Teresa Hill’s romance novel Twelve Days (2000) is the first in a series of books that follow the romantic entanglements of members of the McRae family. In Twelve Days, a long-married couple on the brink of divorce because of a string of tragedies takes in a trio of abandoned foster children – a dramatic upheaval that forces them to reexamine whether their marriage could be saved after all. The novel is told from three points of view: that of the wife, the husband, and the oldest of the foster kids. Hill’s novel was a finalist for the RITA Award for English-language romance fiction presented. Rachel and Sam McRae have been married for twelve years and have endured a variety of terrible events that have slowly eaten away at their psychological well-being and the health of their marriage. They first got together as teenagers madly in love. After a whirlwind romance in which the town was astonished to see Sam, the resident bad boy, head over heels for someone, the two married right after Rachel became pregnant. However, after a terrible car accident, Rachel miscarried in a way that threatened her life and forced doctors to perform a hysterectomy. No longer able to have kids biologically, Sam and Rachel have spent many years trying to adopt without success. At the same time, Rachel built her small stained glass art business – a craft she learned from her grandfather. In between those disappointments, Rachel lost her mother and then her beloved grandfather. Most recently, they became foster parents to Will, but although the placement seemed well on its way to becoming permanent, a family court ordered Will to be returned to his biological mother. This ordeal proved to be the last straw, and since then, Rachel has been in a deep depression. In response, the shutout Sam has decided that since he still loves Rachel but is clearly not good enough to make her happy, they would both be better off if he left. As Rachel learns a few weeks before Christmas, Sam’s plan is to wait until December 26 and then separate from his wife. However, the McRaes’ problems are put on temporary hold twelve days before the holiday. Rachel’s Aunt Miriam, a social worker in the town, shows up on her doorstep asking a huge favor. Three children have been found abandoned in a nearby motel, and until they can get permanent foster care placement, they need a temporary home. Unfortunately, most of the people who normally deal with kids like these are already on vacation. Could Rachel and Sam take care of these kids until after the New Year? Despite her doubts, Rachel takes one look at baby Grace, four-year-old Zach, and eleven-year-old Emma, and realizes that she has to do her best to give them as good a Christmas as they can have under the circumstances. Sam agrees to put their relationship woes on hold as well. Both adults decide to act in the best interests of the children while also trying not to fall in love with them and risk ending up heartbroken. The effort of making the house a temporary home rouses Rachel out of her funk. There’s something about needing to selflessly focus on the needs of other people that distracts her enough from her trauma to pull herself out of the fog. In the process, she starts slowly reconnecting with Sam, both on an emotional and on a sexual level. Interestingly, in trying to develop empathy for him, Rachel realizes that if leaving her will make him happier in the long run, she is willing to let him go. It is exactly this kind of self-sacrifice that leads Sam to believe they might pull through after all. Rachel and Sam share with each other deeply held secrets that they had never revealed despite their long marriage. Rachel feels better after confessing something she feels guilty about, and Sam opens up despite usually aspiring to be the strong silent type. Meanwhile, they build meaningful connections with the children as well. Emma, as the oldest, has been used to being the caretaker of her younger siblings. Now she finds herself able to rely on someone else – Sam. Zach is also drawn to Sam, trying his best to emulate this dependable and calm man in his life. Meanwhile, Grace falls easily into Rachel’s arms. After Christmas, the mystery of the children’s abandonment is solved, and Rachel and Sam realize that they are much better together than apart. The novel ends happily, as the three children are placed with the McRaes for good – and eventually end up adopted by them. Future novels in the series follow these three children as grownups.

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