Reviews:

        Rated 4 Roses!  Escape To Romance

"HOMETOWN REUNION has one of my favorite types of hero, the brainy former geek. I really enjoyed some of the banter between Christi and Glen. They were interesting but flawed characters; neither of them was perfect but each one worked through their problems so that they could be together. This was a very believable romance and I was left feeling that the romance would make it for the long haul. If you are looking for an amusing relationship-driven story, give HOMETOWN REUNION a try."                       Marlene Breakfield

    Rated 4 1/2 Roses!  A Romance Review

" . . . In Hometown Reunion, Cynthia Scott makes the most of the satisfying and popular dream of your old high school crush falling madly in love with you. In this case, it’s Glen with the crush, but the plot is just as enjoyable as if it were the heroine winning her heart’s desire. And if one fantasy isn’t enough for you, there is also an underlying “ugly ducking” theme of Glen the former geek becoming hot and “drool-worthy”.  Hometown Reunion is the second contemporary romance for the upcoming and talented Cynthia Scott. If Hometown Reunion is any indication of Ms. Scott's writing ability, I sincerely hope to read more from her in the future."  Nicole Phibbs

 4 STARS!      BooksForABuck.com

"In high school, nerdy Glenn Stark was the bane of Christi Pierce's existence. Fifteen years later, however, it's a different story. Glenn, now a gorgeous hunk, is back in Miracle, Oklahoma and ready to start a new chapter in his ultra-successful life. Christi is back, too--with shattered dreams and doubts about her life's decisions. Neither is ready for romance with a former nemesis, but they can't fight the tidal wave of longing that surges between them. 

In this charming romance, Ms. Scott's endearing characters face their uncertainties with humor and humanity. The quirks of small-town life come alive in Miracle as Christi and Glenn wend their way around the various landmines of family, friends, careers and gossip to finally end up in each other's arms."    Rob Preece  

Order Hometown Reunion:  Avalon Books

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PROLOGUE
Fifteen years ago 

Ahhhhhh!  Barbecued ribs and coleslaw. 

Christina Marie Pierce, Miracle High School graduate--with honors--took a deeper breath.  The tangy aroma tickled her nose and made her mouth water.  Despite the simple wooden tables, the concrete floor and the rough brick walls, the ambiance of Irvin’s Bar-B-Q Pit could not be denied.

Mmmmmm.  Heaven on earth.

She glanced around the room, etching the image into her memory.  Red vinyl tablecloths, cheap plastic vinegar and hot sauce bottles, and a flyer-bedecked front window shouted “hole in the wall” and “dive,” but The Pit was the teenage hangout in Miracle.  Not that Miracle, Oklahoma, a tiny and bedraggled former oil boom town boasted a choice.  The Dairy Barn out on the highway tried to cater to the popular crowd, but nothing could beat Irvin’s down home, come and stay, eat all night attitude.

Nor his totally scrumptious secret barbecue sauce.

Christi’s gaze came full circle to land on the third table from the door, the one by the window, their table--her and her two best friends.  They hadn’t arrived yet, but Irvin had everything ready for them, right down to the glass mugs bearing their names.  She moved to her usual seat, sank into her usual chair and tried to sit still.

Today was the start of something new, something big.  Yesterday, she graduated second in her class.  Tomorrow, she’d pack up her parents’ car and head off for college.

And for a future with Roger.

Mrs. Roger Farley.  Christi Farley.  Christina Pierce Farley.  No matter which version she used, the name sounded perfect.  Too bad Roger wanted to wait, wanted to complete their education before they said “I do.”  Waiting was sensible, but she didn’t want to be sensible.  She’d been sensible all her life. 

She wanted to be spontaneous, to act on her impulses without first weighing the consequences.

Which is why she gave up going to Johns Hopkins and chose to attend college with Roger.  Her parents had argued against it, but she could get her nursing training anywhere.  If she could do so closer to Roger all the better.  Besides, it was her life, not theirs.

A life with an adventure looming on the horizon.

“Gonna sit there fidgeting or are you going to order?”

Christie snapped out of her reverie to face Glen, The Geek, Stark, also a Miracle High School graduate.  Creep.  He’d graduated first in their class.  His dull gray eyes glared at her--as usual--from behind his horn-rimmed glasses.  His mud-brown hair coiled on the verge of springing right off his head--as usual.  He’d probably come to gloat.  As usual.  The Geek never struck up a conversation unless he had a point to make.  He was the most obnoxious boy in school, and her personal pest.

