Landon Stone has it all. He’s the star quarterback for one of the powerhouse teams in a professional football league, has a beautiful supportive wife cheering him on, and plenty of money to support him for the rest of his life. In the blink of an eye, it all comes crashing down as every player’s worst fear unfolds right in front of his eyes. With nothing left, he finds himself going back to where it all started.
Autumn McCray has lived in the same small town her whole life. Being tormented and bullied throughout high school, she has those constant reminders surrounding her every day. Having put most of those demons behind her, she’s forced to confront them once again and find her inner strength in order to move forward.
With Landon and Autumn’s paths crossing, they both are faced with obstacles they never imagined they would have to overcome. Will they help each other with their struggles, or be left to tackle them on their own?
In a quiet, husky tone, Landon says, “I don’t know what it is about you, but I can’t help myself. I want to devour every inch of your skin every second I’m with you, and I think about all the places I want to feel you when I’m not.” And if I didn’t need new panties before, I definitely do now. I’ve never had a guy turn me on like this with simple words. His eyes remain on the road, but each syllable has left a hot trail straight to my most intimate parts. Because my brain has completely fizzled out, I’m left speechless. “Did I scare you?” He glances over at me with a sexy grin on his face.
“No, just processing. I’ve never had a guy talk to me that way before.” I look out my window, nervous to meet his eyes.
“And how am I talking to you?” His tone is commanding, like he wants to hear exactly what he does to me.
“Like you’re going to eat me alive and do things I couldn’t possibly recover from.” My voice comes out breathy as my own desires become quite obvious.
“I wouldn’t mind eating something, but I promise you’ll survive it, sweetheart. Barely.” My eyes widen and my skin instantly heats up all over. He gives me a knowing look and responds with a wink. My mouth goes completely dry and I suddenly have a very vivid imagination that runs wild with all the things he could do to me.
Tackled by Love by Rachael Duncan is a story about believing in yourself even when it seems impossible to do. A story about not letting the past define you but about showing the world who you are on the inside instead of what letting people judge by what is on the outside. This story was a 3.5 star read for me and I would recommend it to others.
Landon is the guy from high-school who had it all, he was popular, an amazing football player, and smart. He married his high-school sweetheart and was making a huge name for himself in the NFL as a quarterback. Life couldn't get much better for him and his wife Valerie. That is until he took a hit on the field that possibly meant the end of his football career. Knowing that he had the love and support of his wife, Landon believed that he could fight his way back onto the field after his knee surgery to regain his place that the center of the team; until he realized it was all a lie. Valerie, who he thought loved him for who he really was since she was with him before the fame, left him as soon as she realized that his career was over along with the lifestyle to which she had grown accustomed to. Landon never expected the worst day of his life to become even worse when his wife asked him for a divorce after learning that he could no longer play professional football. Returning home to heal and find out what his next steps would be, he ran into an old high-school classmate Autumn who worked as a cake decorator in his mothers' bakery.
Autumn had a very different high-school experience than Landon did; one that she carries with her everyday although she yearns to forget it and move on. Having lost her mother at a young age and having a father trying to cope without his wife; Autumn turned to food for comfort. It was in the comfort of food that Autumn became over-weight and later the butt of many cruel high-school practical jokes and comments. Never fighting back against those who wronged her in the past, Autumn became healthy with her eating, worked out and lost some of the extra weight. She had a best friend she adored and a father she loved with all her heart and a job that was her passion. When Landon strolled back into town, the careful control on everything that Autumn needed slowly began to slip away to reveal uncertainty while dredging up old high-school insecurities when Landon begins to show an interest in dating her.
"He means more to me than I'd like to admit, but if I tell him that, he won't let me walk away. I need to put distance between us. I've endured a lot of heartache in my past and very little remains of the pieces I've managed to mend together. I won't survive the pain he could inflict on me if I let myself fall away any more for him."
As they begin a relationship that moving as slow as Autumn can handle, they both face obstacles that threaten to crack the foundation that they are building together. Obstacles that they are each facing separately and together, can either push them closer together or tear them apart completely. It is in the strength that Autumn finds within herself to let the past go and be the amazing person that she is by standing up for herself that she can truly allow her feelings for Landon to grow into something so much more.
"But that's the thing about love. It rolls in like a hurricane, causing complete havoc. Sometimes you're left with the broken pieces that you do your best to put back together. But, if you're lucky, it crashes into your life, matching you with your soul mate. That's what it's done for me."
Rachael Duncan is an Army wife living in North Carolina with her husband and two kids. She grew up in Nashville, Tennessee and went on to graduate from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville with a bachelor’s degree in political science. After working on Capitol Hill for a short time, she realized that a career in politics just wasn’t for her. A couple years later, she rediscovered her love for reading and writing. She’s co-author of the books The One Left Behind and Shattered Lives Mended Hearts by Lena Nicole.
