When the Heart Is Laid Bare — Skylar Hamilton Burris

Coach Calder Johnson's wife has, according to the hospital social worker, expired. Expired. Like a credit card. Not like a human being. Calder hasn't had a true friend, other than his wife, in twenty-four years. So if he's going to heal, he'll have to learn to let someone inside. Unfortunately, Calder's catalog of potential friends swells with unlikely candidates. There's Jacoby Reynolds, the blunt Anglican priest who watched his wife die, and Lynn McIntire, the beautiful but strangely efficient single mother next door. Then there's Justin Robinson, an embittered teen Calder wants to recruit for his high school football team. Enter also Connie Myers, the new Calvert High principal, an attractive yet hard-edged woman who's determined to shake up the status quo. Only when Coach Johnson's heart is finally laid bare will he learn that you can find friendship -- and love -- in the most unexpected places.