Never Say Never

Kai Miller floats through life like driftwood tossed by waves. She's never put down roots--and she doesn't plan to. But when a chaotic hurricane evacuation lands her in Daily, Texas, she begins to think twice about her wayfaring existence. And when she meets hometown-boy Kemp Eldridge, she can almost picture settling down in Daily--until she discovers he may be promised to someone else.

Daily has always been a welcoming place of refuge for those the wind blows in, but for Kai, it looks like it will be just another place to leave behind. Then again, Daily always has a few surprises in store--especially when Aunt Donetta Bradford has cooked up a scheme.

"Wingate delivers readers back to Daily, Texas, with another touching tale. The infusion of humor and well-drawn characters are just what one needs to pass the long, gray days of winter. The alternating first-person viewpoints of the two main characters give an intimate feel to the story." --Melissa Parcel, Romantic Times Book Reviews

"Donetta, 69, and her like-aged friends from the tiny town of Daily, Texas, decide to take a giant leap from their mundane lives and go on a cruise. After they begin their journey to the ship, the people in the port town of Perdida, Texas, the group's destination, receive word that a major hurricane is coming their way. Once in Perdida, the band of friends learns their ship has already sailed, and their only choice is to turn around and become part of the massive, frenzied evacuation. Free spirit Kai Miller, the 27-year-old owner of Gifts from the Sea, joins the exodus, and there's plenty of peril on the road from both man and nature as Kai and Donetta's group fight their way to Daily. Narrated in turns by Donetta and Kai, popular and versatile Wingate's exciting, often humorous tale realistically captures the chaos and heroism of small-town America in the throes of disaster as well as a can-do attitude in the aftermath." --Shelley Mosley, Booklist