Secretly Yours, a novella by Valerie Comer is the story of Lindsey Solberg, a chef who has returned to her hometown of Riverbend after spending a decade away from home. She has returned home to be a support to her teenaged sister, Madison, after the passing of their mother. Madison still lives with her father, Lindsey's stepfather, whom Lindsey considers to be a less than ideal parent. Madison somehow railroads a reluctant Lindsey into catering the fundraising banquet that the local church youth group is hosting.
Participating in the fundraising efforts becomes more awkward for Lindsey when she realizes that she will need to work with the youth pastor, Nick Harrison, a guy who Lindsey had a crush on during their high school days, but who had hurt her deeply in the days before he became a believer. In the time that Lindsey and Nick have been apart, Nick has come to own a saving faith in the Lord, but has never forgotten about her or the humiliation that he put her through when they were younger. Now, Lindsey won't give him the time of day; she is skeptical of whether he has truly changed, even though he has become a brother in Christ. Nick decides to embark on a campaign of being her Secret Admirer, hoping to win her over anonymously at first with notes and gifts, and then eventually revealing himself to her.
On first glance, the story seems to be about Lindsay's need to forgive Nick, and Nick's need for Lindsay's forgiveness. However, as the plot unfolds, we find out that Lindsey has issues with seeing herself as she is: a person who is deeply loved by God. Now that Nick is trying to court her, she becomes aware that he has surpassed her in his walk with the Lord, while her own faith has become unsteady. Nick, on the other hand, must hold back his desire for a romantic relationship with Lindsey until things are right between her and the Lord.
It was interesting to read about Lindsey's struggles in her faith and her difficulties in seeing herself in the way that the Lord does. It gave the novella a little more heft in its content. I liked the character of Nick. I'm a sucker for men with characters of strength and patience who have had long standing crushes, as long as they don't act like out of control Neanderthals when it appears that they might possibly win the objects of their affections.
I found it a bit amusing to read the brief author notes at the beginning and end of the story where she supplies trivia unique to British Columbia and Canada, the province and country in which the novella is set. It's true that knitted stocking caps are referred to as "tuques" (this may be familiar to people who are acquainted with Bob and Doug McKenzie of the Great White North comedy segments that used to air on SCTV). British Columbia does have a graduated driver's licensing program. I'm still trying to figure out which existing towns and cities that exist in British Columbia that Ms. Comer used as possible models for Riverbend and Castlebrook, the fictional towns mentioned in the story. It was a novel experience for me to read something that is set in an area that I am familiar with. This was a nice story and I enjoyed reading it.
