Last Chance Texaco

After running a 10K race in his hometown of Oakdale, Mississippi, Chris Brantley decides to stop at a convenience store for a soft drink before heading home to Rankin County. Doing so turns his life upside down.

Loyal to his wife, Angie, but trapped in a loveless marriage, Chris is smitten when he runs into old flame Lisa Crosby. And Lisa has feelings for Chris, too. They begin corresponding almost daily, and he thinks every day about making her part of his life.

But Lisa has a rich, possessive, hulking ex-husband named Ed Youngblood who can’t let go. Lisa is so frightened of his wrath that when her biological daughter, Dorothy King, contacts her out of the blue and wants to get to know her birth mom, she’s willing…as long as Ed never finds out Dorothy isn’t his child.

Dorothy does learn, however, that Chris Brantley is her father, and reaches out to him after Lisa is killed in a car accident. And when Chris and Dorothy (who bond immediately) compare notes on Lisa’s death, it’s clear this was more than just a tragic crash. It doesn’t take them long to learn that Ed Youngblood, though not directly responsible, did have a role. And Youngblood, once he learns of Chris and his attempts to get both the Oakdale PD and the local TV station to look closely at him, orders an employee to take Chris off the board.

Last Chance Texaco is loaded with twists, turns, and unforgettable characters, both good and evil, which populate the tiny town of seemingly-serene Oakdale. Both bittersweet and heartwarming, it’s a story that will get under your skin and stay there.