“I can promise you this. As long as you want me around, I’ll be here to remind you what a beautiful and amazing person you are.”

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Being a survivor of abuse, a single mom, and not fitting into society's version of attractive– I never thought I would hear those words, especially from someone who was my nemesis on my plant enthusiast message board. So when Jack Kettler, a man much older than I, took notice of me and treated me in a way I had only seen on tv, I couldn’t help but want to open myself up, just one more time.

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Two weeks – that’s what we agreed to. I would fly across the country to be with Jack for two weeks to see if what we were feeling over the phone was more than just a crush. So what I got when I walked through the small Kentucky airport was not what I expected.

One dark secret after another made me question who Jack was, what I was getting myself into, and if what I was feeling in my heart was strong enough to survive what I would have to sacrifice for us to be together.