I read a description of Morsi’s books as “comfortable” and that’s very true of this one. I felt at home with it from the start, like trying on a shirt that feels like you’ve always owned it. One of those soft, cozy shirts you will keep wearing around the house even when you get a grease stain on it.Yes, there is a thorn amongst the roses: the dreaded Big Misunderstanding, and one of the most contrived, illogical, eye-rollers of a Big Mis you can imagine. But the book as a whole was so sweet and delightful, I didn’t much care.The book opens in 1885, with Prudence Belmont finally achieving her goal of presidency of the Chavistown, Texas Rose and Garden Society. Pru has been pretty much living on pride since the love of her life jilted her right before their wedding; still a spinster, she sought the consequence the position will bring. Then town patriarch Peer Chavis has a stroke, bringing home his estranged son Gidry, Prudence’s erstwhile fiance. Gidry has grown up a lot since he ran away from responsibility eight years before, and as he takes over his father’s position in the town, he begins to realize how much he threw away when he let Prudence down. But it may not be as easy to win her back as he hopes.This is a small town story, on a small scale, but it's not trivial; the way people lived and interacted in small Western towns is a vital part of the story. Though Prudence at first seems like she's going to be a stereotype of a pushy, prissy, busybody, she’s caring, intelligent and innovative, a born community leader. (I was irked that Gidry never gave her public credit for a great idea she had.) Gidry was undoubtedly a thorough ass as a young man, but has believably matured. (Except for being an idiot about the Big Mis. Let's call it jealous stupidity and have done with it.) Their story has echoes in a tender secondary romance that just about broke my heart, as did Gidry's bittersweet reconciliation with his father--who obviously loves and forgives him, yet is too damaged from his stroke to speak.This was an instant comfort book, one I feel sure I will want to wear... err, read... again.
