Ten Tiny Breaths

Four years ago, Kacey Cleary's whole existence came crashing down in an alcohol-related car tragedy. She's working hard now to bury all but one of the fragments that were left behind. Livie is her younger sister. When Uncle Raymond loses the girls' college money at a blackjack table, Kacey can control herself enough to stop herself from becoming kick-boxer crazy. She can also control the frequent criticism of her self-destructive lifestyle from her born-again aunt Darla. All she has to do is hold herself together until Livie is no longer considered a juvenile, at which point they may leave Grand Rapids, Michigan, for good.

However, Kacey thinks it's time to go after Uncle Raymond one night cuddles up close to Livie in bed. Armed with two bus tickets and dreams of living near the coast, Kacey and Livie start their new lives in a Miami apartment complex, complete with a grumpy landlord, a pervert upstairs, and a neighbor with a stage name perfectly matched to her chosen “profession.” But Kacey is unconcerned. She can handle all of them. Trent Emerson in flat 1D is something she just can't take.

Kacey is unwilling to feel. She is not. That approach is safer. For everyone. However, attractive Trent manages to pierce her cold heart and rekindle her feelings of love. She begins to think that maybe she might move on from the past and make a fresh start. Perhaps there's still hope for her.

But Kacey isn’t the only one who’s broken. Trent, who seems flawless, has a terrible background of his own that, if revealed, would destroy Kacey's freshly built existence and return her to a life of oppression.