Sadie Harris is having a really tough time. Her marriage to Sly, a mean, abusive cop, is over and she is trying to get a divorce. Since she moved out of their home, Sly has been stalking her and making her life hell. He is in denial about his failing marriage and is doing anything he can to force her back home. Sadie wants sole custody of their five year old son, Jaydan, who Sly thinks is a sissy and he can make him a "real man." Sadie needs to be financially independent of Sly but in the small, close town of Silver Springs, he is the local hero. Each time Sadie tries to have an interview for a better job than working in the diner, Sly threatens the locals and she is never hired. Until today when she answers an ad from Dawson Reed seeking help. Dawson Reed has just returned to his farm after being falsely accused of murdering his adoptive parents, and serving a year in prison. A big sign MURDERER is splashing across the front of his house and can be seen as far away as the highway. He has specific goals and will not stop until he gets his mentally challenged sister home from a state institution that has cared for her since he was imprisoned. He must discover who killed his parents. He seeks a hitchhiker who he picked up the night they were killed and the police refused to look for. Dawson must get the house, which had been vandalized, in shape so that he can bring his sister, Angela, back home. He advertised for a housekeeper/caregiver so he can work to restore the farm and earn some money.

An appointment with Sadie is set and when she arrives she is nervous and guarded, but Dawson treats her like a perfect gentleman and when he tells her about his sister, Angela, and how he wants to get her back to the only home she has ever known, Sadie accepts the job. They work well together and a close relationship begins between Dawson and Sadie. Sly is angry and is set on causing damage, serious damage, to Sadie.

Brenda Novak is a favorite author of mine. Ms. Novak has a knack for always telling a good story with a cast of characters, some good, some bad, that you will root for or boo. This is Sadie and Dawson's story and they are both good people, with big hearts and strength of character. A story of second chances, family, a bad cop who is protected by his fellow officers and his Chief until he goes over the line. Sly is easy to dislike and he is someone to fear. Dawson protects Sadie and falls in love with her, while caring for his sister, getting to know and care for Jaydan, and making the farm become profitable again. Their relationship is sweet and his patience in caring for her is special. Dawson is very loving to Jaydan and in the end happiness comes to the Reed farm. NO ONE BUT YOU is a lovely story, told beautifully by Ms. Novak. Thank you. I loved it!

Book Summary

New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak welcomes you to Silver Springs, a picturesque small town in Southern California where even the hardest hearts can learn to love again…

Struggling to make ends meet after a messy divorce, Sadie Harris is at the end of her tether. Her waitressing gig isn't enough to pay the bills let alone secure primary custody of her son, Jayden, a battle she refuses to lose. Desperate, she accepts a position assisting Dawson Reed—the same Dawson Reed who recently stood trial for the murder of his adoptive parents. Joining him at his isolated farm seems risky, but Sadie is out of options.

Dawson has given small town Silver Springs plenty of reasons to be wary, but he's innocent of the charges against him. He wants to leave his painful past behind and fix up the family farm so he can finally bring his dependent sister home where she belongs.

As Sadie and Dawson's professional relationship grows into something undeniably personal, Sadie realizes there's more to Dawson than the bad boy everyone else sees—he has a good heart, one that might even be worth fighting for.