Jakari Bolton: protector and provider …
He takes on those roles when his father gets incarcerated for hideous crimes that are still bothering him ten years later. Jakari is so busy taking care of those he loves he forgot that he needed care too. Anger, guilt, and hurt have guided his life’s trajectory, and he doesn’t know any other way to be. So when he has to pick up his cousins from school and runs into librarian, Yendi Odom, he doesn’t know how to handle her. His attempts to get what he wants, like he does with other women, prove to leave him unsatisfied. For the first time in over ten years, he wants more. He wants a relationship with her, but he realizes that isn’t something he’s mentally or emotionally ready for.
Yendi Odom: nurturer and caregiver …
She doesn’t know those roles fit her until she meets Jakari Bolton. Running from drama with her family, she ends up in a small town working as the librarian at the high school. Her decision to move where she doesn’t have any familial ties or friends, while grieving the loss of her father, proves to be harder than she thought it would be. However, when she meets Jakari through two of her students, she knows he’s the one that will change her life. Almost love at first sight, Yendi commits to Jakari and to helping him through his issues without reciprocity. That decision has left her confused, but she’s sure about the way he has swept her off her feet.
Jakari and Yendi: explosive, passionate, and emotion-filled …
The emotions between the two are strong from the very beginning and neither of them know how to explain it. Both dealing with heavy issues, they lean on one another for healing and solace. Jakari has a hard time with that though, because he believes Yendi deserves better. She deserves a man that is ready to love her through anything. Yendi believes he deserves her and more importantly, that she deserves him and everything he has to offer.
The push and pull gets overwhelming, despite Yendi’s devotion. She begins to question her decisions and doubts that a relationship with Jakari is feasible. Can Jakari come to grips with his issues in time to claim Yendi’s love for him? Or will he allow anger, hurt, and guilt to continue to consume him, leaving no room for the love his soul needs?