
Feeling like she has caused Alex and his children nothing but pain and grief Katie decides it's time to move on. Without giving her a chance to explain her situation, he tells Katie how he feels that their trust has been broken and just how much that hurts him. But soon that trust is seemingly broken when Alex discovers that Katie is not who she appears to be. In return, Alex and his children have also developed a trust with Katie. Soon a relationship between them starts to take shape, although Katie is very hesitant and cautious at first.

As time goes by Katie's trust in Alex builds, and she starts to settle in little by little. It also happens to be the home of widower Alex Wheatley Josh Duhamel, who immediately feels a strong attraction to the beautiful and mysterious young woman who got off the bus and decided to hang around town for a while. Small, sleepy coastal town and a mere pit stop for bus routes all along the East Coast. and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven. With Jo's empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards. a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.

Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Plot: When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past.
