Hug Dancing

Hearon's delightful 12th novel, after Owning Jolene , is a racy, realistic romance that follows Cile Tait, a parson's wife in Waco, Tex., on the road to happily-ever-after with her reclaimed high-school sweetheart. After they discover that they're still in love with each other while waltzing together at the Heart of Texas Fairgrounds, Cile and Drew Williams determine to wait three years, until her two daughters and his two sons are in high school, before she leaves her dour husband, Eben, and he his wealthy wife from Dallas, Mary Virginia. But after Cile tells Eben, who announces her imminent departure from his pulpit and who, she learns, is involved with a female congregant, Drew seems to hesitate. Cile finds out that the land values on his grandfather's farm, where they expected to live, are at issue, and that his mother and wife are planning to throw him a lavish 40th birthday party. Cile continues with her claims for independence, calling upon her father, from whom she's been estranged since her mother's death 20 years earlier. Hearon's tricky, credible resolution involves Cile's and Drew's children, engaging teenagers full of surprises; additional knowledge about her mother's death; and a reconciliation with Drew's mother. A lively and accomplished turn around the dance floor. Author tour. (Nov.)