He Belongs to Me by Theresa Rizzo (Guest Post)

Today author Theresa Rizzo joins us with her romantic and suspense story, He Belongs to Me. Enjoy!

Second Chances Fact or Fiction?

Thanks so much Crystal for having me on your blog!

He Belongs to Me is a love story.  In a quest to regain custody of their son, Catherine and Thomas have to pretend to be happily reconciled, but what’re the chances that their pretend reconciliation can develop into the real thing?

Though they loved each other when they married, the deck is stacked against a real reconciliation.  They got married young because Catherine was pregnant—not ideal circumstances. They had no money and had to live with her parents—if that’s not stressful, I don’t know what would be.  And Thomas accepted a job from her father to gain health insurance for his family—rather demoralizing.  All a fairly predictable recipe for disaster. Then a tragedy happened that ripped their marriage apart.  

In regaining custody of their son, they have a strong motivation to reunite, but will it last? Both people have to be willing to let go of the past and work through the issues that led to the break up in the beginning. They have a lot of issues and pain to work through in order to forgive one another, but do they even want to?

I wonder . . . statistically do second shots at relationships tend to fail or be fruitful?  Do people learn from relationship mistakes so that second chance relationships can really work or are the couple simply fooling themselves? What do you think?

Excerpt—

Set up- Thomas’s brother, Ben, is helping him move in with Catherine to benign their fake reconciliation
 “Tell me again why we’re doing this,” Ben said as he and Thomas wrestled the heavy leather recliner through the apartment door, down the stairs, and into the hot, blinding sunshine.
Thomas grunted and extended a foot behind him, groping for the concrete steps. “She’s my wife.”
Ben followed his brother up the metal ramp into the cool shade of the U-haul. He flopped into the chair. “She hung you out to dry, man. Why would you help her?”
“I promised. Once she’s got Drew, she goes her way and I go mine. We’ll work something out for Drew. Either shut up and help, or get out of my way.”
“You’re not still hung up on her, are you?”
Thomas sat down on his father’s old wooden trunk, suddenly weary in the face of his brother’s persistence. “She’s the mother of my son.”
“Give me a break. You haven’t seen the kid in years.”
“He’s still my son.”
“And she’s still your wife. I’ve never understood why you didn’t cut your losses and divorce her. Put it all behind you and start fresh—” A sudden thought abruptly ended his ramblings. He stared at his brother through sharp narrowed eyes. “Oh my God. You still love her.” His lips curled in disgust. “Dude, tell me that’s not it.”
Thomas looked away from Ben’s accusing stare, not ready to label what he felt for Catherine. He had loved her. He’d thought she was his soul mate. They had filled voids and needs in each other that no one else could. They’d been happy together—at least in the beginning. Then she’d devastated him. Ripped his heart and soul out and shredded them. What kind of idiot would open himself up for that pain again? 
But she still stirred something deep within him. And she was the mother of his son. “I don’t know what I feel for her.”
Ben groaned. “I can’t believe it.” 
“It wasn’t easy for her either, you know. She’d been brainwashed by her parents, but she’s got a good heart. She was a good mother and deserves to be with her son.”

Short Bio-

Theresa Rizzo is an award-winning author who writes emotional stories that explore the complexity of relationships and families through real-life trials. 

Born and raised in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, she currently lives outside of Boulder, Colorado with her husband of thirty years. She’s raised four wonderful children who are now scattered across the country.

Find Theresa On the Web:
Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

He Belongs to Me by Theresa Rizzo

Catherine Boyd will do anything to regain custody of her young son . . . Even reconcile with the husband accused of killing their son’s twin.Catherine graduates from college, eager to start a new life with her six-year-old son, Drew. But when she tries to bring him home, her parents refuse to relinquish control of the grandson they’d raised.Wrongly accused of a horrible crime, Thomas Boyd has buried himself in his career, determined to forget his painful past and the family he lost. But now, five years later, Catherine is back, requesting his help to regain custody of their son — custody he thought she had.Though older and wiser, when courtroom battles reveal lies and secrets and generations of pain, will Thomas and Catherine find more tragedy and loss, or will old wounds finally heal?

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