Derrick Cavenaugh is starting life anew, back near his roots in the San Francisco bay area. His football career is destroyed, his high school girlfriend/wife has divorced him, and before his two daughters become a further casualty, he accepts a possible junior partnership in contract law with Hastings Chase Whitney.

The Greenwoods receive the news. Their income tax returns were completed with mistakes amounting to over $10,000. Later Bailey is at work at the Stop Right when twelve-year-old Leslie is caught shoplifting. Her father is Derrick Cavenaugh, a man she had a crush in high school and who never knew she existed. It shouldnʼt matter that he still makes her heartbeat flutter.

Derrick sees her now, though. He needs help and if the pixie size Bailey can make him feel humble, sheʼs just what he needs to corral his rebellious troubled teenage daughter. Derrick convinces her to root for his daughter by giving her a chance to work off the crime where it was committed.

While Leslie works at the Stop Right, Derrick opens up to Bailey, admitting how his divorce had been hard on his daughters also. He could have stayed on the east coast and had his children experience neglect from their mother, but instead struggled first with his new employer, and then his daughtersʼ destructive determination to move back to Atlanta.

Beverly Greenwood, Baileyʼs grandmother, learns how hard Bailey has tried to keep the business afloat. After a heart to heart, they agree itʼs time to let go. Theyʼre desperate to sell it before the IRS or bank can take the inn, leaving them with nothing. Pacific Spa, the proposed purchasers, know their dire situation and submit a bid for little of its true value.

Leslieʼs troublesome friends steal from the Stop Right, leaving the blame to fall on her shoulders.

Derrickʼs ex-wife comes to California. Sheʼs seen the light and wants to set things right with their daughters. She uses more plays than there are in a game book to get what she wants. Will Derrick stay with Bailey and a real relationship, or risk their happiness by doing whatʼs right and return to his marriage?

The ALL-AMERICAN FATHER by Anna DeStefano reminds me of the damsel in distress who is about to lose her home to the dastardly mortgage company. Itʼs a story of a knight in shining armor that cleans up very well and an evil banker looking to make a fast buck no matter who he hurts in the process. Wait, donʼt judge it by my sarcastic words, because truth here. I took a break from reviews, but not before I did, I read this book and put it to the side. After months I went back to it and was amazed how many scenes I remembered and how accurate the details were. I consider that the making of a good book. So, enjoy.

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