Consequences

In Crystal Creek, Texas, middle school principal Lucia Osborne knows she has trouble when the pregnancy test proved positive. Unbelievable since she was not with a man for seven years until that brief fling at an Austin convention. Adding to her woes is that the divorcee knows she has tough fight with the school board that is trying to cut costs including a proposal to merge the middle school with nearby Holly Grove. A pregnant single principal does not set a moral example when she leads the counter-forces.Desperate to fill a seventh grade vacancy, Lucia hires former rodeo cowboy Jim Whitley to teach the difficult students. Surprisingly, Jim turns into a natural. Even more shocking is that Jim and the "Ice Queen principal begin to fall in love. However, that is more ammunition for the narrow-minded school board member Gloria Wall to use to destroy Lucia and close the middle school.CONSEQUENCES, the second novel in Margot Dalton's return to Crystal Creek is an entertaining contemporary romance that retains the magic of the original twenty-four book series. The story line is fast-paced, filled with angst as families struggle to overcome past squabbles, and filled with social commentary that smoothly blends into the plot. Readers will find the embattled lead couple charming, but feel that Gloria is a stereotype rather than a villain. Still, any newcomer to Crystal Creek will want to find all the previous books while long time fans will enjoy another visit knowing one more trip is imminent.Harriet Klausner