Reviewing: The Trustworthy One by Shelley Shepard Gray

...from the publisher...
Kendra Troyer always knew she would leave Walnut Creek the first chance she got. When she was accepted into design school, she tried her best not to look back at the four siblings she was abandoning, but ahead to Columbus, where she was determined to stay—far away from her abusive home and far away from Nate Miller, the boy she vowed to despise for the rest of her life.

Though she suffered through dark times in Columbus, Kendra found her faith in the Lord again, and years later, when she learned one of her good friends had died, she realized it was time to go home to those she left behind.

Back in Walnut Creek, Kendra has a life she never could have imagined: her own design shop, a pretty little house, and a tight-knit group of friends. After she settles down, though, unexpected visitors come knocking and dark memories begin to resurface. Complicating things even further is the ever-present Nate Miller, who now owns the hardware store two doors down and whose very presence stirs in Kendra a fierce need to turn away and hide from her past. But Nate is persistent in setting things right between them.

As Kendra tries to come to terms with the anger she holds from her childhood, will she be able to open her heart to forgiveness and find the comfort she has always longed for in Walnut Creek?

...my thoughts...
The Trustworthy One, is the latest book in the Walnut Creek series by Shelley Shepard Gray.  This is a continuing story of how seven friends unite after the death of their good friend Andy. We are touched by many in our lives, for reasons we don't know.  Sometimes we are touched even more by their deaths.  The lessons we learn as we live on are often rewarding if we look back and notice the subtle cues found in our memories.

Kendra Troyer grew up in less than normal circumstances and fled her abusive home as soon as she could get away.  She left behind cruel parents and her younger siblings, who relied on her resilience and generous spirit to see them through their tough circumstances.  As life often does, she found herself once again in Walnut Creek.  The one person she didn't want to meet again, Nate Miller is there, in her presence at every turn. As a child, he seemed to be near at every awkward moment of her young life.  For all the troubles she left behind, she encountered more out in the English world.  It is when she is back in Walnut  Creek, and faces those she left behind that she learns the value of trust and forgiveness.  Shelley Shepard Gray is a gifted writer whose books are not just entertaining but rich in human nature.  I enjoyed this book, a story of true friendship, and recommend it without reservation to anyone who likes heartwarming stories.