When Maggie saw a photo of Kurt Rainer, her former lover, in the newspaper, memories about what they once had came flooding back to her. She had been devastated when he left Branscombe to get away from his violent and unreasonable father, but she wouldn't leave her family to go with him. Kurt felt betrayed that Maggie had chosen her family over him, but tried to contact her without success. She tried to contact him too, but was unable to reach him--and heard nothing from him in return. Neither knew that Kurt's jealous half-brother Steve had blocked their communication.

Unbeknownst to Kurt when he left, she had become pregnant by him--a fact she hid by marrying Steve, who later died in a plane crash. No one knew that Jeff, currently at camp, was Kurt's son, and Maggie was determined to keep Kurt out of their lives. But while Kurt was made out by the paper to be a murder suspect, in reality he was assisting in a murder investigation.

Kurt's grandmother asked Maggie to see him in the hospital. While Maggie was refusing to see him, he arrived at her house, bleeding from a stab wound, assuming that his grandmother still lived there. Maggie was alarmed at the attraction that remained between them, but helped him. While looking through photo albums, Kurt began to suspect that Jeff was his son.

Communication led to reconciliation between Kurt and Maggie, and Maggie started to trust him again, even as far as taking his advice on letting Jeff go on an advanced rock climbing expedition. On calling Jeff's camp, they were told that his group hadn't radioed in since the afternoon before. When contact was re-established, they discovered that Jeff had fallen, and together Maggie and Kurt set out to rescue their son. Kurt didn't wait for the rescue team to save Jeff, and their chastisement of his conduct upset him. He ran away, telling Maggie that he was no good for Jeff and that they were better off without him. But convincing Kurt that he was a better man than his father was another problem in itself.

A SUITABLE FATHER is a tender, heart-warming story of love lost and unexpectedly rediscovered, of lies, misunderstandings, and a persistent love. The return of one's former love is a favorite of mine, and I did enjoy reading it--hence the four Quills. I have one complaint, though--the characters are a little archetypal, where the villains are really evil and the 'good guys' are all good, which makes them a little unbelievable. But the story is complex and enjoyable, and I feel it deserves four Quills, which is high praise indeed.

REVIEWED BY: Melinda Stanners
© July 2004