Shirley Jump 
Homecoming Queen Gets Her Man 

Welcome Home, Meri Prescott!Roll out the red carpet-Meri’s back in town! But how could the jean-clad beauty fishing for crawdads be Stone Gap’s every-blond-hair-in-place princess? It seems the former Miss North Carolina has had it with pageants and perfection. Meri’s home to care for her ailing grandpa and realize her dream of becoming a photographer. If she could just ignore her treacherous heart when she gets her first gander at her gorgeous, all-grown-up first love.Meri was sweet fifteen when Jack Barlow gave her her first kiss-only to break up with her a year later and ship out to war. The soldier who comes home has changed, just like Meri. Doesn’t Jack know two can heal better than one? That it’s what’s inside that counts? And Meri’s got so much to give to that special Barlow man.