"Never Forget" by Jody Hedlund

 


Abbie Watson has her hands full keeping the Rose Island lighthouse running, as well as caring for her elderly grandfather. Although Gramps is spry, his dementia means that most days he doesn't recognize Abbie and thinks he's living a few decades in the past. Abbie is doing everything she can to hold their tremulous lives together, knowing any day they could lose their status as light keepers and be kicked off the island.

When an unknown man washes ashore after a storm, Abbie has no intention of tricking him or using his presence for her own gain. But when he wakes up and assumes he's her husband, it's a little too easy to pretend. Maybe having a young healthy man around will convince the superintendent to give them more time. Especially since Gramps seems much calmer and more aware of the present when the stranger is around.

Nathaniel can remember nothing about his previous life. He only remembers feelings of sadness and that he has disappointed people, but now he's been given the chance to start over with a clean slate. He realizes he must have been a very bad husband to have his wife behave in such a shy and skittish way around him, and he's determined that things will be better this time around.

What starts as an innocent mistake on Nathaniel's part soon grows to a situation beyond Abbie's control. Nathaniel really is winning her over, but now she has no idea how to tell him the truth. Is it possible that their budding feelings will survive when his memories return? Or will the fact that he's wealthy with a long list of bad decisions in his past make the divide between them insurmountable?

There were quite a few twists and turns in this story that kept me uncertain about how everything would resolve until the final pages. I enjoyed the theme of second chances, as well as one with which I have personal experience - not letting the actions of our parents determine the outcome of our own lives. This was a strong plot to wrap up the Beacons of Hope series!