The me I used to be

In 1969, sixteen-year-old Allyson Cole lost her car, her virginity and her boyfriend at Woodstock. Nine months later, she gave up her newborn baby girl for adoption. Alone and frightened, she channeled her anger and heartache into hard work and a determination to achieve success without anyone's help. Now, thirty-five years later at age fifty-two, Ally has everything a liberated, baby-boomer woman could want -- a thriving business, her dream house, the looks and body of someone ten years younger and a marriage proposal from Warren Noble, a physician and the man she loves. But when a teenaged boy named Nick shows up on her doorstep, claiming to be her orphaned grandson, Ally is forced to face unresolved issues from her past. Since grandmotherhood is not on her agenda, Allyson tracks down Sonny McGraw, the old boyfriend she hasn't seen or spoken to since she woke up alone one morning in a field at Woodstock surrounded by free sex, drugs and rock 'n roll. Then, despite Warren's misgivings, she embarks on a trip to a small Texas town to deliver Sonny a surprise -- his grandchild. But by the time Ally and Nick, reach their destination, though, everything has changed. Along the road, love for her grandson has blossomed, and she met the child she gave up through a diary her daughter left behind…and she finds the lively girl she once was still living inside herself. And then there's Sonny, who just might be the biggest surprise of all. Ally's long-ago, longhaired hippie lover now has a Chester-on Gunsmoke limp, a cowboy hat and a handlebar mustache. But the twinkle in Sonny's eyes is the same. Like her, he is single. Unlike her, he doesn't think twice about taking Nick in; in fact, he wants the boy, no questions asked. Problem is, now Ally does, too. She missed the chance to know her daughter, Sarah, to share her child's joys and heartaches. She doesn't want Nick's life to pass her by, as well. But how can she ever compete with a man who farms, ranches and rides horses for a living? A man with more tales of adventure than a public library? A man who, from time to time, drinks too much tequila and howls at the moon? Nick is clearly intrigued by his grandfather. Why wouldn't he be? Ally is, too. And that worries her. Was Warren right? Does she harbor old feelings for Sonny? Is that why she never married? Why she has resisted Warren's proposals for so long? Did she use Nick's arrival in her life a an excuse to see Sonny again? Time would tell…