Unfortunately, he was also Irvin’s son.  Which meant in addition to seeing The Geek at school, Christi was forced to endure his presence at The Pit, too.

“I’ll wait until Amber and Eleanor get here,” she said. 

“Ah, one redhead, one blonde and one brunette.  A Triple Threat to common sense everywhere.”

“Go away, and let me think.”

“About how I graduated top of the class and you didn’t?”

Yep, he’d come to gloat.  “We were separated by a tenth of a point.”

“A miss is as good as a mile.”  He leaned closer, his breath reeking of onions.  “Face it.  I’m smarter than you, and always will be.”

“You’re obnoxious,” she said, waving away the foul fumes.  “And always will be.”

“I’m not obnoxious.”  He preened.  “I’m perfect.”

“You are so not perfect,” Christi retorted, “that you’re not even on the ‘perfect’ chart.”

“MIT disagrees with you.”

“MIT?”  Ah, the crushing blow.  Score a big one for The Geek.  More than a little impressed, and more than a lot determined not to show it, Christi forced her voice to stay even.  “Massachusetts Institute of Technology accepted you?”

“Absolutely.”  A smug smile curved his lips and his eyes glinted.  “This time tomorrow, I’m wiping off the dust of this crummy town and speeding to Boston, never to return.”

Dying to find the chink in his armor-plated self-confidence, she handed him a spare napkin.  “Better wipe the chocolate milk off your upper lip first.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw. 

Ah, a direct hit.  Score one for her.

“It’s a mustache,” he said evenly--too evenly.

“It’s a complete lack of testosterone,” she retorted.

“Like you’d know.”

“Oh, grow up,” she said, envy nearly choking her words.  Imagine MIT, the most prestigious engineering school in the world accepting The Geek.  Incredible.

“Tell me something,” he said, with that look that said he knew he’d won the point.

“School’s out, Glen.” 

Tell me something was the catch phrase for their mind game of information one-upmanship.  She hated it.  She always held her own, and often superceded The Geek’s mental prowess, but he never gave her a break, never once acknowledged her intelligence, never recognized that, heck, she could go to MIT, too--if she wanted.

She just didn’t want.

“Only for the lazy,” he said crisply.  “Learning is a continuous experience.”

“Go away until you hit puberty.  Then stay away.”

“I will if you will.”  Instead of leaving, though, he leaned on the table, palms flat, arms bent at the elbows and peered into her face.  “First, I need a bit of trivia.”

Christi jerked back, surprised at how appealing his eyes looked when they sparkled.  “What?”

“Which college have you picked?  Hopefully on the West Coast.  Or even better, another country.”

“I’ve been accepted to Johns Hopkins,” she boasted.

“Unacceptable.  Baltimore’s way too close to Boston.”

“I turned them down,” she said without thinking.  “I’m staying here in Oklahoma and going to school with Roger.”

“You’re what?”  The Geek jerked upright, his face wide open with shock.  “You’re giving up a prestigious school like Johns Hopkins to stay here in the boondocks?  With that idiot?  Why?”

“I love him and--”

“No.  You can’t.”  He stepped back, a dark frown emphasizing the fledgling mustache.  Something flashed in his eyes, something like . . . pain?  He blinked and the flash disappeared.  “Christi, even you are smarter than to settle for Roger the Rat.”

“Roger the Rat?”  Her temper flared.  “Glen Stark, you take that back, or I’ll--”

The bell over the door rang, signaling more customers.  Christi snapped her head up.  Amber Dorsey and Eleanor Host, her best friends since elementary school, entered The Pit.  When she turned back to Glen, he’d walked away.

He always disappeared when Amber and Eleanor came around.  Christi arched an eyebrow.  Threatened, maybe?  Hmmm, worth considering.  No!  She didn’t care what Glen Stark thought or felt.  Sheesh.

Her friends approached the table.  Amber, tall and athletic, flipped her long red ringlets over her shoulder and jerked a thumb toward Glen.  “What’d The Geek want?”

“The usual,” Christi said.  “To tell me I’m stupid.”

“Well, he’s wrong, as usual.”  Eleanor, sleek and sophisticated--even at eighteen--tucked a tawny curl behind her ear and smoothed her beige silk dress.  “I hope Irvin has one of those big napkins.”

“Ready and waiting,” Christi said, holding up the cloth lying on the middle chair.  “As usual.”

