She can almost front at how she doesnât need a man. She can almost play at how far sheâs come from the old hood. She can almost pretend that the past donât mean a thing. But everybody knowsâŠ
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Mercedes decided a long time ago that sheâd never let a man walk all over her the way some sistahs do. Love was something from fairy tales and TV movies of the week. She needed men for one thing onlyâand it had nothing to do with her heart. Growing up with her mother had made sure of that.
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Now Mercedes has to travel home to South Georgia, where her mama, Miss Betty, is recovering from surgery. Back to the rickety old house that holds a lot of memories for her. If she could only learn to deal with the bad onesâŠ
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 Because a man has come into her life, a fine, bald-headed, church-going black manâthe kind of man Mercedes never dared believe in. And sheâs going to have to get herself together to deal with what Darius is doing to her lifeâand with what heâs hiding about his ownâŠ