Runaway Teri Campbell is on a bus to nowhere in particular, just as long as it is away from home. She couldn't take her abusive father any longer and saw no other way out. The bus makes a stop at M&J Truck Stop in Rock Springs to give everyone time to get a bite to eat and stretch their legs. Teri notices how overwhelmed the restaurant is with the bus crowd and offers to help waitress. Marsha and Joe own the truck stop and are very grateful for the help. Marsha realizes right away that Teri is a runaway who is dressed in baggy clothes to hide away in. Marsha talks Teri into staying on with them for as long as she wants and she can work in the restaurant. Reluctantly Teri accepts the offer. It will take Teri a long time to be able to trust anyone. That first night Teri meets a young truck driver and is attracted to him immediately, but her fear of being sent back home keeps her from being outgoing.

Independent truck driver, Mike Gallagher, knows a runaway when he sees one, after all it wasn't that many years ago that he was one. He is overwhelmingly drawn to Teri and to helping her through this rough time. Since he is on the road so much he gives her his pager number so that she can get in touch with him anytime she needs to talk. The two grow closer with each meeting and Mike finally gets her to trust him enough to tell him what she is running from. Can these two survive the twists and turns put in their way and have a happy life?

TRUCK STOP is a heart touching look into the life of a runaway girl, her fears, her hopes and her determination to make a life for herself. Teri stands up for herself when the truckers attempt to flirt with her proving she has a strong will. Mike is the only one who can truly relate to all that Teri has been through. He is straight-forward and respected by everyone who knows him. Teri and Mike click instantly. Teri evolves into a confident young woman by the end of the story. The secondary characters of Joe and Marsha add depth and dimension to the story. The twists and turns the story takes will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Ms. McCormack has penned an entertaining novel of coming of age and standing up for yourself and the courage that takes. I heartily recommend TRUCK STOP!

~Carol Durfee
Review from The Word on Romance
http://www.thewordonromance.com

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Teri Campbell is running away from a dismal life and an abusive father, and she has no intention of ever coming back. The key to her success is in finding the right place to hide until she's eighteen, because she knows her father will never stop looking for her. She takes a Greyhound bound for Salt Lake City. The bus makes a short stop at a truck stop in Rock Springs, Wyoming, and the exhausted sixteen-year-old heads into the restaurant where she is immediately assailed by its hominess and warmth. An angel must have sprinkled pixie dust on her, because the owner of the place, Marsha, is taken in by the youngster trying so hard to be inconspicuous in her baggy clothes and curly hair. Impulsively, Marsha offers Teri a job and a place to stay while she gets herself together. Teri gladly accepts, happy at the possibility of finding a real home in Rock Springs with Marsha and her husband Joe.

It doesn't take long for Teri to fit in. A hard worker with a sharp mind, she blossoms under the care and affection bestowed on her by Marsha and Joe, and it doesn't take long before the regulars learn to like and respect her too. One in particular, Mike Gallagher was there on the first day Teri blew into the restaurant and has appointed himself her guardian of sorts, never suspecting that Teri has been half infatuated, half in love, with the blond haired, angel-eyed trucker since the day she met him. It takes around a year, but the simmering attraction between the two eventually grows to a full-fledged boil. Unfortunately, Teri's father is getting closer and closer, and events start spinning out of control for the girl who never thought she'd experience family and love, and certainly never dreamed of finding it in a truck stop.

TRUCK STOP is an extremely enjoyable read, one that will keep you on pins and needles while waiting for the climactic moment when Teri finally confronts her abusive father. Will he find her, and if so, will it be too late for Teri and Mike to find happiness together? Yes, yes, I know it's a romance novel, and there should be a happy ending, but the writing is good enough to keep one guessing throughout. The issue of runaways is not too prevalent in contemporary romance novels -- and the author deals with that and the issue of abuse quite well. I did have a bit of trouble dealing with a seventeen-year-old finding "true" love, although I readily admit it could be due to my middle-aged mother status. I mean, who remembers that far back?

All in all, TRUCK STOP is a good romance, with well developed characters that will both please and entertain. I'll look forward to reading more from Ms. McCormack.

~Astrid Kinn
Romance Reviews Today
www.romrevtoday.com

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