She smiled.  The daughter of a debutante, Eleanor had come out the previous month, the only girl in Miracle to do so.  Since then her mother insisted she dress only in white, which Eleanor hated, so she rebelled by wearing beige, a color her mother considered tainted.

Eleanor Host, a rebel in pearls and taupe-colored silk.

The two girls took their seats, and the three of them heaved a collective sigh.  “After today,” Amber said, her golden brown eyes clouding, “nothing will be ‘as usual’.”

“We have the summer before we have to said good-bye,” Eleanor said.

“Um, not really, El,” Amber said.  “I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“What?”

“Me, too,” Christi added.

Eleanor’s blue eyes dulled.  “Both of you?  Why?  When?”

“Mom’s given me the green light,” Amber said, flipping her long hair again.  “I leave tomorrow to backpack across Europe.” 

“Amber that’s great!”  Christi rose and hugged her friend.  Eleanor was the rebel.  Amber was the adventurer. 

Amber Dorsey, a female Indiana Jones with freckles.

“I can’t believe it.  We’re all realizing our dreams,” Christi said.  “You’re going to Europe, Eleanor’s headed for New York and points beyond, and I’m moving to Tahlequah.  This is--”

“Tahlequah!”  Amber stood, towering over Christi by at least five inches.  “Johns Hopkins is in Baltimore, not Tahlequah, Oklahoma.  Why would you move to Tahlequah?”

“Yes,” Eleanor said, rising too.  “Explain.”

Afraid she was about to be sandwiched, Christi slid between her friends and sat again.  “Roger and I are getting married.”

“But you’re only eighteen!”  Amber plopped into her chair.  “This is a mistake, Christi.  You’re too young.  You can’t.”

“We’re not getting married right away.”

“Good, then go to Johns Hopkins.”  Still standing, Eleanor clamped her hands on her hips.  “Marry the rat, uh, Roger after you get your nursing degree.”

“I can get my degree anywhere, so why not stay here with Roger?”  Christi swallowed and reached for their hands.  “I want a career and a family.  Don’t you?”

“Sure.”  Amber squeezed her hand first.  “But not until I’ve had some fun.  Not until I’ve seen the world.  Right, El?”

Eleanor sat primly and didn’t say a word.

“El?” Amber repeated. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” Eleanor said, her head low and her voice even lower.  “And I’m never getting married.”

Christi bent to search her friend’s face.  “Why?  What’s wrong?  What happened?”

“My mother’s divorcing my father.  He’s already moved out.  I got a job to help support us.”

“Oh, no!” Amber said, shock dominating her face.  “What about college?  And traveling?”

“I’ll be working for a travel agency in Tulsa, so I’ll travel.  As for school, I’ll go at night.  After I’ve saved some money, I’m starting my own business, far away from here.”

Christi gave her a one-armed hug.  “Eleanor, I’m sorry.  What can I do?”

“You can not ruin your life with Roger.  Use your combination Einstein and Florence Nightingale brain to do something with your life.”

“Eleanor, you don’t understand,” Christi pleaded.

“No, you don’t understand.”  Determination blazed in her bright blue eyes.  “Not everyone gets a chance like you have.  You can’t throw it away on Roger.  You just can’t.”

To Christi’s shock, tears plopped onto Eleanor’s sculpted cheekbones.  She rose, ripped off the napkin and fled The Pit.

“Eleanor, wait!”

Amber rose and spread her hands.  “I had no idea.  None.  El adores her father.  This is the worst thing that could happen.”

“Go after her,” Christi said, her heart breaking.  “I’ll pay for our order and be over later.  We’ll get her through this.”

Amber nodded and scurried out the door.  Christi stared at her empty plate.  Today was supposed to be a celebration, a toast to living their dreams, and already one of their trio’s dreams had crumbled.  She thumped the table.  “It’s not fair.” 

“Hey, you break it, you buy it,” The Geek said, setting down a tray of ribs, home fries and coleslaw.  “What happened to the other two-thirds of the Triple Threat?”

“Go away, Glen, and take the food, too.”  Christi dropped some money on the table and rose.  “Excuse me.”

“I always have.”

She shook her head, and headed for the door.  Today wasn’t supposed to go wrong.  Nothing was supposed to go wrong.  Please let nothing go wrong tomorrow.

At least one thing was certain, one thing had gone right.  Starting tomorrow, she’d never have to see, hear, smell or endure Glen, The Geek, Stark again. 

Although, in Miracle, nothing was ever truly certain.