Wynter in Reno

Wynter in Reno, the first book in The Seasons of Love, begins the day before Wynter Morgan Jordan meets Curtis. She's a year into her meth addiction, two years into her divorce, and two years into being Kyler's mom. Smoking meth with the people she loves is as familiar to her as sitting around the kitchen table. When she pictures a better life, what comes to mind is a place of her own, with room for Kyler to leave his toys on the floor.

For a while, Curtis seems to want that life too. He sits beside her while she fills out a job application and picks her up and spins her when she gets hired. His sister, Brooke, becomes her friend. His mother, Shemika, makes room for her at the table. When Curtis starts showing her apartments, Wynter knows exactly where she'd put Kyler's bed.

Then Curtis stops wanting to look at apartments. He leaves without saying where he's going, and even a simple question can start an argument. When Lydia, the mother of his daughter, opens Wynter's car door one night and tells her where he's been, Wynter has to wonder what Curtis calls their relationship when she isn't there to hear him.

Wynter tries to move on with Brysen, a friend who can make her laugh at six in the morning while they're vacuuming out her car. She's happy with him. Then, after weeks of silence, Curtis sends three words: Can we talk? Before she's decided what to tell Brysen, she's already on her way.

Inspired by the author's life, Wynter in Reno tells the story of a young mother who finds love, friendship, and a sense of home in the same place she keeps getting hurt. Wynter can see what waiting for Curtis is costing her. What she hasn't figured out yet is how to stop listening for his car.