalking her now, frightening her. She will be crushed by the identity of one man. She will be disgusted by who the second man is. There was a third man. She didn't know there was a third man watching. There needs to be some surprises. There is also the romantic side story between Charlize and Wiley Cooper. They've been best friends since early childhood. Until he wasn't. He never knew why she pulled away from him. He left at eighteen for the marines. Kept in touch with what was going on with her through his cousin, another of Charlie's friends. Wiley decided to come home after his last tour and break down her walls. He had loved Charlize his whole life. He was going to find out what had happened but he wasn't prepared for the truth. No one was because the truth would rock all their relationships and change them in ways they never expected.